Leilani.

All my desperate attempts to get Keisha to drop her gun proved futile as instead of lowering it, she aimed it higher, so high that now, if she decides to pull the trigger then the bullet would be embedded into the spot between my eyes and nowhere else.

I trembled but did so hard to hide my fear.

So do you know what I did instead?

I balled my hands into fists... so tight and so hard that my nails dug deep into my palms until it drew blood.

My heart raced as I watched her watch me keenly, and after a moment of hesitation, she finally hissed;

"Do you have any last words?"

I shook my head quickly. "I don’t," but just as the words slipped out of my mouth, I immediately took it back and murmured. "I do. I do..." I stuttered, "no one deserves this. Not me, not them."

And by ’them,’ I meant the boys.

"They do actually," she said with a grimace, "and that is why I intend to let them watch you die."

I froze and once again, my heart dropped.

"Why?"

"Because that’s enough punishment for them. I want the guilt to eat deep into them. I want them to live forever with this scar... and I want them to continue to live the rest of their miserable lives knowing that they could do nothing to save you when you needed it the most despite how hard they tried to protect you."

My eyes filled with tears as I heard her ramble on and on about how agonizing she wanted my death, but at the moment, I could hardly listen to the rest of her words.

I couldn’t think, couldn’t function.

Why?

Because I was afraid.

I think the word: ’petrified’ is more like it.

For a very brief moment, I let my eyes dart over to the boys and when I looked back at her, she was already watching me, an evil smile tugging at her face as she slowly began to pull the trigger.

I couldn’t help it. I whispered; "Keisha please..."

But she wouldn’t respond. She wouldn’t even look at me.

"Please do not do this," I tried again, "please, I beg of you. Do not hurt me or them and I promise to let all of this go."

It is supposed to be embarrassing that I have now resorted to begging right? Especially since she was the last person I should give that kind of satisfaction, right?

RIGHT?

But no, it wasn’t. Or maybe it was but I just didn’t care at the moment.

Especially when literal lives were in danger.

And most especially when she was aiming for my forehead and not at any other parts of my body.

Her eyes followed my line of sight and as if seeing through my made up indifferent facade to the panic now rising inside of me, she smiled. "It contains silver bullets." She said softly, making my heart race. "It’ll kill you for real this time. You wouldn’t even be in pain for long. Small mercies."

But do you know what her information only did to me?

No... yes?

It made me panic even more.

I know I am supposed to brace myself for the impact upon hearing that, but who the fuck braces for the impact of a bullet at a time like this?

Who the hell would be ready and willing to die especially in the hands of a maniac such as Keisha?

My tongue darted out to lick my suddenly dry lips and I lowered my head, squeezing my eyes close as I whispered; "I hope it makes you feel good."

"Oh it would!" She sneered sarcastically. "The idea of you being gone from the world I live in fills me with so much ecstasy, I could literally drown in an orgasm right now!"

Her words made no sense to me and irked me, but pushing all of that ill feelings to the side, I balled my hands into tight fists one more time and closed my eyes.

"Goodbye Leilani." She said, and then... she pulled the trigger.

BOOM!

Goddess the sound of the gun going off was the last thing I heard before my world tilted and spun. The pain of my body hitting the floor with a loud thud was all I felt until searing hot pain shot through my back and midriff.

My head hit the floor so hard I feared I would have a concussion.

But wait, what would a concussion do to me if I was already dead?

What difference would it make?

Hell, why am I not dead yet? Or is it that I do not feel it yet?

My eyes shot open as soon as that thought came through my mind, and goddess when my eyes peeled open moments later and I was met with white ceilings and a deafening silence, I thought for a moment that this was the afterlife.

Girl, it had to be.

And that thought in itself made my heart race.

My hands shot out to my chest and when I felt my heartbeat, I froze.

"My heart is still beating... it shouldn’t have done that if I was dead. Or should it?" I mused, but was however snapped out of this haze when I heard the sound of something heavy clattering to the floor.

In surprise, I immediately turned to check out what it was only to find out that it was Keisha’s gun.

Did she follow me into the afterlife? I thought, but shaking off that thought, I let my eyes slowly rake over it then to the figure standing in front of the gun.

It was Keisha and she looked so appalled and frightened, it was strange.

What the fuck is happening?

What exactly in hell happened?

Why’s there a continuous ringing in my ears, and most of all, why am I not dead?

Again, I was snapped out of my thoughts, not by any sounds this time, but by the distinct metallic smell of fresh blood wafting into my nostrils and when I smelled it, I immediately turned to my side where it seemed as if it was more concentrated.

Ladies and gentlemen, to my utter horror, the source was a lifeless looking body which had blood pooling underneath it.

I froze.

My heart literally stopped beating.

...and then...when the realization finally dawned on me, a loud scream tore out from the back of my throat.