Stupid

chapter 23

23.    Love bleeds red.

“Bravo! Bravo! Let’s gather our things and run far, far away from dear old dad. That’s what you were going to do? Wasn’t it? You would rather turn your back on your only father, to save that dim-witted whore. Oh I’d like to say I am surprised but you have always been a softy” He still smiled at me, trying to tease me.

Marcus got up and stood his ground, “She didn’t have to be a part of this Dad. You know that. But you insisted on bringing her into this”

Miguel raised a hand as if to silence him, “She kept getting in the way my dear boy”

I got up and stood behind Marcus, my hands started to tremble and I wrapped my arms around myself. Marcus put his hand behind my back and I held onto it, he rubbed my hand with his thumb to caress it.

“Dad please Bo can pay the money, she doesn’t need to die” I could sense how scared Marcus was, and his father could sense it too.

“Now you’re getting in the way, there’s always that one person that interferes…” Miguel raised his hand and clicked his fingers, and the rest of his gang walked into the room from where they had been hiding, there had to be at least fifteen men standing in a circle around Marcus and me.

“Kill her now or I kill you both, you’re lucky I’m giving you another chance” Miguel snarled and his smile dropped.

Marcus stood his ground, “I’m not going to kill her!”

The room was filled with psychotic laughter. Miguel’s smile returned as if that was the answer he wanted to hear, “That’s fine by me”

Marcus pulled me close to him, “Stay near me” I nodded and put my hand on his bare shoulder, he still had no shirt on and I was worried Miguel or one of the other gang members would use this to their advantage. Miguel signalled to the people behind me and they ran forward, one grabbed me from behind the knees and shifted forward, trying to put me on the ground, Marcus turned around and smacked him across the face. The man stumbled back and another wrapped his arms around my neck, I tried to dig my elbow into his nose but he dodged it. I reached my arms behind his back and grabbed the back collar of his shirt; I bent forward and flipped him over my back. I brought my knee forward and hit him in the back of the head, his body went limp and he lied flat on his face. I turned to look at Marcus and he was wrestling with a man who had a long tribal tattoo on his arm, Marcus wrapped his leg around his neck and snapped his spine. My knees felt weak, I had never seen someone die before. I pulled my gaze away from the dead man's body and tried to stand my ground. I heard a gunshot and I dived behind the lounge, my ears ringing from the gun fire. Another gun shot was fired and a scream filled the room, “Nobody fucking move!”

I peeked out from behind the lounge, everyone had stopped fighting. Bo was standing at the front door holding a pistol, he held it steadily outwards, pointing it right at Marcus.

“Bo don’t! He’s on our side!” I stood up from behind the lounge and started walking towards him slowly. The gun didn’t waver.

“Bo please” I stood a few metres away from him, Bo started lowering his gun when another shot was fired, blood pumped out of Bo’s stomach and he crumpled to the floor. He grimaced in pain as he lied in a pool of his own blood. Miguel had shot Bo.

“No!” I screamed insanely, running up to him and dropping next to his body, “Bo don’t leave me!” I moved him onto his back and his eyes rolled into the back of his head as his eyelashes flickered. I pressed both of my hands on his wound and applied pressure. My own tears dropping onto my hands and his torso. I could hear laughter from behind me. I turned to look at Miguel, tears running down to my chin. He smiled at me, that menacing smile of his. He had his gun pointed straight at me; I stared down the barrel of the gun, waiting for him to pull the trigger. All I could see was the gun pointed at me and Bo’s body on the floor; I couldn’t hear anything or see anything else. The world around me had gone black. It felt as if time had slowed down, and I grabbed onto Bo’s limp hand. Something shifted to my left, and Marcus wrapped his arms around his father’s head, the gun lifting up from my direction, everything slowly went back to normal and I realised I had just had and adrenalin rush. Miguel scoffed as Marcus laid punches into him. Bodies lie dead on the floor, I realised Bo must have shot them; the remaining gang members watched Marcus and his father attack each other. Miguel drove his fist into Marcus’s nose and blood dripped out of his nostrils onto his lips. Marcus staggered back a little but then drove his shoulder into Miguel’s and pinned him against the wall. Miguel kicked him in the thigh and punched his chin. Marcus gritted his teeth and sent some kicks of his own flying into the side of Miguel’s knee. Miguel grimaced in pain and Marcus grabbed his father’s hand, which was still holding onto the gun with his finger on the trigger.

He forced Miguel’s arm up and pointed the gun straight at his head, Marcus’s hand wrapped around Miguel’s, “This is for torturing her, and everything else you’ve done. You insane prick”

Marcus applied pressure to Miguel’s finger, making him pull the trigger. The bullet was close on impact, making Miguel’s head split and his brains stained the wall behind him. Blood splattered onto Marcus’s face and chest, and he let his father’s body drop lifelessly to the floor. I looked back down at Bo, he can’t be dead, he can’t leave me after all of this. I put my hand up to his neck and felt for a pulse, something weak and slow throbbed on my fingers and I knew he was alive but only barely. Police sirens sung loudly in streets not too far from my house, the neighbours must have heard the gunfire and called the cops. I looked over at Marcus to see him watching me, the rest of the gang members kept their heads to the floor; they knew this was the end for them. Marcus walked over to me and crouched next to Bo, he held my hands and pressed them onto Bo’s wound; he pressed down gently and didn’t say anything. Everyone in the room remained silent and waited for the police to arrive.