enemies | rc

trente et un

richard's point of view

everything happened so quickly. one minute i had her in my arms, the next i was watching her laying on the floor on a pool of her own blood. i dropped on my knees beside her and immediately looked for a pulse. i let out a breath i didn't know i was holding when i found a weak pulse.

i placed my hand on her wound and applied pressure so she wouldn't keep bleeding out. i took out my phone and dialed 911.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"my girlfriend's been shot." i blurted out. "i-it came out of nowhere... we were just walking out of the movies."

"emergency units were sent to that area due to detonations reported, but we will send an ambulance directly to you, sir."

"please hurry." i whispered. "i cant lose her."

i didn't let the woman respond. i hung up and dropped my phone on the floor so i could use both of my hands to put pressure on the wound. my heart was beating so quickly i thought it would jump out of my chest at any second.

i heard faint sirens, and a voice telling everyone to move out of the way. i looked at charlotte. her usually rose pouty lips were now almost white, her skin color had dropped a few tones making her under eyes look a little darker. i hadn't noticed the bags under her eyes until now. she wasn't getting much sleep.

"i love you, charlotte." i breathed out. "i can't lose you, baby. i know you're not going to die. you're a fighter, this ain't nothing you won't walk off."

i didn't notice the deafening sound of the sirens until a paramedic was pushing me out of the way and i saw another one pulling the stretcher out of the ambulance. i sat back, watching them inspect her and say something before pulling her onto the stretcher. i took a deep breath and looked down at my hands. they were covered in blood up until my mid forearm.

her blood is in your hands. only you are responsible for what happened to her.

no. this was planned. if i had walked out there with her, we would both be on the floor fighting for our lives. i needed to keep her alive now, if not then her death would really be on me.

"are you coming with your girlfriend, sir?"

i looked at the paramedic, not quite analyzing what she had said. i blinked. she stared at me impatiently and that's when i came to my senses. i shook my head and mumbled something about following them in my own car. she slammed the ambulance door shut and sped away. i closed my eyes and tried to slow down my heart by taking deep, slow breaths. i had to get out of there. i couldn't afford to be their next victim. i stood up and made my way back to my place. i have to get cleaned up and track down whoever did this. if i told my father what just happened, he would kill me. i could only count on zabdiel now, and charlotte's cousin if i managed to convince him.

i walked through the doors of my house, only to be greeted by the stares and whispers of my... fellow assassins? i don't even know what to call them. we're not friends, i probably have talked to none of them in entire my life, yet i was supposed to be their boss.

i ran into my bathroom and impatiently washed her blood off my hands. i heard my door opening and closing, but there was no other sound. i quickly realized it was zabdiel. i kept my attention towards my hands, i had to wash them thoroughly but even then i wouldn't feel clean. not even with a shower i would feel clean.

zabdiel didn't say anything as i dried my hands and dropped the towel on my desk. he stood in the middle of my room with his arms crossed, watching me intensely. i took a deep breath and was about to speak, but he beat me to it.

"don't say anything." he pressed his lips together. "if you're so calm, she must still be alive."

"not for long." i closed my eyes, refusing to cry. "she lost so much blood, the bullet may have hit a vital organ."

zabdiel took a step towards me and engulfed me in a hug. i took a deep breath and returned his hug. i was so glad he was being my rock right now, he's been like my brother since i can remember. he was there when my mom died, and now he's here when the love of my life is fighting for her life.

he patted my back and pulled away enough to look at me in the eye. "we will find them, richard. we are going to kill them all."