I was putting my clothes in the wardrobe of our hotel room and thinking. Four days after I burnt my father’s house, we had passed half of our way to Florida. Yeah, I was serious about going on a vacation there. I hadn’t visited the coast for years, I only went there once with my mom and her “new family”. I didn’t know much about them, I just knew that she married a guy, whose name, as far as I remembered, was James and he worked in a gallery. I had a half-sister and two baby brothers, who I barely knew, but they seemed adorable as fuck the last time I saw them.

I wondered if I should drop by to say hi, and, in fact, goodbye to them. I hadn’t talked to mom for about a year, but she kept sending me cards and letters for Christmas and my birthdays. I would never forgive her for leaving me alone with dad, but after all, she was my mother, I couldn’t simply not love her. Even though I probably wouldn’t admit it if someone asks me, I actually missed her a lot, and I regretted for not getting to know my younger siblings better.

I smiled a bit as I thought of her. Yeah, it would be nice to see her for one last time, before I… erm, you know. Before I go.

I was just closing the wardrobe door, when suddenly I felt something cold wet my shirt, as someone splashed water on me. I gasped and, jumping back, startled, I let out a high squeal, which didn’t quite suit a grown up man like me.

“What the fuck?!”, I exclaimed and turned to see Vic standing at the door and laughing like an idiot. “What the hell, Vic?!”

He pulled the trigger of the plastic blue water gun he was holding once more, but this time I jumped aside and he missed.

“I swear, if you shoot me one more time I’m gonna kick your ass.”, I threatened, then tilted head curiously. “Where did you get that thing from?”

He came in and stood in front of me, leaning his back against the wall, his fingers playing with the toy.

“I don’t know, man, I found it down in the lobby. I guess some kid lost it.”, he shrugged, still grinning. “It’s fun, though.”

“Yeah, because you’re not the one being shot at.”, I rolled eyes. “So you stole some kid’s gun? Well, Vic, well fucking done, stealing from the weaker ones.” I applauded him sarcastically.

“I didn’t steal it.”, he objected, while making up a convincing excuse. “I just… Let’s say I just found it and didn’t return it to its previous owner. They had really lost the gun in question, I just made sure they lose it permanently.”

I shook my head, letting the grin show on my face.

“You’re a shameless thief, Victor Fuentes.”, I chuckled and took a step closer to him, poking him in the chest. “Admit it.”

“I’m not- Well, okay, okay, maybe I am, sometimes, in my free time.”, Vic gave up. “And don’t poke me, Kellin. I’m armed.”

“Pooooooke.”, despite what he had just said, I repeated my action, giggling a bit.

“I said don’t mess with me, bitch, I warned you!”, he laughed softly and tried to push me away.

I poked him once more and that got me another splash, this time in the face.

“Goddamit, Vic!”, I gasped, stepping back and letting him go. I wiped the water off of my eyes and looked down at my soaked suit. “That’s it. That’s it, now I’m gonna kill you.”

“…Uh-oh.”, he pulled a fake horrified face. “Let me guess. I’m screwed.”

“You can’t even imagine how much.”, I winked at him.

“Oh, damn, well, I’m so sorry then.”, Vic sighed and gave me a guilty look. “Would you accept my apologies? I promise, I won’t do it ever again.”

“Nope, apology not accepted.”, I frowned. “You’ll have to make it up to me, Fuentes.”

“And how could I make it up to you, Bostwick?”, he chuckled, mimicking my tone.

“Hmm, let me think… Get me a new suit for example? Since you ruined this one…”

“Oh, come on, you don’t give a shit about the suit.” Another grin stretched on his face. “We both perfectly know what else you want.”

“Really? Then tell me, what do I want, smartass?”, I crossed arms.

“This.”, he simply said, then pulled me back to him and kissed me.

I chuckled softly as he did that. Yeah, he was right. That was exactly what I wanted. I closed my eyes and kissed him back, soft and slow, holding my breath for a second. After awhile he pulled back a bit.

“Am I forgiven yet?”, he murmured with a small smile.

“Nope.”, I grinned.

“Well shit. Seems I have to do a bit more than that, hmm?”, he raised an eyebrow, smiling playfully.

