Guns and Roses

Thirty Two ~ Rya

I rub my eyes as I settle myself against my fluffy pillows. Quinn yawns and stretches, his t-shirt riding up and showing off a strip of skin. I mentally curse myself and look away. It's just because Matthew broke up with me so recently. Nothing else.

"What time is it?" He asks but picks up his phone to check. "Three-seventeen. Lovely"

I watch as his thumbs dance across the screen. He's probably replying to Ellie since they've been texting non-stop since we sat down to study.

I put down my pencil "I think one of the local gangs attacked Eden" I say and watch as his fingers stop typing. "Matthew was using the shop as a pick up point and I think that they thought we owned the shop. Once I narrow down who could have done it, I'll be closer to finding out what happened to your Grandfather"

And closer to Quinn leaving.

I've enjoyed having him around. Now with Matthew gone too, its going to be hard being alone. It's not like Kira and Reggie are going to want to hang about with me without Quinn there as a buffer.

He puts his phone and looks up at me expectantly. "How long do you think?"

I go to answer him but I'm cut off abruptly by a loud bang down the hall. It was a gun shot.

I jump off of the bed and race out into the hall. "Who the fuck just did that?" I shout. No one answers me and I look down the hall to see Alexander's door swinging slightly. He should be asleep at this time.

I walk down the hall slowly and sigh. Luckily I wasn't asleep because if someone was to wake me up like that, someone was going to die.

I grab the door handle with the intention of closing it when I hear a wheezing sound coming from in the room. "Alexander?" I say quietly. If he's still asleep, I don't want to wake him up. "Everything ok?"

I look around the dark room and wait for my eyes to adjust. The first thing I make out is the growing dark stain on the white carpet by the foot of the bed.

I flick the lights on quickly and then I see it. Alexander sitting with his back against the foot of his bed. He's clutching at the centre of his abdomen and red blood covers his bare chest.

I run over to him and drop to my knees. The tattoos that cover his skin are coated in thick red blood as it runs down his chin from his mouth. He wheezes painfully and starts to cough up more blood that splatters onto the carpet.

I grab his hands and push my own hands down on the gunshot wound. It must have punctured a lung, that would explain the blood coming from his mouth.

A harsh sob rips from my chest as I see the tears on his cheeks. I've never seen Alexander cry. "Its going to be okay" I sob.

"Oh my god" Quinn says from behind me "I'll get someome" I hear his footsteps pound down the hall and I focus completely on trying to keep the blood inside Alexander's body.

His breaths start to become ragged and I know that I'm losing him. "No" I say shaking my head "You can't leave me now. Please Alexander. I need you. I love you"

A smile appears on his face and his hand rests on mine. "I love you too Rya"

The hand slips from mine as his body goes limp. I stare at the smeared bloody hand print on my arm, at the blood covering my bare legs and grey top. At the person I loved most's dead body lying in front of me.

"Please" I beg "Please wake up" I start to shake his body, holding his shoulders and then and I cup his cheek. "You have to wake up"

"Oh my God!" Someone screams in Russian. "Alexander!" Lisa drops to the ground beside me and howls. My hands shake as I wipe the tears from his cheeks. I get to my feet and step backwards away from the scene.

I have to get out of here but my feet won't move any further. I can't keep looking at him but my head wont move and my eyes wont close. My lungs don't work.

My body starts to ache from every muscle being so tense but I can't relax, I can't focus on anything other than the blood.

My knees give in and I fall back, hitting my spine off of the wall and sliding to the ground. A spike of pain travels through my body from my ribs but I barely notice it. My legs have started working again and are kicking furiously at the ground until I back myself into the corner of the room.

From here, everything is obscured apart from his feet and the pool of blood. I can still see Lisa and hear her howling in grief.

Artie appears in the doorway and I watch as his face goes blank as he stares at his dead brother. Slowly and gently, he pulls his mother to her feet and pulls her into his chest.

I don't know what's happening to me. I'm crying so hard I can't breathe and everything hurts but I feel numb.

Alexander's dead.

Quinn's face appears in front of mine and he takes my hands in his. "Rya, look at me" I can't. My eyes keep drifting over his shoulder to the red puddle that has now stopped growing. "You're having a panic attack. I've got you. Nothing can hurt you"

I gasp in air trying to get oxygen back into my lungs but the painful sobs wracking my body seem determined to stop that happening. He looks over his shoulder to see what I'm staring at and then pulls my head to his shoulder so that I can't see it even if I wanted to.

Lisa has stopped wailing. Either that or Artie has taken her out of the room. The silence makes me more aware of my own sobbing.

"I can't be here" I tell him quietly. If anyone sees me like this, it'll be the end of everything.

He nods and pulls me up. "Dont look" he tells me and when I can't resist the urge he pulls my head back to his shoulder and guides me out of the room, down the hall and into my own bedroom.

He leaves me and goes into the bathroom. I hear the shower turn on and then he appears back. "Go and get cleaned up. Ok?"

I nod and walk over to the bathroom like I'm in a trance. I wrap my arms around myself and try to smother the cries that I can't stop making.

I meet my eyes in the reflection and I see the blood coating my skin. My thighs and knees are streaked in red and my top is ruined. There's some on my face and I'm not sure how it got there.

My bottom lip starts to tremble and my knees shake. I just want to lie down and pretend like this is all a bad dream. I catch myself on the sink and steady myself. I just need a second.

The door opens and I see Quinn standing behind me in the reflection. "Help me" I say pitifully.

He nods and then comes closer. He helps me to take off my vest and then steadies me as I step out of my shorts.

I stand there in my underwear and he guides me into the shower. I stand under the spray and watch as the blood runs down the drain. "He's gone" I say. My voice shakes with every syllable.

Arms catch me as I drop to the ground, my body completely giving up on me. Quinn places me gently on the shower floor and sits beside me even though his clothes are being soaked through.

We sit there in utter silence and I rest my head on his shoulder. His fingers entwine with mine and we stay like that until the water goes cold. Until I run out of tears and exhaustion takes over.

I manage to get out of the shower, dry myself and pull on a clean pair of pyjamas before meeting Quinn back in my room. I sit down on my bed and he goes to leave. "Don't leave" I say barely loud enough to hear myself. "Please" and I hate myself for being so weak.