This Rose Bleeds (boyxboy)

Chapter ~Thirty-Two~ FINAL

            And I totally lost it.

            “I’m sorry.” I cried as tears fell from my eyes, “This whole time, I just– I– I’m sorry.” I touched my forehead on his hand, wishing he could just read my mind and understand everything I was sorry for.

            I felt him tug his hand away and slowly my heart broke– until he raised it slightly and wiped and the tears on my cheek. “This is the first time I’ve seen you cry…I don’t like it.” He paused and frowned. “Did you and Marcus finish the project for Math?”

            …what?

            For some reason in that moment, I realized everything was going to be okay. I don’t know why, but that was the moment. I mean, heck! He was thinking about school! But a second later, as he continued saying random stuff, I realized his hands were shaking and he was trying desperately not to cry and lose himself in front of me. He was trying not to face what happened, but everything was coming back to him. And he just didn’t want to cry in front of me.

            “Nathan.” I said quietly. He stopped whispering to himself and looked at me, half afraid. “It’s okay.” His lips parted and I looked him in the eye, saying, “You don’t have to pretend.”

            After a quiet moment his lip trembled and he squeezed his eyes. He brought his other arm and draped it across his face as he clenched his jaw and tried to keep himself from sobbing. But I saw the first few tears fall down his face and onto his pillow.

            “Is it over?” He asked in a voice that shook so much I’m surprised he was able to speak at all.

            “Yeah…yeah. It’s over.” I smiled slightly. “You’re safe. It’s all over. Kristy shot him and–”

            “She what?!” He lifted his arm and looked at me in shock. Oh yeah, I wasn’t supposed to tell him that part.

            “Marcus got pulled over for his driving on the way to the house. So I ran the last part by myself. He was supposed to get the police, but instead Kristy got both the ambulance and police, and when they got there, she grabbed one of their guns and broke into the house without back up. She shot him right when he…yeah.”

            He looked at me with huge eyes. “You’ve got to be kidding m–…KRISTY!” He said loudly and instantly the door shot open and she burst in, pushing me aside rudely and launching herself at his neck where she strangled– I mean, hugged him. He winced and tried to sit up against the head board.

            “OH MY GOD, NATHAN!” I pulled her off of him as he tried to breathe and adjust himself.

            “Did you steel a gun from a cop and shoot him?!”

            “What else am I supposed to do?!”

            “I don’t know, wait for the police?”