Deflower

Chapitre Vingt-Sept

Lo couldn't any faster have made her way out of the building, to be caught wordlessly amidst of a band—a perpetual hell—of chaotic and equally emotional adolescents. Her eyes searched for another pair in particular, but they were nowhere to be found. Desperately, Lo chanted around the crowd—questioning the people that surrounded her about what had happened, and in the meanwhile, telling herself that it couldn't be; that it was not him who lay upon the warm asphalt with his body torn at the seams and coughing up crimson liquid. Victoria stood behind her and looked equally bewildered; tears filled her brown eyes, too, out of pure fear and self-concern rather than care for whichever individual it was that had gotten hurt. She was merely afraid that the perpetrator had not yet fled from the scene.

"What happened? Who is it?" Lourdes repeated herself harshly to Greg (some guy Lo never really spoke to but nonetheless, he blocked her view and thus he could inevitably inform her of the situation). Lo had become somewhat irritated by the fact that no one responded to her, even if she had gotten upon her knees to beg for answers. Perhaps she should have concluded so much out of the manner their eyes filled with pity when they were lay on her frail body and face, bur she could not bring herself to do this; she was sure of it. Vincent was safe and well and somewhere amidst the crowd, probably searching her as desperately and worriedly as she was seeking for him. She knew that he was doing well.

Yet she was sorely mistaken.

It startled Lourdes, the sight of Vincent laying there, so helpless and desperate yet he seemed so calm—even more than ever. It was like a pain that hit her in the chest, as if had been within her rib cage that a bullet had exploded instead of his, somewhere near her heart, but she couldn't concentrate on the pain that she felt at that moment—how could she, when her only love was on the ground nearly drowning within his own blood? She was shaking intently when she ran towards his body, and though Victoria had attempted to hold her back, it had been to no avail.

"Vincent!" Lo shouted with wide eyes whilst her knees dropped to the ground before him, and she didn't know what to do. She was shocked, to say the least, and though otherwise she would have instantly held him in her arms, she found herself unable to make the slightest of a movement. She felt as if she was losing consciousness as a confused haze took over her, but she didn't permit herself to; instead, held his fingers as though she was on the edge of drowning, and he was her lifeline—this, however, was not too far from the truth. Her fingers grasped for the wound near his heart, and she attempted to stop the bleeding by covering it up with her small hands.

"Vincent, Vincent, please, l-look at me," Lo said and a soft smile spread upon her lips; one littered with minuscule fibers of hope. One of her hands now reached for his jaw whilst the other held him up by the back of his neck. Though the party-goers that surrounded them chanted and seared and weeped out of fear—not out of fear for Vincent's life, but for their own—so loud perhaps even the angels up above could hear, and could easily come down to scoop his unfortunate soul under their wings, all Vincent heard was the love and despair that oozed from Lo's large eyes. "You're fine, you're fine."

"Listen to me, e-everything will be fine—the ambulance is underway, and-and you'll be fine," Lo whimpered through sharp breaths, though how she would have expected Vincent to comply to her words, to agree with her—even if it had been falsely so, and solely to comfort her—he only shook his head from the left to the right and with all of his remaining might, brought his right hand to her cheek. Lo parted her lips to speak, but Vincent did instead—his voice, although weak and fragile, firm as ever. Shivers prickled her skin and he drew himself closer to her, his breaths mingling with hers and she felt the heat radiating from his broad frame; her eyes sealed shut, and plethora of warm, salty teardrops rolled down her face. He used his thumb to make them vanish. "You promised me; you said you wouldn't leave. So you won't. You won't." Lo said, matter-of-factly, wanting to confirm it, for herself.