“No, that’s not what I meant-”, I started, but I couldn’t finish, because he pressed his lips against mine again, this time more violently, burring his hand into my hair and pulling it back roughly, slightly hurting my scalp and sending a small shiver down my body. We turned around, so now I was the one with his back against the wall, as Vic pinned me to it and kept kissing me.

Just as suddenly as he had started, he broke the kiss and I found myself blinded by another spray from his stupid water gun.

“Distract the enemy to hit his weak spot!”, Vic waved his gun in front of my face enthusiastically, and then, realizing he’s totally fucked, he turned and ran out of the room before I catch him.

“You son of a bitch, get back here!”, I yelled after him through laughter. “You’re such a baby, you know that?”

“Not necessarily! I could be a reaaaally childish adult, who knows!”, I heard his voice from outside. I just shook head, still laughing, and ran after him.

“Come back here, you coward!”, I called out as I rushed into the living room. We had taken one of the luxury expensive apartments again, so we also had a small kitchen, another bedroom (not that we were going to need it, considering we shared one) and, of course, a bathroom. Now Vic found himself in the opposite end of the living room and realized that the closest door was the one we had both just ran out of. He hesitated for a moment, then shot at me again, causing me to duck, and tried to quickly run round me. I was faster, though, I grabbed him and we both clumsily fell down on the floor.

“Get off of me!”, Vic tried to escape my grip, but he was giggling too hard to struggle.

“No fucking way! That was nasty, Vic, you deserve my revenge!”, I chuckled as well, holding him tightly, and started tickling him. “Reveeeeeenge!”

“Leave me alone, you crazy bastard!”

We rolled over and he finally managed to pin my wrists to the ground so I couldn’t torture him anymore.

“Gotcha.”, he said with a silly grin.

“I noticed.”, I weakly shrugged and helplessly looked at him. “Now let me go, please?”

“I might…”, Victor half-agreed. “Are we in peace for now?”

“Yup, I guess, for now.”

“Alright, then I will.”

His grasp around my wrists loosened and he set me free, then he lied next to me on the floor. I shifted closer to him and wrapped an arm around him, trying to ignore the pain in my stomach muscles, caused by all the laughter. He giggled softly and snuggled next to me.

Suddenly he spoke up. “…Oh, God. Do you realize what day it is today?”

“Um… no? Is that a misleading question?”, I blinked.

“No, stupid.” He ruffled my hair. “I was asking, because I just realized. Exactly a month ago we… well, you know. Got together, if I could say that.”

“Oh, cool.” I smiled a little, then added in a deep voice: “And I swear, in this moment we all died, drowned in sentimentality.”

“Shut uuuup. We should celebrate it.”

“Right.”, my grin returned. “I suggest we start with the minibar.”

Vic rolled his eyes.

“By ‘celebrate it’ I meant really celebrate it. You know, going out for dinner in a fancy restaurant, maybe going to a bar after that…”

“But not a karaoke club?”, I supposed.

“Definitely not a karaoke club.”, he nodded. “But still, fun stuff like that. We could also go to the cinema or something. Shame on you, you only think of alcohol, and sex.”

“That’s not true!”, I sat up, making a scandalized face. “I think about other things, too! I think a lot about… about… you, for example!”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. Alcohol and sex.”, he grinned, teasing me.

“Fuck you, Vic, that’s bullshit!”, I lightly punched him in the shoulder.

“Oww. You see? That’s my point. There’s no need for violence, though.”, he pouted, rubbing the spot where I had hit him, then laughed. “No, I was kidding, I was just teasing you. You’re so fun to tease, Kells.”

“If you say so, maybe.”, I shrugged once more, then leant down, over him. “It’s not fun to me, though.”

“You’re just saying that, but you don’t meaaaan iiiiit.”, he gave me a challenging look.

“Oh, but I do.”, I leaned even closer, now my nose almost touching his.

“But you don’t. I know you love it when I piss you off.”

“But I dooooo. If you don’t shut up,” I added warningly, “I’m might bite you.”

“No, you won’t, you love me too much.”, Vic winked at me.

“…Well, fair enough.”, I agreed, then leant down and kissed him.

