The sounds of gunshots and breaking glass accosted Edward's ears as he rushed through the hallway. Tears melted down his face, heart racing at the thoughts of the terrible images he'd seen on the television just minutes earlier during what might once have been a pleasant evening.
Gunshots. Oswald. The lunatic they were calling the mad hatter. The last thing Edward had seen was the gun pointed inches from Oswald's face before the connection had broken and the television screen clicked to gray noise.
Edward had already begun to run when his phone ringed. It was Oswald's number, but upon answering there was only the noise of muffled screams and gunshots.
Ed flew through the building, starting to push and shove against the stream of fleeing bodies as he drew closer.
"Oswald!" Ed wailed, tears running and face red from the feverish horror of not knowing.
The way these people rushed and shoved, the way Oswald's limp hindered his movement, a part of Ed knew he was not one of the people in the fleeing crowd. He wailed and barked Oswald's name in spite of his logic, unable to accept the idea of Oswald being left behind.
Finally the crowd was behind him, and Ed burst through the door to the quiet dining room. It was littered with motionless bodies and blood and broken glass, and Edward's heart shattered in dismay.
"Ed...," a broken voice croaked quietly.
Edward's heart skipped a beat. He turned immediately to the sound as it repeated itself. Ed's hands flew to cover his gaping mouth, jaw drooping in horror.
Oswald lay on the dining table, a mess of blood and broken things littered all around him. He'd struggled. The contents of the dinner were piled up behind him, the table runner bunched beneath his body. He'd been thrown onto it in the midst of a messy, bloody scuffle, and now Oswald lay there, mouth agape to reach for air. A trail of blood led to the window - Jervis was long gone by now.
Ed drew closer, horrified and panicked. A part of him felt relief that Oswald was even alive, until he saw the bloody blotch on Oswald's vest. Half-concealed by the dark fabric, it almost went unnoticed until the light caught the glistening maroon stain. Oswald really had been shot, after all. Now, a pool of blood slowly radiated out from beneath him.
"Oh dear," Ed rushed, horrified and panicking. He reached for his phone, dialed for the police, and broke into hysterics. "Oh god, please help," he started, somehow taking care not to mention his name, in the event the police refused to respond to the cop-killer Ed was. "Please send help. He's been shot, please. The mayor, he's been...please...."
Trembling, Ed's hand released his phone. It fell to the floor, and through blinding tears Edward could barely make out the agonized face of the one he really loved.
"Where were you?" Ed hissed at himself. He wasn't sure if he heard his own voice in his ears or only in his mind, but hear it he did. "Where were you?!?"
Selfish. Stupid. Pathetic. His mind raced with the agonizing thoughts breaking him down into a million pieces.
"Ed...," Oswald murmured, reaching a shaking arm to find him. "My...Ed...."
Edward stopped, paralyzed, to stare down at Oswald. Their eyes met, finally, and the reality finally struck him. If an ambulance was even coming, it wouldn't come soon enough.
"Oswald, I'm so sorry." Tears crashed down to the table, assimilated into the layer of blood collecting beneath him. "I should have...I...."
"Stop," Oswald wheezed through labored breaths. "It doesn't matter anymore. Ed, I...need to tell you...." Ed cringed through the tears and took Oswald's hand, fighting desperately to silence his own whimpers. "My...dear Ed. I...I have fallen...so hopelessly in love with you."
Such a pitiful sound it was...such a bittersweet confession. His poor and broken Oswald had no more fight left in him. As Ed stared into his wavering blue eyes, he could see the once-concealed pain there clear as day. Here, his beautiful Oswald looked into the face of death with open arms.
Finally, Oswald's grip on Ed's hand loosened. Blue eyes stared into dead space, and Edward's heart broke at the sound of Oswald releasing one long, final breath.
"Oswald," he whimpered, bringing his hand to nudge Oswald slightly, to no avail. "No, Oswald...Oswald please...."
The sound of car sirens crescendoed in the distance, but the ambulance was already too late.
"Oswald!" Ed screamed, breaking down and burying his face in Oswald's chest. There he stayed as his sobs slowly grew quiet, and, knowing he would go unheard, he whimpered through his tears: "I loved you first."
