Second Chance Boyfriend

defiant.
    But I note the fear in her gaze, the way her lips tremble subtly. She’s scared as hell.
    So am I.
    “I should just shoot her now and put her out of my misery,” Adele mutters.
    “No!” I clamp my lips shut, pissed I yelled at her. I just showed my hand and hope like hell it didn’t register with Adele. “You’ll go to jail. Do you want that? To spend the rest of your life in prison?”
    Adele shrugs. “It doesn’t matter anymore. Nothing matters anymore.”
    “Shoot me, then,” I say, stepping in front of Fable. “If you’re going to do it, shoot me. You can’t blame Fable. She has nothing to do with any of this.”
    “She has everything to do with it. She stole you from me, Andrew. You were mine. You belonged to me. And then you left me. You found someone else. You bring her back home and flaunt her all over the place. She’s pretty and young and gets to be with you whenever she wants.” Adele aims the gun right at my chest. “I hate her!”
    “You hate me,” I remind her. “I’m the one who rejected you, who pushed you away. It’s my fault.”
    Fable presses her fingers against the middle of my back. That one little touch fuels me, makes me stronger. Clears my head and allows me to focus on what I need to do.
    Slowly, I reach out toward Adele. “Give me the gun.”
    She shakes her head furiously. “No.”
    “Give it to me.”
    “Fuck you.” She stretches out her arms, both hands gripping the gun tight, her index finger sneaking around the trigger. “Step out of the way, Andrew.”
    “No. Give. Me. The. Gun.”
    “Oh, God.” Adele’s voice cracks, her arms trembling, the gun wavering. “This isn’t going to work, Andrew. I can’t shoot you. I love you too much.”
    That’s what I hoped for, though I hate her choice of words. She doesn’t love me. She has some sort of weird obsession for me. “Then hand the gun over.”
    “I can’t. I have to do this.” She drops her arms, the gun hanging from her fingers at her side. “You give me no choice.”
    Fable presses closer to me, resting her head against my back. All I can think about is her safety. Forget me, forget Adele, forget everything and everyone else. I need Fable to be okay.
    “Give you no choice for what?” I ask Adele.
    “To do this. It’s all your fault, Andrew. Never forget that.” Adele places the barrel of the gun in her mouth.
    And pulls the trigger.
     
    Fable
     
    Drew turns into me, buries his head against my hair as he clutches me so tight, I can’t breathe. Seconds later, the sound of gunshot. It’s so loud my ears are ringing. I can’t hear a thing. All I feel is Drew wrapped tight around me, his chest heaving, his arms shaking as they hold me close.
    “Fuck me, she just shot herself,” I think I hear him say and I try to pull away from him.
    But he won’t let me go.
    People start coming out of their apartments, the sound of gunfire no doubt drawing their attention. The ringing in my ears slowly lessens. I hear gasps, one woman yelling to call the cops.
    Still Drew won’t let me go.
    “Don’t look,” he whispers close to my ear. “You don’t want to see her. Don’t look, Fable.”
    Worry clutches at my chest. Did he witness her do it? I don’t think so. He turned and grabbed me just before the gun went off. But I don’t know. God, I hope he didn’t see.
    I don’t think my Drew can take much more tragedy and sorrow. He’s already endured enough.
    Someone approaches us. I can hear their footsteps and I glance up, catch sight of a guy who looks around our age. “Are you all right?” he asks.
    Drew lifts his head and I glance up at him. I see the anguish, the sorrow etched all over his face. I also see tiny splatters of blood dotting his shoulders. Oh, God. “We’re okay. Did someone call an ambulance?”
    “Dude.” The man tips his head to look past us and immediately looks away. “There’s no need for an ambulance. There’s no saving her.”
    I tighten my grip around Drew’s waist. “Has someone called the police?”
    “Yeah, they should be on their way,” the man says, his face grim.
    As if on cue, I hear the sirens in the near distance, coming closer and closer. They’re going to want to talk to us. I so don’t want to deal. I need to drop off my apartment deposit today. I need to go to work. Normal, everyday stuff.
    But my life is far from normal. I could’ve been killed. I could be the one lying on the ground, blood pouring out of my body.
    Drew saved me.