Wow, those were a lot of kisses for just a few minutes. See what I mean? Sentimentality.

When I finally pulled back, I murmured:

“…And I still think we should start with the minibar.”

“Damn stubborn.”, Vic let out an exaggerated sigh. “Okay, then. I’ll go check what we have and get some drinks. What would you like? Beer?”

“I don’t know.”, I shrugged. “I’ll decide.”

“Alrighty.”

He gently pushed me away from him, got up and walked away. I sat up to watch him as he opened the minibar and started exploring its content.

“…Huh.”, he spoke after a moment.

I tilted head, curious to know what’s wrong.

“What is it?”, I asked.

“It’s empty.”, Victor announced.

“What?”, I stood up as well and quickly walked to make sure by myself. “Why?”

“How the fuck am I supposed to know?!”, Vic shot a glare at me.

“There’s some mistake, I suppose. I’ll go ask downstairs, at the reception.”, I decided. “Be right back.”

“Mkay, I’ll wait for you here.”

“Oh, and almost forgot.”, I suddenly raised a finger on my way to the door, then leaned down and picked up the water gun. “I’m confiscating this, in case you’re planning to do something nasty like waiting for me behind the door and attacking me from the back.”

Vic blinked innocently.

“What made you think I’d do such a hooooorible thing?”

I looked into his wide honest eyes to notice the playful little sparks in them. Oh yes, he was totally going to do it. I giggled at his expression.

“I just know your evil criminal mind well enough, Vic.”, I stuck my tongue out at him. “A’right, be right back.”

“Awesome. I’ll be just here, waiting, I mean, what else could I do?”, he shrugged quickly a few times.

I raised an eyebrow.

“I ain’t buying that, Victor Fuentes, you’re plotting something, I know it.”

“Mm, maybe I am, we’ll see. Now go get us something to drink, quickly. I demand!”

“Who are you to tell me what to do?!”

“Um, I think you already know that? I’m Vic. Oh my God, don’t tell me you have amnesia!”, he grinned ironically.

Here he goes again. Teasing me.

“Smartass.”

I shot him with the water gun, chuckling, and then left the room.

Maybe if I stayed… Oh, how better it would be if I stayed.

* * *

“Vic? Open the goddamn door, my hands are full, I can’t do it by myself!”

I sighed as I didn’t get a reply.

“Vic!”

I waited for a minute outside, but nothing happened. Then I remembered what day it was today and realized he was probably planning some kind of a surprise for me. Maybe he had bought me something and he had emptied the minibar only to get me out of the apartment while he’s getting ready? This thought made me smile. That was so him, that foolish motherfucker.

I held one of the bottles between my arm and my body and pressed the doorknob with my now free hand, preparing myself for looking shocked, as if I never suspected he’d try to surprise me.

No one was waiting for me in the small entrance hall.

“Vic?”, I called out again and peeked in the living room. I didn’t see him there, so I walked to the table and left the bottles on it. “Where the fuck have you gone?”

Oh, hide and seek, hm? Maybe that was a part of the surprise. I grinned. I found this whole thing really cute, no one had ever done stuff like that for me. How could Vic possibly be that sweet?

I went back to the hall and headed to my bedroom, where I expected to find him.

“Hellooooo?”

I pushed the door open.

Vic was just stuffing something in the small suitcase he had bought for himself a week ago. He looked up at me and his look startled me a bit – his eyes were open wide in something like… what was that? Fear? Surprise? Panic?

I moved my look from him to the suitcase and then back to him. He was packing his things.

“What are you doing?”, I asked hesitantly.

What was that all about? Was it a part of his plan? Was it some kind of a trick? Was he pretending? I knew he was a good actor…

But as our eyes met I knew he wasn’t kidding.

“…Leaving.”, he replied slowly.

I blinked.

“Leaving…? Where?”, I repeated.

“Not where.”, he shook head. “Who.”

“What?”

No, no, there was something wrong with this… I had no idea what was going on…

“Who are you leaving, Vic?”, I managed to ask.

“You.”

I froze. No, that couldn’t be real… There was something with his expression, too. It didn’t look… right. He looked truly frightened, but I couldn’t tell what the thing that scared him was. Was it me…?

“W-why…?”, I stuttered.

