No Matter What

6

"I'll go check," I say, hesitant. "Be right back."

"I'll come with you," Childe says, placing me to the side and hopping off the bed. He seems far more eager than I am to see who's at my door.

He helps me up, and I lead the way down the stairs as the series of knocks grow louder. Whoever it is, they clearly aren't here for any good reason, which only makes it harder to imagine myself answering the door.

"Should we ignore it?" I whisper once we reach the bottom of the steps. I'm worried by their hostility. "What if they're here to rob me?"

"I got this," Childe says, and pushes past me. I watch as he approaches the front door, opening my mouth to say something in dispute, but it's too late. Childe throws the door open and freezes.

At the door stands a tall man covered in blood. He has two black eyes, and blood drips from his hair and down his face at an alarming rate. I gasp, hand clasping over my mouth as I jog closer to see if he needs help.

"T-Tart...taglia..." the man grunts. "You're..d-dead..."

Just as fast as my mouth opens to ask the man if he needs medical assistance, I stop cold in my tracks. My eyes fix on Childe, then the man. With whatever strength the man has left, he raises a knife, arm shaky as he jolts at Childe. Childe dodges the attack easily, but the man doesn't let up.

Despite his weakened state, the man is large and doesn't seem to want to let Childe get away from this alive. He grabs him by the robe, but Childe refuses to be naked in front of this man, so he yanks it back and kicks the guy in the stomach, tightening the robe as the man struggles back to his feet.

I don't know what to do. I should call the police, but I'm frozen in shock. There's a bloody fight going on in my living room amongst two blokes I don't truly know.

The man gets up and immediately throws his entire body weight at Childe, causing him to fall to the ground, banging his head against the floor in the process. Surely, he sees stars in that moment, because he doesn't get up right away. He lays there, eyes closed, and the man takes this opportunity to position his knife.

The man crawls on top of Childe as he's down, raising the knife in the air. His eyes are crazed and bloodshot, he looks like something straight from a horror film. I panic. This man is about to kill Childe right here in my living room.

I don't think he sees me standing here. He's so focused on Childe. I can't just stand here and let this man kill someone, especially not someone I've already grown so fond of already. But I can't fight with one bad arm. My eyes dart in every which direction, and by pure reflex, I grab the nearest item—a large, thick teal vase—and without a second thought, I charge the man and smash it mercilessly over his already bloody, bashed in skull.

This is the last blow he needs to lose that last bit of adrenaline that's causing him to stay above water. Immediately, the man loses consciousness and collapses to the floor.

I stand there, the end of a broken vase in my hand, staring wide-eyed at the now two men laying unconscious on my floor. I can't move, but I feel my heart pounding so hard against my chest, I think I may be the third man laying on my floor unconscious at any moment.

The vase drops from my hand, and the remaining piece shatters. I can't seem to close my mouth as I stare at the man's lifeless body. Then something clicks. Immediately, I rush to check his pulse. I check in multiple areas, desperate to feel something, anything... Nothing. Nothing moves beneath my two fingers. He's dead. There's a dead man laying on the floor in my house... And I killed him.

I think I'm gonna have a heart attack. I've seen thousands of dead bodies in my lifetime, but, none that I've ever killed myself. Had I not hit this man, he might have had a fighting chance of survival. Maybe he could have made it to the hospital and gotten help. But, what was I supposed to do? He came to my door in the middle of the night and started attacking my guest...

"Ch-Childe..?" I say softly, moving my attention to him when I hear him grunt. His eyes flutter open, and I let out the breath I was holding. He sits up slowly, until he can see the lifeless body of the man laying across from him. He seems to also let out his own sigh of relief, before his eyes dart to me, who clearly adorns a look of pure panic, breaths heavy.

"Hey," he says cautiously, putting a hand up. "It's okay... you did the right thing, I promise."

"Childe..." I croak, shaking my head. "Childe... I... I didn't..."

"It's okay," he says softly. "Don't worry. You did good. We have to... we have to clean this up."

I nearly collapse, hand on my heart. "Childe," I breathe. "Fuck. What's going on...please. He... he said your name. What's going on. Please... Who was that man? Please tell me..."

"It's okay," he says again. "I'll explain everything, I promise. But right now, we have to get rid of...this. You're a part of this now, and I'm sorry. I... thought he was... I didn't want to drag you into this, but now, I can't let you fall for this. Come on, please. I'll explain everything later, I swear. But we have to move. Now."
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TO BE CONTINUED