(Sequel to Two Gangs and a Golden Girl)
***
"If you even think about touching me, I will literally rip off your arm," I growl when Xavier prowls closer. He doesn't stop. His poison green eyes drill into mine.
"I will have you, Marigold, and we will...
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I shoot Xavier.
I shoot him right by his shoulder. It's an inch away from his head, but it's just a graze. Luckily, it's enough to get him down while I let my bullets rip at the two attackers behind him. Southern scum fall to the ground before they can even pull their triggers.
"Good lord!" Xavier cries out as he kneels in front of the broken grand door.
Even when the two men are clearly dead, I'm still letting bullets fire. It's hypnotizing. Pretty even. I can't stop.
"Marigold..." Xavier says. I look down and he has crawled to my feet. I watch him stretch out a hand towards my wrist that's tied with the maroon piece of material.
Without even really thinking, I stop shooting.
"That's good, Marigold. You did it. You're in control," Xavier says and slowly starts getting up.
Xavier carefully removes the maroon material from my wrist and takes the machine gun away. Only when he bends and puts the weapon on the ground do I realize how heavy the thing was. I've trained with machine guns, but not any quite as heavy. Xavier straitens back up to look at me. All the while, I silently watch like I'm trying to piece a puzzle. For some explainable reason, Xavier looks proud. He looks so damn proud and for what?
"I shot you," I whisper.
"It's nothing," Xavier replies.
"I shot you," I repeat a little more clearly. "How are you still talking to me? I literally want to go die somewhere. I actually shot you... You're bleeding. What the hell is wrong with me?" I ask with tears threatening again.
I watch with frustration as blood trickles down Xavier's chest. It slides and slips over those battle scars. I wonder if my shot will add to his collection.
"I literally killed you a year ago. How are you not murdering me? " Xavier smiles in response.
The memory settles in and surprisingly, I actually chuckle. I'm actually freaking out about shooting someone that killed me a year ago. How things have changed, I muse.