Suddenly he put his hand in the suitcase and before I could react, he pulled out a gun. A gun. A gun.

A fucking gun.

And he pointed it at me.

“Remember Steve Brit, the murderer?” A slight smirk appeared on his face.

No. Was he hinting that he… That he was… No. No. No.

No…

No, this couldn’t be. This couldn’t be true. But then again, here he was, smirking with a gun pointed at my head.

“What about him, Vic…?”, I tried again.

“Well. Let’s say he’s returned.”, Victor shrugged slightly. “Surprised already? Oh, Kells, Kells, you’re so cute when you’re shocked.”

My mind was a complete chaos, trying to take in the new information and think it over. Vic… was Steve… but was he…?

“Vic, what are you trying to say?”

“I’m not trying.”, he rolled eyes. “I said it. Well, almost.”

“Even if you are Brit…”, I started slowly, “then why didn’t you wait until the end, until I die? Why reveal yourself and leave me? That makes no sense at all.”

“I never planned to reveal myself, my dear, I was just going to get out of here while you’re down at the reception. You see…”, he made a small step towards me. My eyes quickly scanned the room for any possible ways out, in case I need to run. In the meantime, he continued: “You see, you’re very sweet and all, but you’re not exactly helping me do my job anymore. You’re slowing me down, honey, sorry. For awhile you were a good distraction for the police and I used this situation to cover my tracks. But it’s over.”

My anger was quickly replacing my confusion.

“So that’s what I was for you?”, I spat out. “A good distraction for the police?!”

“Yeah. I wish I could say otherwise, but that’s pretty much it. I’m sorry, Kellin.”

I stared at him while I was going through the realization. Everything was a lie. He never loved me. He just used me to “cover his tracks”.

He took advantage of me.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to scream or cry.

“And you feel absolutely nothing about me?”, I asked again.

“Of course. Already told you.” His face twisted in a weird grimace I couldn’t quite read, and he made a small pause. After a second a grin stretched on his face. “I can’t deny one thing, though…You’re fucking amazing in bed.”

He said the last sentence in a strange way, as if he was struggling to say the words. It felt like a cold shower, I knew that murderer or not, Vic would never talk to me like that. Even though it seems I had been living in a lie the last two months, I was sure I knew him well enough, I knew the way he talks, the way he moves, the faces he pulls… This wasn’t him. This was someone, who was pulling his strings.

I know I might be reckless sometimes and most of the time I act before I think, but I’m not stupid. I could sense there was something off. It all looked so fake, like a… like a… well, like a setup.

I moved my eyes across the room once more, this time more carefully, trying not to be guided by emotions. I had to think, think, Kellin! First I observed Victor, or, as it seemed, Steve, carefully. Now he was watching me, still grinning, obviously expecting me to react to his words somehow. My look moved down his body and stopped at his wrist to notice a fresh new bruise. I hadn’t hurt him while we struggled on the floor earlier, I was sure. He could have hit his arm somewhere, though, yes, but the reason could also be someone trying to make him drop a weapon… I explored the surrounding furniture and obviously he hadn’t moved anything except for the suitcase and his clothes, which were now inside. The wardrobe was closed, in contrast with the bathroom door, which was wide open, but from where I was standing I couldn’t look in.

“Well.”, Vic let out a fake disappointed sigh. “I’m sorry, Kell, babe, but I have to go now. Bye-bye.”

I froze. The way he put an accent on “bye-bye” let me know it’s a code word. Our code word for “mayday, I’m in trouble”. It could be a simple goodbye, though, maybe it was only my imagination that made it sound like a code, but as my eyes met Vic’s, I knew he meant it. He was in some deep shit, and, therefore, so was I.

I couldn’t help but feel relieved he probably wasn’t a serial killer after all. I decided to keep an eye on him and stay on guard, though, in case I was wrong and he really intended to attack me.

Damn, I just couldn’t be sure, how could I be sure…? How?

Don’t trust anybody.

“…No.”, I said after a short moment of hesitation.

“Excuse me?”, Vic raised an eyebrow.

“I said no. You’re not going anywhere.”

