~+ Clean +~ •Lovertation•

~+ Chapter 15 +~

"Mhm. Sure. Please eat, my love," I said, softening my tone a bit and lifting my head off her shoulder to look into her eyes.

"I... Rep, I can't," she mumbled, fidgeting with a pink jeweled ring she had gotten earlier.

"Yes, you can, sweet girl. I'm right here, you're fine," I attempted to sooth, whirling the plastic fork with season chicken on the prongs in front of her face.

"Rep..." she attempted one more time, looking at me with a pleading expression, her tooth sinking into her lip.

Jesus Christ. How did I let her get so bad?

"Lover, I promise you this'll help," I muttered, trying to keep the conversation quiet in case anyone else was listening. The mall was nearly full, after all.

She took a shaky deep breath, staring at the food and leaning forward, taking the bite and chewing it begrudgingly. I noticed that the second she swallowed, her hand shot to her collarbone, her fingers feeling along the bone of it.

"Hey, what are you doing? Baby, C'mon," I sighed, gently pulling her hand away and intertwining our fingers instead.

"Sorry," the girl muttered, and I could hear her voice crack. I shook my head, replying and pressing a kiss to the spot she was just checking.

"Keep trying, please," I said with a half-smile, which came out slightly sad and shaky.

The girl sighed, eating slowly, clearly trying to put it off as much as possible. Once she was done, she pushed the plate away, tucking her head in the crook of my neck. I brought my hand up, gently running my fingers through her hair and kissing the side of her head.

"You're gonna be okay. I promise," I cooed, pulling her face out of my shoulder and cupping her cheeks, looking into her bright blue eyes.

"You promise?" She repeated, a little smile finally gracing her features, my expression quickly mirroring it.

"Yeah. Of course, i—" I started, getting cut off as a loud boom echoed the mall. My hands dropped from her face, both of our head snapping to wherever the sound came from.

Another boom, getting closer. A gunshot. Followed by screams. Lover and I gasped, and I finally caught look of a man in a black outfit, his face covered by a ski mask, and police pushing past the mall entrance.

"Oh, shit!" I exclaimed, tugging Lover along to hide in one of the stores, followed by a few other people, the bullets lining the walls behind and between us before we heard the gun clatter to the floor and a grunt, making us assume that the man had been caught.

I glanced up, keeping Lover low. The guy was on the ground, knocked out, two police officers on top of him and putting his hands into cuffs. I let out a sigh of relief, glancing at Lover.

My brows furrowed when her head dropped into my shoulder, most of her weight lying on me.

"Lover?" I asked, picking her up and carrying her out of the dark into some light in the middle of the store.

"Reppy, I don't feel so good," she murmured, and that's when I noticed the red spot growing on her chest.

My eyes widened with a gasp. "Lover, oh shit, oh shit. Hey, hey, listen to me, you're gonna be okay," I scrambled, pressing my hands onto the wound.

"It's okay," she muttered. "Don't be scared, I'm okay," she chuckled, which ended up causing her to cough.

"Yeah, you're gonna be okay, Lover, you're gonna be okay, stay with me. Don't you fucking dare close your eyes," I said shakily, tears springing to my eyes.