"I want ... " I stopped, and got to my feet, wiping away the tears that were beginning to spill and roll down my cheeks. "Never mind what I want," I mumbled.
Rasmus grabbed my arm. "No. What do you want?"
I looked right into his eyes. "You." Always...
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{ Ida } 2 n d o f M a y, 2 0 2 4
Martin's gun was steadily trained right on my forehead from a few feet away. His eyes were as hard and dead as a slab of cement, impossible to read. I finally realised what I was doing and immediately jerked my hand away from the door handle, but it was too late. It flew open as my fingers slid off the cold metal and the girl tumbled out into the room. She started to thank me, although fell silent when she saw the rifle.
I swallowed the lump of terror in my throat and finally choked out, "Martin, I—"
Bang!
I stumbled backwards as numbness spread over my chest. Someone screamed, dull and far away. I looked down to see a dark red, almost black substance bleeding into my shirt and jacket. I'd been shot. I'd actually been shot. Then the burning began, and I realised I had to get out of there. I couldn't afford to be shot again. It would kill me, no doubt. I tried to stumble away but my vision was growing diluted with black and blue and red splotches so I couldn't see a thing. I fell to the ground, gasping for breath, feeling as if I was underwater. But not the calm, beautiful kind of water. The kind that no man can ever venture into and make it out alive. The powerful, evil kind that drags innocent sailors down to perish in its frozen depths without an ounce of guilt.
Martin bent down so he was right close to my ear. I felt his breath hot and sticky on my neck.
"I have known people who radiate vulnerability," he whispered, voice husky. "Their facial expressions say 'I am afraid of you'. These people invite abuse. By expecting to be hurt, do they subtly encourage it?"
And then I was gone. Just like that. I realised, too late, that some people in the world are plain, pure evil. And there is no one to blame but them; the ones who carry out tragedies without a hint of remorse. He didn't know me. Some things we have no control over. But we can change the future for the better and prevent more evil people from living out their sick fantasies. Do whatever you can to do just that. Spread love wherever you go. Love is always stronger than hate.
A u t h o r ' s n o t e
Hey, sorry for the terrible ending. You probably hate me for it, but in all honesty, as much as I love this book, I've kind of grown out of my 'the rain' obsession as of now.
I just quickly wanted to take a moment, too, to acknowledge the mosque shootings that happened last Friday in Christchurch. My thoughts are with the families of the 49 victims. My friends' little brother was among those tragically killed in the attack as well as another boy from my school, so this hits very close to home for me. It was a disgusting terrorist act fueled by hate, and I feel deeply for the Muslim community and those directly impacted by the events, and I hope we can prevent things like this happening in the future.
Thanks so much to everyone for your support for this book and I hope you enjoyed reading it <3