I took a step towards him. I wasn’t sure what I was doing, I was just going to improvise, I guess, but I had to somehow get to a weapon without getting any of us hurt. And if we were both in danger, I intended to defend Vic.

“What? No, stay back, don’t come any closer!”, he ordered.

“Or what, you’re gonna shoot me?”, I raised eyebrows. “Wow, Vic, look how we suddenly switched places, hm? Only a month and a half ago I was the one who was holding the gun at you. Interesting how things change…”

I came a little closer. I saw my bag left next to my bed. If I could reach it, I could get my gun and…

“I don’t want you to die, Kellin, so please, please stay right where you are.” Now in his voice I caught a glimpse of… what was that? Desperation?

It was just a few feet away, just a few feet… If I took a few more steps ahead I could reach and grab it, and then it all would be easy…

I kept approaching slowly, cautiously watching him. His tone escalated, becoming louder with every next word.

“…I told you to stay back, Kellin, please, go back… please, Kellin, don’t… Please… KELLIN!”

He jumped at me and before I could react he grabbed me and threw me on the ground, as a bullet flew right above our heads and stuck into the wall behind me. Vic pressed me to the ground with his shaking hands, keeping himself down as well, and whispered to me quickly:

“He said he was going to kill you, I’m sorry, Kellin, I’m so sorry, now he’s going to kill both of us…”

“What…”, I started, but he interrupted me.

“Get your gun!”

“I will, but-”

”Get your gun, goddammit!”

“How about yours? You’re armed!”

“It’s a plastic gun, for God’s sakes, the one you bought for me when we robbed that pastry shop! We need a real one!”

“Okay, okay! But first…”

I grabbed him by the arm and without getting up from the floor I dragged him behind the bed, where the bullets wouldn’t reach us. I looked up at the bag – it was too far for me to just reach out and grab it, I had to get up and crawl to it, which would be risky. Surprisingly no other gunshots followed for now. Whoever made this sick joke with us was just playing with us, waiting to see our next move.

Instead of going for the bag I took Vic by the shoulders and lightly shook him.

“Who is it?”, I hissed. “Is it Brit? What does he want?”

“I d-d-don’t know, h-he just…” A tear slipped down Victor’s horrified face. He was speaking rapidly, little drops of sweat appearing on his forehead and above his upper lip. “H-he made me say all those horrible things, he said that if I don’t tell you that, he’d kill you, and then you came, and h-he hid in the bathroom and stayed there with his gun at you, and I just couldn’t warn you, damn, Kellin, I’m so, so, so sorry…”

“Shh, it’s okay, baby, it’s okay, we’re gonna make it out of this shit, we always do. We’re the Bonnie and Clyde of our century, we can’t let some stupid murderer get us, right?” I tried to sound convinced, but my voice trembled, giving out my fear. I was terrified. Yeah, we made it through all those dangerous situations, but we never had to deal with other criminals, especially professional killers. The guy knew what he was doing. Besides, from what I had seen in the news, he was psychopathic. He wouldn’t just kill us. He’d torture us. Instead of saying my thoughts out loud, though, I just repeated: “Right?”

Vic nodded. “R-right…” He hesitated. “Look, Kellin, before we do anything, I must tell you something important, something I want you to know. I…”

“Shh.”, I gently pressed my finger to his lips. “Save it for later, when we’re safe.”

“But I what if some of us…”, he tried to object.

“…dies?”, I finished instead of him. “Bullshit, no one’s gonna die today, none of us two, at least. Now I’m going to get my fucking gun and save our asses. You stay here.”

I was about to crawl away, when he suddenly gripped my sleeve to stop me.

“Kellin?”

“Yeah?”, I looked at him.

He pulled me down and kissed me.

“…Be careful.”, Vic whispered and let me go.

I swear, if I wasn’t so full of adrenalin, I’d cry.

I peeked from behind the bed. The coast seemed clear. Wonderful. Trying not to expose my whole body at risk to get shot, I reached to the bag, but it was a bit too far. Shit, I needed to try a little harder, obviously. I bit my lower lip, sweating from the effort, and after a few moments my fingers wrapped around the shoulder-strap. I let out a small relieved sigh and pulled the bag closer so I could put my hand inside and get to the gun…

…Which wasn’t there.

