A Little Death

XXII

I remember the first time someone had a knife to my neck. I was 7. 

Involuntarily involved in my father's impropriety to the 'higher ups', they sent someone to get his daughter. The child that had no hand in anything to do with it. But I had no complaints, I sat tight, knowing my father would come. He would rescue me. And he did. I left scratch-free, though I couldn't say that about the men who had tried to take me.

This happened many times, and soon I didn't need my dad to rescue me. I would gain my freedom myself. The first time this happened, I was 15. I stabbed my kidnapper in the gut with a steel bar. When I showed up at home, my dad gifted me a watch for my first break out.

The most recent time I had a knife to my neck, would be now. This time, there's a plot twist. The man holding the knife is someone I knew to be dead.

My *dramatic buildup drum beat please* cheating ex-boyfriend, Holden!

Now I feel even worse for leaving my dad.

'Move on from me this quick, Skyler?'

'It's been a year and a half, get over it, Holden. Why the fuck are you even alive?'

'Come on now, don't tell me you believed your dad when he said he got me executed.' He tucks some of my hair behind my ear. 'I thought you knew me better than that, baby. I'm not dying to a pesky little minion. All he managed to do was fracture my neck.' He kisses me on the neck. I kick my leg up and it meets with his balls. He grunts in pain and falls to the floor, but gets back up, hunched over.

'I wanted to be nice to you.' He tells me, I can tell he's gritting his teeth by the way he says it. His blade comes into contact with my skin. I try to keep my mouth shut as he presses it into the skin below my ear and slowly drags it down the side of my neck, to my shoulder. I feel the warm blood running down my skin. He removes the blade and chuckles.

'I'm getting paid a lot for this, but I'll drop it if you come over tonight.' The fucking audacity. To cheat on me and then pull some shit like this. I want to strangle him right now. I'll get him back.

'You're fucking disgusting.' I tell him. He laughs.

I hear a thud of a body crashing to the floor and I look to the corner of the room, Joshua is standing over the man who had the gun to his head. The man is in a pool of blood and Joshua is holding his hand. 

As in the man's arm is torn off and Joshua is holding his severed limb, his gun in the other hand. His pupils are unnaturally small, and there's an expression on his face I can't quite describe. No, it's like- silent fury?

'Woah, you're good.' Holden speaks from behind me. Joshua bows and walks towards him casually.

'Now, don't get ahead of yourself, you take one more step towards me and her throat,' he grabs my neck, 'is slit.' He finishes. Please don't let him do anything stupid. 

Oh wait, it's Joshua. 

He lifts one leg slowly and stomps it on the floor in front of him. Holden does nothing. He takes another slow dramatic step. Holden stays still. He lifts his leg for the third time. Holden brings his knife back to my throat. Joshua takes a 4th step. Holden's hands shake slightly.

Joshua lunges towards me. Holden takes a step to the side. 

I fall to the floor with Joshua and he smiles. He brings his pistol up.

'You do the honors.' He hands me the gun. I take it from him and find that it is fully loaded and ready to shoot. All I have to do is pull the trigger. 

'Thanks.'

One small trigger and our problem is gone for now.

Should I shoot the ex I had gotten mad at my dad for killing? Probably not.

But should I leave him alive? Probably not.

Shoot, it is.

I aim the gun at his forehead and pull the trigger but he dodges at last second. Pesky little rat. 

'Don't make this harder than it has to be, Holden.' I tell him, smiling at him as his eyes widen.

'You wouldn't.'

'That's what I told myself when my friends told me you were cheating on me. "You wouldn't. He wouldn't!" I was wrong. You did.'

'I'm sorry.'

'It's a little too late for apologies now.' I pull the trigger once more, aiming at his leg. He shouts in pain. I shoot his right arm, tears stream out his eyes. 

'Now I know not to cheat on you.' Joshua laughs. He puts his hand on my head and pats it. 'I'm proud of you.'

'I'm slowly shooting a man to death and you're proud of me? God, go get a psych evaluation.' I tell him. He laughs even harder and I reluctantly smile. But I'm not shooting a man to death. Because we turned away and the man is gone. He escaped for the second fucking time. I'll deal with this someday later.

I walk towards the heavy metal door. There's a small black square, red words indented into the metal above it read 'Fingerprint Scan'. Joshua takes out the thumb from his pocket and presses it to the square. It flashes green and the door turns open.

'Kylie!' A voice shouts as I open the door. I can't help the tear running down my cheek as I hear my dad's voice. He gets up off a dead body and stretches his arms for me to hug him.

Joshua's POV

Skyler runs to hug him. He seems way too familiar. I've seen this man before.

Then it hits me, same 5'11 build. Same brown hair in a military fade. He looks way younger than he actually is for a man in his mid-50s. I've admired him for that. 

It's weird how it took me a while to recognize him. How many times has he spotted me in the gym? Taught me to keep proper posture? He is the one who's helped me to where I am today.

Skyler's dad is my gym bro. Fuck, the country's mafia boss is my gym bro. 

As soon as he gets out of his long hug with Skyler, tears and all, I run to hug him. I push Skyler aside and hug him. He gasps, 'Joshua!'

'Frank!' I shout in his years, probably deafening him a little.

I can smell Skyler's confusion. 

'What the fuc-'