Kelsey’s Point of View:
The air was thick as we all sat around in the living room, neither one of us saying nor doing anything. John was with Carly who was checking on the wound on his shoulder, making sure it didn’t bleed out or the stitching she had done would open. With the help of all of us, Carly had managed to remove the bullet and wrap him up fighting the tears that threatened to fall as she did so.
Bruce sat with his head in his hands, refusing to look any of us in the eyes as he contemplated what he was going to do next. Marcus and Marco were staring out the window, their eyes on the damaged front lawn and the mess of glass on the floor.
Justin, on the other hand, sat on a chair with me on his lap though I don’t even think he felt my presence on top of him. His eyes were blank with darkness as he looked out into nothingness. The vein in his neck was pulsing as he clenched and unclenched his jaw refusing to spill a word, his hands tightening around my body every so often.
It’s been this way for the past hour since the drive by that was set to kill us all occurred.
They declared war, Justin had said and the look that crossed each of the guys told me that this wasn’t the last of them.
In fact, the Snipers declared war which meant everything that has been going on for the past few weeks was over and now, they were coming for us with full force; they were out for blood and wouldn’t stop until they won.
Biting the outer layer of my lip, I felt my stomach churn in all sorts of directions like a washing machine. Bile rose in my throat but I forced it down as I breathed in through my nose.
“What happened tonight…,” Bruce began, startling us all by his sudden want to speak. Clearing his throat with his head still hung low, he tightened his interlocked fingers together, fighting the urge of rage that began pulsing through his veins, “Is the sheer reason why I didn’t want any of this to happen. The fighting, the guns… it all became a blood bath—it became a warzone.”
“They wanted a war with us ever since the very first day they got here,” Justin monotonously spoke but the jab in his words was evident. “If you thought differently then you were in denial—” Letting out a sarcastic chuckle, Justin shook his head, “You are in denial.” He corrected, forcing himself to look at Bruce, his eyes burning holes into his clothed back; drenched with perspiration from the amount of pressure he had hanging on his shoulders. “You wanted to believe in the best of the situation but I saw the end result from the very beginning. They wanted us gone Bruce and from tonight, it’s obvious they won’t stop until they get it done.”
“You don’t think I fucking know that?” Bruce spat, his face contorted in anger, hot from the fury building up inside of him. “You don’t think I know that I’ve fucked it up? What do you want me to do? Let you say I told you so? Where will that get us in the end?” Shaking his head, he leaned back in his seat, the skin tightening at the corner of his eyes.
“No,” Justin murmured, deathly quiet, sending a chill down my spine, “I want you to fucking man up and take responsibility for what happened tonight. Youwanted to wait; you wanted to take it slow. I wanted them dead from the very start because I knew,” He emphasized the word with much greatness, “I knew this would fucking happen.”
“Congratulations Justin,” Bruce hissed, clapping his hands obnoxiously to get his point across, “You want a fucking medal for that too?”
“No, what I want is for you to stop trying to spare lives and get your head out of your ass to see that keeping them alive won’t do us any good. We have to kill them, point blank, no excuses, and no what-ifs. I don’t give a shit about the past and I know that’s what’s holding you back from doing anything now but it’s been three years.”
