Charlie did not as much as blink as she held the gun steady with both hands. Sam, however, seemed like he was in shock. His gaze darted back and forth between Charlie and Noah, as if he didn't know which person to find more threatening. Mira wasn't sure either. Noah's grip on her had tightened and Mira felt like she had to say something, anything. But she couldn't. She had never been in the little middle a confrontation involving guns and she wasn't sure if saying the wrong thing would set someone off.
"You want to put the gun down," Noah said. If Mira had been less familiar with him, she may have thought his tone was casual. But she could sense the way his intonation had changed and his voice had deepened. She felt the rumbling of his chest as she spoke, his words were laced with force that caused them to reverberate throughout the small, dark room.
Charlie's expression stayed the same, but Mira noticed that the gun in her hands was quivering slightly. "You might want to put my friend down," she countered.
"Why doesn't everyone put everything down?" Sam asked, his voice breaking. Neither Charlie nor Noah looked at him. Sam fished through his pocket for a moment and pulled out a miniature pocket knife before placing it slowly on the floor. He then saw that Charlie or Noah hadn't followed in his footsteps and he picked it back up. "We don't need to make this any worse, let's be smart about this."
"If you shoot me, I will kill you," Noah promised. Mira felt the room's temperature drop as he spoke. "It's not worth being a martyr over something that's not your business. Mira can tell you all about that."
Behind the fear, Mira felt her irritation rise. How dare he threaten her friend and then talk about her like she served as a warning sign to others. "Put me down," she said. She didn't care how dizzy she still felt, she didn't want to depend on him for anything now. He glanced down at her finally, as if remembering she was still there. He seemed to think it over for a bit, then he carefully lowered her so that she could stand. He handled her with a gentleness that countered his tone. "I'm down now," she told Charlie, reaching a hand to her slowly. "Let's just go."
"She wants her soul back, too," Charlie said, staring directly past Mira.
Noah flashed his teeth. He look like a predator now, calculating and challenging. "Or I could kill you now. I don't need more trouble." He took a step forward and Charlie's hand began trembling.
"I don't want to do this," she told him. Noah stepped again and Mira tried to shove him to no avail.
Mira felt her pulse speed. "Noah, stop."
"Go ahead," he said with a smile. He took another step. "See what—." Charlie's gun went off. Mira's heart stopped, her blood turned cold.
It was her imagination, she told herself. Or this was a dream. This all was a dream. The last few weeks had been a dream, too. All she had to do was convince herself and she would wake up.
Noah's knees hit the floor. The sound made her breath quiver. His expression morphed into one of pain and Mira felt as if she could feel his agony herself. As if she too had been shot. She distantly heard Sam shouting, but his words might as well have been gibberish. She moved towards Noah and she tried to lace together a string of words to explain what was going on to herself, but she couldn't.
He was lying on the floor now and she moved his head onto her lap. She stroked his hair back from his face and he looked at her. It felt strangely natural for her to hold him like this, as if they weren't on opposing ends and he wasn't bleeding. Something warm in his gaze mingled with the pain. She didn't know what it was, but his eyes were beautiful. He was beautiful.
"I couldn't let him come at me," Charlie's whispering cut through Mira's stream of consciousness. "He was going to hurt us."
Mira's hand trembled, but she stroked it through his hair again because it seemed to soothe him. He was going to die, she realized. Charlie had shot him in the chest and Mira couldn't bring herself to look at it, but she could feel his blood soak her dress.
"He was going to hurt us," Charlie said again.
Noah's eyes closed. Mira's mouth felt dry. She didn't want this. She never would have wanted this.
"Is he dead?" Sam asked. "Oh God, is he dead?" Yes, he was. But Mira couldn't speak. "We need to leave, now. Or should we stay? People had to have heard the shot. But it was self-defense, we can't get in trouble for that."
Mira's eyes were blurry and her cheeks were wet. She noticed passively that she had begun to cry. Strange, she thought, she wasn't sure when it had started. She felt like she wasn't connected to her body at this point, like she was a camera in a movie, passively observing what was in front of her. She was still running her fingers gently through his hair. She was in shock, she knew she was. But just knowing that did nothing.
Noah's eyes fluttered. Mira's breath halted in her chest. She must have imagined it.
"I had to do it," Charlie said again, trying to convince herself.
His chest rose, and then fell. Mira's hand drifted to his throat, she felt for his pulse. Her hand had his blood on it. She remembered him having made fun of her for not having been able to find Sam's pulse when he had been the one passed out on the floor with his head in her lap. She had googled how to properly do it after, just in case. She found the correct point now and she could feel it, a light thumping which grew stronger with every passing second.
"He's alive." Her voice sounded distant to her own ears. It was laced with deep relief and she realized that she was grateful because he was alive. But, as soon as that thought occurred to her, she knew was also terrified because he had to be indestructible. He was breathing again now, his chest rising and falling like he was in a state of deep sleep.
"He can't possibly be," Charlie said. There was hope in her voice. She hadn't wanted to kill someone, that much was clear. Mira couldn't respond.