“Looking for this?”, a calm, almost sleepy voice murmured above me.

I looked up and my eyes slightly crossed as I found myself with a gun stuck in my face.

“…Steve Brit, I suppose.”, I said as steadily as I could. “And yup, that’s exactly what I was looking for, thanks for being so kind and giving it back.”

“Hah. Smartass. I like smartasses, they’re just so fun.”

I observed him carefully. He was taller than me, with long ginger hair and a round-ish face. He had this “I could care less about you” kinda attitude, he just calmly stared down at me with this little smirk on his lips, his hazel eyes watching me curiously.

“Well, well. We have a situation here, don’t we?”, he continued. “This could be interesting. The… how did they call you… Bonnie and Clyde of our century. The dangerous criminals. Seems you’re not so scary at all once someone gets you unprepared, hm?”

“What do you want?”, I asked, trying not to let my anger towards him show.

“I’ve never done it before, y’know.”, Brit ignored me, making a slow circle around me, his gun still pointing at my head. “That’s new. Killing a colleague. I usually wouldn’t do it, I respect people, who are as good in the job as me. But, you know, for safety’s sake I’ll have to. By the way, it was fun watching your shocked face when you thought your cute boyfriend is me.” As he said that he mimicked a fake surprised expression. “It was totally worth watching, too bad you couldn’t see yourself.”

My look slipped across the floor, as I was looking for an improvised weapon or a way to disarm Brit. I didn’t find anything. I kept a knife in my bag as well, but the murderer was standing between me and it. There was no way to get it without receiving a bullet in my brain.

“And now to answer your question. What do I want? I want you two. Dead. As I said, nothing personal, I’m doin’ it for my own safety… Nuh-uh, darlin’, don’t try that!”

The last was directed at Vic, who was trying to sneak around him. He knew about the knife in the bag too and he had tried to get it.

“I really wish you didn’t do that, Victor.”, Steve shook head, kicking the bag aside, too far for both of us to reach it, then he kicked Vic in the stomach.

My boyfriend curled up on the ground, in pain, mumbling curses quietly. Another, harder kick sent him unconscious.

“Vic!”

And that was it. I snapped. Seeing Vic hurt just made me freak out.

“You sick fuck!”, I yelled, pissed off, and, as I was still on the ground, I used Steve’s distraction to grab his ankle, pull it closer and bite it hard.

The killer screamed sharply, kicking me in the face to get me off of him. I gasped and let him go, falling down on my back. That was a mistake. I should’ve pulled him down and punched him instead of biting him, that would save me so much trouble, but it was too late. I had accidentally screwed up even more. Before I could strike again, Steve Brit got down and sat on top of me, pinning me to the ground and not letting me move.

“Get off of me!”, I struggled.

“I was really considering to just shoot you, you know.”, he admitted. “Now though, now you’ve pissed me off. You’re gonna go through the full procedure.”

“The full procedure…?”, I furrowed eyebrows.

He put the gun aside and pulled out a knife, and then I understood. I remembered the news report I had heard awhile ago. “The victims have been killed with a knife, the act itself consisting in cutting their eyes out, craving a smile into the skin of their faces and slitting their throats – Brit’s trademark.”

He was going to do this now. To me.

I closed my eyes as the blade slid across my skin, the cold surface making me shudder.

“I noticed you called me ’sick fuck’ earlier. Actually, friends go with ‘Jesse’.”, Brit spoke softly.

“I thought your name is Steve.”, I reminded him, trying to ignore the fact that a knife was tracing my jawline at the moment.

“One of the many, yup. I could be Steve Brit, Clark Elington, Bobby Reginald Banks, Ronald Parker, Jesse Lawson… Let’s play a game, shall we? Try to guess which one is my real one.”

“Hmm… Is it Rumpelstiltskin?”

“Being a smartass again, aren’t we.”, he laughed. “Such fun we’re gonna have together… Kellin Quinn…”

I felt the edge of the knife lightly cut through my cheek. I gasped. The cut was small and not that deep, but that was just the beginning. Brit pressed the knife harder, making me bleed, and drew it down my face. I tried not to cry out from pain, I really tried, but after a moment I gave up and screamed softly.

