Double Edge | WATTYS 2023 SHORTLIST + AMBYS 2023 WINNER

Chapter 16

"Brenda..." Mark stood. His trembling hands clutched his gun. With the barrel against his temple, tears welled up in his eyes. He hissed. He stumbled. One of his legs knocked into his couch.

Having fallen, I looked behind me. I saw Maggie first. She sat on the floor with her legs folded under her. Tears streamed down her face as she cried, screaming endlessly.

Brenda lay in front of her. Blood spilled out of her stomach. When she coughed, it stained her lips. Droplets landed on her chin and her cheeks. Pain and regret closed around my neck and lungs, suffocating me, strangling me. I fucked up.

"No!" Struggling to turn over with the shooting pain in my arm, I crawled over to the two of them. Pressure filled my chest; my heart struggled. I couldn't breathe. I had to.

"Mommy!" Maggie screamed as she tugged at Brenda's arm. "Mommy, please! Please!"

Brenda's eyes fluttered open, focused on the ceiling. With my mechanical eye, I struggled to scan her. I couldn't power down now; not like before. Pain was nothing compared to this. I needed to see her.

"I. No. Shit. Fuck!" Mark panted. As I army-crawled forward, I glanced back at him. Sweat formed on his brow and dripped into his bloodshot eyes. Tears slid down his cheeks. He chewed on his lip as he paced like a terrified child who'd made the worst mistake. He did. He shot his girlfriend—my ex.

"Brenda." Once at her side, I touched her face and got her to look at me. Tears slid down her cheeks. I couldn't feel her under my fingertips; my arm was numb. Half of my body tingled. Was it the blood loss?

Maggie scooted close to me and tugged on my arm next. Her tear-filled eyes peered up at me as if she silently pleaded that I would save her mother. I wanted to. "Papi..." she whimpered.

"Gio." Brenda's hand shook as she touched my face. She gasped with each breath. Blood spilled onto her lips as she coughed. Tears burned in my eyes as I pressed my cheek into her palm. "Gio," she wheezed.

"Don't." I applied pressure to her gunshot wound. "Please, don't say anything."

"I wasn't supposed to shoot her!" Mark shouted from the corner of the living room." Fuck! This is your fault! Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

I ignored him and focused on Brenda's face. A salty tear slipped between my lips. "Brenda."

"Fuck this, shit!" Mark's feet echoed as he scurried around the room. His shadow bounced off of the walls.

"I need to... say something," Brenda croaked. "Gio, I—

"Don't." I pressed a finger to her lip. "Whatever it is, don't. I'm going to get help." As I stared at her pale face, I tapped into my systems. I struggled to pull up my call commands. It lifted before my eyes, letters appeared, and my contacts were selectable. As soon as I tried to find Kimi's contact, my system faded, shutting off like an old TV. She was losing blood, and I couldn't see how bad it was; I couldn't call anyone. I swallowed my tears. Watching someone you used to love die... I can't do it.

"Fuck!" Mark shouted. I finally glanced back and caught him as he pulled a bag out of a corner closet. Static filled the air. I felt it. He did, too. He cupped his hands over his ears, dropped the bag, and kicked it with one foot. It opened in front of him, but he left it there as he backpedaled. "I can't. I can't." He glanced at me as his red eye flickered. His cheeks were wet with tears.

Fuck. I looked back at Brenda. Her brown eyes peered into mine. Tears slid sideways down her cheeks. She sucked in a breath, hiccupping as blood came up again.

"Please." I pressed my hand harder against her stomach. "Stop trying to talk."

Maggie bawled. Her tiny hands pushed off of me and moved over to Brenda. She gripped her mother's bloodied shirt. She tugged, pulled; she pressed into the bleeding wound with me. Nothing we did; no amount of pressure could stop the bleeding.