Noah's lips parted. His eyes fluttered again and then, slowly, they opened. He took Mira in first. He stared at her curiously, as if he was unsure why she was crying. He blinked several times, and then his eyes moved slowly over her face, taking her in. She moved her hand from his head and he glanced down at his chest. He wasn't bleeding anymore, but his shirt was still soaked. Despite the blood, there was no sign of a wound anywhere on him. Remembrance and deep aggravation clouded his expression. Mira felt herself return to reality at the same time.
"Don't hurt her," Mira told him. He brought himself to his feet and Mira stood quickly, blocking Charlie's body with her own. Noah looked at her incredulously. "She was just protecting herself." Charlie finally had the good sense to start shaking. The gun clattered as she dropped it to the floor.
"I've had it with the bullshit, Mira." He moved closer to her, so close that she could feel his breath on her face. His hands were clenched by his sides.
Mira could feel her own rage boiling within her. She had recovered from her shock and fear and now there was only contempt for what he had made her friend do and for how he had frightened her so much when she thought he was dead. "If you touch one of my friends, I'll be the one to shoot you next." Their intimacy was gone. The moment they shared when he had died in her arms meant nothing now. He had risen from the dead in moments and Charlie certainly didn't have that ability. Noah registered the sincerity behind her warning. It seemed to piss him off even more.
"Get out of my way," he told her. There was another clicking sound. Sam held the gun at Noah now, but Noah didn't bother to regard him the way he had Charlie—he must have known that Sam couldn't actually shoot him. Mira realized then that she had seen that pain in his eyes after he had been shot, but there had been no fear there. There had been nothing to indicate that he was actually afraid for his life, only that the experience was an unpleasant one. "She barely even has a soul," Noah seethed. "She's hardly someone worth protecting." He was angry, but he also seemed to be genuinely perplexed. His eyes moved to Sam, then back to her, as if he was remembering that she had been willing to sacrifice herself for him, too.
Mira wondered if he was planning to hurt her as well. If she didn't move, would he just kill her to get to Charlie? She couldn't help but remember the uncharacteristic tenderness he used when carrying her, or the fondness for her that was reflected in his gaze even now.
"I don't even have a soul anymore," Mira told him, making her voice strong. "And she was willing to sacrifice for me."
He dismissed her comment and looked at Sam, who still had Charlie's gun aimed at Noah. "You know, Mira would have sold her soul for nothing if you make me kill you now." His tone dripped condescension and Mira felt so angry with herself for her engagement with him, for having practically led him to her friends. He acted as if this was all some game and their lives meant nothing.
Mira's stomach twisted and she pushed past the feeling to quickly grab the gun from Sam's unsteady grasp. She raised it to Noah's chest. His eyes moved back to hers. He smiled slowly.
"And where's my threat?" She asked. He was silent.
Charlie touched her shoulder. "Mira, don't."
Noah looked right through Mira's pretense of bravery and stared boldly into the anger and resentment she was finding hard to conceal. He looked like he was proud of her.
"So, we can't kill you. You like deals, right?" Mira asked.
"Stop." It was Sam telling her now.
Noah's head tilted slightly, curious. "I'm not sure what else you have to offer me, darling."
Mira wasn't fooled. "I think you want a lot from me."
He chuckled. "Then make me an offer. And I suggest you hurry because the police are likely nearby."
Mira felt as if she and Noah were the only ones in the room. "A kiss," she said evenly. "For their protection." She hoped that he wouldn't inquire more about it. If he agreed now, then kissing his cheek or hand wouldn't break the contract.
Based on his wry expression, he knew what she was attempting to get away with. "No one has ever harmed me and lived to talk about it," he said. He moved towards her and her grip on Charlie's gun tightened. "And I don't much like the idea of you kissing me just to save your friends, although I have my doubts about that serving as your only motivation." He stepped closer to her again and, despite feeling his body heat from their distance, she shivered. He took a final step so that the barrel of the gun pressed against his blood-stained shirt. If he wanted to, he could grab the gun from her, but he didn't. Sam said something else but neither of them seemed to hear him. Mira wondered if Noah was going to kiss her and how she would react if he did. She recalled the first time they kissed, if one could call it a kiss. She had felt like she lost herself in him, and that despite everything she had hungered for more. "When I touch you," he whispered, bending his head so that his lips were near her ear. "It's going to be because you ask me to." He pulled back from her and she felt freezing without his nearness. "And your friends are right. You should stop trying to make deals—I know a lot of people who wouldn't find your attempt to negotiate as charming as I do."
"I still won't let you hurt them." Her voice sounded foreign to her own ears.
Noah nodded. "How about, for the sake of affection, I give you a thirty-second head start?" Mira wondered whether he was referring to her affection for her friends, or his affection for her. "And you might want to take the back exit to avoid any police."
She shook her head. "That's not enough—."
"Thirty," he began. She stared, shocked. "Twenty-nine."
Sam lifted Mira over his shoulder and ran past Noah after Charlie, who had already taken off. Mira lifted her head to see Noah standing still, watching her. He had stopped counting.
Predictions? Hopes? Dreams? Let me know! Thanks to all my readers and especially those of you who comment and encourage me! Next chapter coming soon.