Temptation

69 - Madden

A photo is being taken of me when a random woman from behind me shouts, "Look out!" I look past the photographer and see Josephine standing inches away from Hero, in rag clothes looking as if she just got off a bender with a gun in hand, pointed directly at the man who stares at me without knowing what is happening around him. I scream his name and lift my dress to race over to him. Hero turns to face Josephine, lifting his hands up to her trying to stop her from a mistake she is about to make. Running down the steps and in heels makes it hard for me to reach him and before I can, Josephine has pulled the trigger and a bullet lodges into Hero's side. "HERO!" I scream out his name and watch as he falls to the ground, blood flowing onto his clothes and spreading on the carpet. I take Hero in my arms, holding his head in one hand and putting pressure on his wound to stop the blood. I'm shouting at anyone and everyone to call an ambulance, Josephine has run away but my only concern is Hero. Tears flood my eyes, my white dress is now red. Sophie Turner comes running to my side, Tom Holland sits with Hero, taking his suit jacket off and pressing it on the wound above my own hand. Joe Jonas is on the phone with the police and celebrities around us are forcing the cameras to be turned off. For some reason, they thought it was a good idea to continue filming this moment.

"Stay awake," I lightly tap Hero's cheek to keep his eyes open. He is barely conscious; he must be in shock because he clearly isn't feeling pain, but he is groggy in telling me that he loves me. "Baby, you're so beautiful. I you're your face." He sounds like he just smoked a large blunt, "You have pretty eyes and I love your teeth." The paramedics show up and take over from Tom and I. Tom is wearing Hero's blood like I am, both of us pale in the face. I watch the paramedics do their job and without a thought, turn my face away from them and throw up on the ground. Sophie pats my back, then takes me in her arms. She's awfully nice for a woman I just met, although Hero has known her a very long time. Hero is bandaged and they've got him in the gurney, wheeling him to the ambulance. Sophie, Joe and Tom follow me as I follow Hero to the ambulance. "You can't ride with us." The man driving the truck says to me and Joe speaks up for me, "She's his fiancé, what do you mean she can't?" The paramedic explains very quickly that there is not enough room and continues to tell us they are taking him to Miami hospital. Tom and Joe run to get any limo while Sophie waits with me. I watch as the ambulance drives away with my Hero, and the tears that I kept in this entire time finally fall from my face. I look down at my hands and my dress, and Hero's blood is all over me. I start to panic and I'm heaving for air but there is none. Sophie takes me by my shoulders to stop me because I'm having a breakdown in front of hundreds of people and half of them are paparazzi. "The boys are here, let's go." We both quickly jump in the limo and beg the driver to speed over to the hospital. The entire drive to the hospital, I can feel my heart pounding against my chest and the lump in my throat is growing larger with each second.

* * *

I've been waiting in the hospital's V.I.P waiting room for hours, still in my bloody clothes accompanied by Joe, Sophie and Tom. Nick Jonas was kind enough to bring clothes for Sophie and Nick, Tom had his bodyguard bring him clothes and I've called Mara who's in LA, now trying to rush a flight to Miami. Joe has been nice enough to offer to go to our hotel to get me my clothes, "Just any leggings you find and you'll see one of Hero's t-shirts on the ground..." Sophie forces Joe to go alone so that she can make sure I am supported. Joe takes the limo we basically stole to get here and returns within an hour, just in time for Hero's surgeon to come up and update us. "He's stable now. We managed to stop the bleeding, but you should know we lost him and had to shock his heart to restart it." I cover my mouth and bite down on the inside of my cheek, "We need to get the bullet out so it does not cause infection so it will take a few more hours. I've asked a nurse to show you to a shower so you can clean yourself off." The doctor is clearly talking to me now, as I'm standing her with my boyfriend's blood stained on me. I tell the doctor not to worry about me and to focus on Hero but because we are V.I.P, he needs to do both. The surgeon walks back through the doors and disappears. Minutes later a nurse comes, showing us to the room where Hero will be after surgery, inside a bathroom with a shower.

I take the clothes from Joe and lock the bathroom door behind me. I place my hands on the sink, leaning over it and staring in the mirror at all the blood on my hands and face; my dress ruined with blood stains and stains of this horrible memory. In the shower, I scrub aggressively to get the dried blood off my skin and cry my eyes out, silently so the others can't hear me. When I get out of the shower and throw on Hero's t-shirt, I smell the shaving cream and vanilla; praying that I do not have to forget this smell.

Together, we wait a few more hours until Joe and Sophie decide to leave. "Call me with anything," she says to me while hugging me. Joe gives me a hug as well and reminds me to call if I need anything. Tom decides to stay to keep me company and before long, the doctors are wheeling Hero into the room. There are tubs down his throat helping him breath just until he wakes up and the doctor is positive that he will make a slow but full recovery. Seeing him this way breaks my heart. Tom Holland, an actor and appears to be a good friend of Hero, sits with me taking my hand in his, as I wail over the torso of my boyfriend. I rest my head on his chest while I stand and eventually get tired of standing so Tom slides the couch closer to the bed so I can sit and still remain close to him. I take Hero's hand in mine, while Tom continues to provide me comfort with his warm hand holding my other one. The two of us sit and wait all night, eventually falling asleep on the small couch.