Breakfast on Tuesday

24. Brave girl

"What did you do? Oh my god! Eduardo. Eduardo!" I ripped myself out of Dante's hold and ran toward the bed, toward Eduardo's lifeless body.

I seemed to be moving in slow motion, my arms and legs feeling like they weighed a ton. Pushing through the lethargic hold on me, I propelled my body forward and sank onto the bed next to Eduardo just as several gunshots rang out at close quarters and a dozen bullets flew by my ear and above my head.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I covered Eduardo's body with mine. He didn't move, didn't make a sound, and already his hard body felt cold and listless to the touch.

Oh dear God, please spare him and I promise to mind my business from now on.

The bullets were coming from outside after all, through the now shattered window and I could feel the heat sparking from them as they pierced the cold air and whizzed by my head.

A heavy body landed on top of mine, causing a large amount of air to oust from my laboring lungs.

"Carla," Dante shouted near my ear. "Get down. Now!"

His large hands dragged me off Eduardo's body and to the floor, the bed frame and mattress acting as a protective barrier.

I could feel his worried eyes on me, but I couldn't bear to look at him. I blinked slowly and stared down at the blood on my hand from where I had touched Eduardo's head.

Somewhere across the room, I heard Madeleine and Annabella sobbing but I couldn't see them. I spotted Eli groaning in pain nearby, holding onto his arm as he rolled on the floor with his eyes closed.

"Eli," I cried and tried to crawl my way to him.

I didn't get far because Dante grabbed me and wrapped his arms around my body, pressing my stomach into the carpet on the hardwood floor.

My body shook as more bullets battered the walls and furniture around the room, creating giant craters in the cushion of the reading chair and ripping chunks of wood from the wooden desk next to it.

If Eduardo wasn't dead before, he certainly was now.

And soon the rest of us would be too if they - whoever they were - kept this up.

Suddenly, Dante's weight vanished from above me, and his strong hands wrapped around my legs like a vice before dragging me toward the open door like I was a ragdoll. His strength was no match for mine and there was nothing I could do to stop him.

Once we were camped outside of the room, Dante sat me against a wall away from the constant stream of bullets. I turned around in his arms, clutching his shirt tightly. "E-Eduardo... We need to help him."

"He's dead, cariño."

A loud sob wracked my body. "No."

He looked at me sternly and then grabbed my chin until I met his unwavering hazel stare where a sandstorm was quietly brewing. "I'm sorry about your friend but my sister and your other friends need our help. I won't let you die but I need you to be brave right now. Can you do that for me?"

Bullets rained down in the room again and I placed my fist in my mouth to stop from screaming when the music playing in the room stopped and I heard a loud yelp come from Annabella. Eli and Madeleine were too quiet for my liking.

Dead bodies do not speak.

Oh please, God, let them be okay!

A fresh wave of silent tears ran down my face like rain during a funeral. It had rained during my father's funeral and that kind of rain was the worst kind of rain. It was as if the heavens and the angels in them were crying for the loss of a spectacular soul, an angel in his own rights.