unconditional (BOOK #2) [TO BE PUBLISHED]

Chapter 89 - Gabriel POV

"It was fast Gabriel... they had to be waiting for us, everyone was near a pole... N-nona she was sitting in the corner, she went down first, scrambling on the floor, looking for the shooter, looking up. T – the music was really loud, we were dancing to a slower song because M-McKenna, she – she and Dana were still getting the hang of it. 'Pretty Wings' – that – that was playing first... the instructor started it over again. After the third time we started getting in a good flow, just laughing, having fun, joking – like always. And then – then there were shots but – but they weren't coming from the side, I thought they were but I saw Nona looking up – so I looked up too, I pushed Dana and she went down. They weren't aiming in one place," he closed his eyes, shaking his head at what he was remembering, opening them haunted and empty he held Chelsea's other hand, "they weren't coming from the side of us – we couldn't – I couldn't," I listened.

I couldn't do more.

I hated that shit.

I wasn't there.

We tried to mix her schedule as much as possible but nothing seemed out of place to any of them when they entered the studio. Even with his earlier words, I ask again, "Did it seem like they were taking more shots at Chelsea?" he wasn't in any kind of shock now, just dazed now, not like earlier.

He closed his eyes, olive skin sweating even though it wasn't hot in this room, quiet? Yes. Hot? No.

"No... the shots were in the front, hitting the front line... we couldn't see it, I couldn't. the music and the noise – not noise we didn't hear shots – just us screaming the missed shots hitting glass, it was going from side to side, everywhere at once-"

"Wait fast and over?"

"No – yes... it couldn't have ben more than a minute of shooting, but there were a lot of shots," he said the same thing already, Lukas confirming the story, that in the 45 seconds it took to enter the place, the shots had already started and stopped. It wasn't even the shots being fired that caught their attention, it was the screaming, the crashing and breaking of glass.

Fuckers used three-silenced Mini Uzi's. Left the guns at the scene before running but Jack managed to get that Dylan Ortiz fucker, but the guns – serial numbers gone.

Still I couldn't think straight not when we were hitting the seventh hour and Chelsea – her heart... nothing on her own since I woke up. Even Casey & Mikael – Jack who lost his mate was worried but went off to be alone, leaving Casey, Mikael and Jamie in the room with me at the time – were showing signs of worry that her heart hadn't started up. Her body not actively healing itself.

'THE SINS OF THE FATHER ARE THE SINS OF THE SON' I thought again.

Jack had removed the bullets, sewn her back up, Greta changed her clothes, took her out of the bloodied articles, fixed her up around all the wires and tubes, before I got to her but even then, she was – it was – the person wasn't my Chelsea.

Her face unrecognizable, but that wasn't what made me stand back for that quick second, it was how empty I felt stepping up to her. Now though, I held her hand, before for that short moment, I saw death, but it was gone quick because I knew that it was my girl there. I wanted, needed to have her in my arms, breathing or not, I wanted her in my arms. I couldn't do more though. Couldn't hold her to me or anything.

'This is worse than when Jason found her...' Casey had murmured.

I love her. I fucking love her. Someone hurt what I love. Drilled three holes, painted the silencers white to blend in, and waited for Chelsea and the rest to start, and shot into them blindly, not caring that different people were in the room. Two instructors. Dead. Human. Dana. Hit but alive. Barely. Still.