I was going to die. And who knows what he would do to Vic once I was gone…

Brit stopped cutting me, to take a look at his “masterpiece”. Even though it hurt like a bitch, I could feel the wound wasn’t really big. That only meant that the “fun” was just starting… I kept my eyes closed, trying not to think of my father, trying not to remember him and make a connection between him and Steve Brit, and the situation I was in at the moment…

Suddenly a loud crash sounded and something wet and sticky splashed on my face. I gasped, startled, and my eyes flickered open. This was a mistake, though, because the nasty liquid entered them, blurring my vision. The man sitting on top of me seemed heavier and in a second he fell over me, his body pressing me to the ground.

“What the fuck?!”, I tried to murmur, but it seemed that no sound escaped my lips. “Hey, what are you doing?! Brit!”

My mind, clouded by confusion and pain, was racing, trying to figure out what happened. What was that noise? Why couldn’t I speak? Was I mute? What the hell happened? I tried to push Steve Brit off of me and as I lifted him a bit I saw that a big part of his head was missing. Then I realized… The sticky thing on my face was blood. His blood. He was dead. Because, well, yeah, no one could survive with such a huge hole in their skull.

Disgusted by the realization that there was a dead body lying on me, I finally found the strength to kick the corpse off, but I remained on the ground, my whole body trembling. I wiped the blood and brains off of my face, and then, when my vision finally cleared, I saw Vic standing a few feet away from me, his shaking hands still holding my gun. He stared at the man he had just killed for a few moments, then his grip around the weapon loosened and it fell on the ground.

After a moment of silence, Victor turned to me and said something… at least I thought he said something, because I saw his lips move. Oh. So that was it, I wasn’t mute, I had just temporarily gone deaf from the loud gunshot. I managed to sit up, shook head and pointed at my ears, to show him I can’t hear him.

“I’m sorry.”, I whispered.

Understanding my hint, he just sighed and reached out a hand, offering me to help me stand up. I thankfully took it and stumbled to my feet, the sounds slowly returning to my world.

“…Are you okay?”, I heard Vic say, even though a bit muffled.

I smiled, happy to hear his voice again, and nodded.

“I think so… Well, my cheek hurts like hell, but I’ll be fine.”, I shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “How about you, you okay?”

“I don’t know… I mean…”, he laughed nervously. “I just killed a man…”

“A very bad man.”, I noted. “So it’s okay. We need to get out of here, though, before someone calls the police. I bet they’ve already done it, they surely heard the gunshots.”

“Definitely…” He frowned.

Although we knew we have to hurry, we stood there for a few more minutes, just staring down at the dead murderer and holding hands, shocked by what had just happened, but happy we both survived. I probably needed to see the doctor for that cut, still, but otherwise we were both okay. Vic was alright. That’s what was important for me.

“Well,” I glanced at him. “That was one hell of a celebration, wasn’t it.”

“Oh, yeah.”, he chuckled weakly. “Now I suggest moving our party somewhere else, hm? My things are already packed, we just need to get your stuff, and the alcohol.”

“Oh yes, the alcohol. I’d need a lot of that shit.”, I sighed.

“Me too, yeah…”

“But first things first. We have fingerprints to clean, and we must be quick, before the cops come.”

“I’ll do it. In the meantime you find the bullet and take it, we don’t want them to track us by it.”, Vic headed to the kitchen, to get some clean cloths.

“Yeah, good idea.”, I nodded. “Oh, and Vic?”

He stopped at the door.

“Yeah?”

My lips desperately wanted to say ”I love you”, but I wasn’t going to let them. Not now. Now wasn’t the right moment.

“…Thank you.”, I smiled.

“You’re welcome… And thank you, too.”

Vic smiled back a little and then disappeared inside the kitchen, leaving me alone with the corpse. Not what I’d call a good company.

But honestly, I preferred him dead. Steve was indeed an annoying son of a bitch.

END OF CHAPTER 22.

Notes

That took a lot of work and a lot of feels to write.

...Don't say I didn't warn you about shocking moments!

And yeah, I made Jesse a villain.... Sorrynotsorry~ XD I just felt the need to get him in the story.

Feel free to leave comments and all! :3