Captivated by shadows [h.s.]

9.

Red, all I could see was red while the characteristic smell of iron filled my nose. With widened eyes and a racing heart, I stare at my hands pressing against Harry's shoulder from behind.

I can't remember how Harry ended up with his back against my chest and me pressing his wound from behind, but Niall was sitting in front of him between his legs doing the same thing.

"We–we need to get him to a hospital," I stutter, looking down at my pastel green hoodie that was starting to soak up Harry's blood.

"No, we can't do that." Niall shakes his head. Beads of sweat lay on his forehead and his chest moves quickly up and down.

"What?" I look back down at Harry, who is leaning against me with his eyes closed. "Why not?"

"If the doctors determine that this is a gunshot wound, they are obliged to call the police."

"Yes, and?" I asked hysterically as I could feel the fabric of Liam's shirt, which I was still pressing against Harry, getting heavier and heavier.

It became quiet, and you could only hear the speeding car as it sped through the empty streets. They all exchanged glances with each other as if there was something they weren't telling me.

"That's not possible, if we drive him to a hospital, we might as well put a bullet in his head ourselves." says Liam, who is driving faster than he should be.

"If we don't get him to a hospital, he'll die anyway." I look at my blood-covered hands again.

"Rosalie, he's not going to die. He's just been shot in the shoulder," Louis joins in.

"What do you mean, he was just shot in the shoulder?"

"That means he was damn lucky. A few centimetres further to the right and he'd be dead now," he replies in a calm tone.

How could they all stay so calm? Am I the only one who sees the seriousness of the situation here?

"Then where do we go if we don't go to a hospital?"

"Niall has a house nearby. We should be there soon, and we can help Harry there." Liam replied again as he turned the next corner.

"Oh god," I felt like my stomach was churning.

"Harry's survived worse," Niall mumbles to himself, as if he's talking to himself.

The seconds that passed felt like hours as my eyes were fixed on Harry's chest, which was slowly rising up and down.

If someone had told me a week ago that I would be sitting in a car with four criminals, covered in blood, trying to save the life of a murderer, I would probably have thought they were crazy.

But that's my life today

Liam slams on the brakes and stops in the driveway in front of a white detached house. Shortly afterwards, everyone jumps out of the car, while Harry is still leaning against me with his eyes closed.

It all happened so quickly as Niall, Liam, and Louis dragged Harry's motionless body into the house. I sat there in shock, just staring at my trembling hands.

The ring with the turquoise-coloured stone on my middle finger that my mother once gave me was no longer turquoise, and the light-coloured hoodie I was wearing had a large red stain on it.

I'm so full of adrenaline that it didn't even occur to me to wonder if I'd even hurt myself. The only thing I could think about was all the blood all over my body.

God, there is so much blood, there is blood everywhere.

"Rosie?" Niall made me look up from my hands. He came jogging back to me after helping Liam and Louis get Harry into the house. When he got to me, he opened the car door, but I remained rooted to the spot in the car.