Strength |✔️

twenty-seven

Alisha

My eyes widen as Neil's lifeless body plops to the ground, and his eyes fill with pain, and he scrunches them up together, letting a tear roll down his cheek. The man I am in love with, the man I shared endless memories with, laughed with, cried with, talked with, kissed with... he might leave me from this world. Just like my mom left me.

He can't die yet, though. There's no way he can. The bullet hit near where his heart was, but not directly at it. Neil cries softly into the ground, clenching his chest and looking at his hands, which is covered in blood.

Without thinking, I run up to Neil and hug his chest, hug him, hug everything of him. I cry desperately into his shoulder, mumble words I don't even know what the hell I am saying, and I just hug him tightly, not wanting to let go.

My hands are covering in Neil's blood, Neil's dark red blood. I look at him and he smiles solemnly, smiles with pain. "I'm sorry I got you into this mess," I sob out. Tears violently stream down my face onto his neck, since my face is directly on top of his. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I am so sorry, Neil."

He also lets a tear come from his eyes, and he rubs my cheek with his hand. "I love you, Alisha," he says softly. That may be his last words. His eyes close slowly, and he takes a breath. No. No. No!

I sob even more to the point where I run out of breaths and I am wheezing for air. Neil was the only person that made me feel alive, the only person that made me feel whole, the only person that made me feel... me. His soft lips against mine... his hands running along my body... his laugh.... his smile... his eyes... his hair... him. It's all gone. He's gone.

"Neil, please, stay longer." I shake his shoulder. "Neil, Neil, Neil!" I scream. I scream even louder, not letting anything or anyone get in my way. Moments later, the door opens.

Neil's mom, dad, and Monika walks in the room, looking confused at first. But when they see Neil's bloody and helpless body on the floor... Neil's mom screams and Monika sobs, clenching her dress to her mouth. "Neil!" His dad screams. He pushes me away and hugs Neil, grabbing his lifeless body. I start to get up, leaving them space, but then Neil's dad eyes me and runs up to me and grabs my hair. "You," he snarls. "Did you do this to my son?!" He yelps. I cry even more. "No, I didn't, uncle," I sob out. "I-I"-

His dad looks at me with pure hatred. "I knew that you wouldn't be any good to him. Neil deserves much better. He is so much more hard-working than you. You are a piece of garbage compared to Neil," he spits out. As his words leave from his mouth, my heart starts to sink. I get this dreading feeling that he may be right, though. I am nothing compared to Neil. I just get him to dangerous situations and destroy his future, his life... Neil had a whole future laid out in front of him. I don't. And I ruined it for him and his family.

My breath catches in my throat and Neil's dad releases me. I take a deep breath. Monika shakily calls 911. As we wait for the ambulance and doctors to come and Neil's family tries to reassure Neil, I just stand there helplessly. Then I think, to be honest, I wasn't the one who shot him. I didn't know this was going to happen.

But he caused this. James caused this. I completely forgot that he was involved in this situation, that he was ever here. I was too busy blaming myself for Neil, but James caused this. I quickly turn my head to where James was, and I see him there, clutching the gun and looking at us judgmentally. He didn't have the same face of regret he had when he killed mom; his face is different this time. He looks as if he's proud of what he's done, and he deserves all the positive energy in the world. But he doesn't. All James deserves is pure hatred and disgust towards him. He shot my boyfriend, and he's going to pay for it.

When James notices me death glaring him, he immediately grabs his gun and makes a run out the door. I realized that Neil's family hadn't noticed that James was there the whole time; they saw me and immediately started to blame it on me.