Luke didn't know what to do. He was now the only one left with Ashton, the person he feared most. His hands began to shake uncontrollably as he backed away from him.
You're not supposed to fear your friends. Hell, was Ashton considered his friend, even before this whole mess? Aren't friends supposed to make each other feel secure and loved? Luke was sure that all Ashton ever did was insult Luke and make him feel self conscious.
"Luke," Ashton began, eyes lifting from all the dead bodies, "please don't be afraid of me."
Luke swallowed hard, his voice shaking. "How could I not? You helped kill six people, Ashton. Six living, breathing, talking people." He couldn't go back any further. His back was pressed up against the wall as Ashton remained standing where he was.
"You helped kill people who had families. They had plans to get out of this shit town, and you ruined it!" Luke couldn't hold back his tears any longer. He's cried throughout this whole night, why does it matter now?
"You killed-" He was struggling to spit out his words. "You killed the love Michael and I had before it even had a chance to begin!"
Luke pointed to his chest, right where his heart was. "I loved him for so long and you took that all away from me! You didn't even give us a fighting chance!" Luke crumpled to the floor, his chest heaving.
"Did you know," Luke paused to catch his breath, "I have never wished that I was dead. Never once have I, until this moment Ashton."
"I want to be dead! Give me the fucking gun!" Luke held out his hand for the object, but Ashton didn't move. He kept his eyes locked on Luke, fists clenched.
The youngest boy held the gun tightly in his hands as he went to shoot himself. Ashton hustled forward in attempt to grab the gun from his small hands.
The gun still fired, only it hit Luke in the lower abdomen. He crumpled to the floor in excruciating pain.
All the sudden it was like time stood still. There, upon Ashton's cheek, was a tear. It was something that hasn't happened to Ashton in a long time. He wasn't supposed to cry. He was a man.
"I'm sorry." He choked out. "I'm so fucking sorry!" His knees buckled and he was wailing out all of his emotions that have been bottled up for years.
"Luke, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I ruined everything. It's all my fault and I know apologizing isn't going to fix it." Ashton cried harder than he ever has before. Snot ran from his nose along with spit from his mouth. He couldn't stop it. He pulled the dying boy into his lap.
"Why? Why did you do all this?" Luke struggled to ask.
The older, disheveled teen took a deep breath in. "Well, my main goal was to kill myself." He admitted. Luke laid there, eyes wide open, completely bewildered.
"I know people think that I have the perfect life, but I don't. My dad is gone constantly, my mom is cheating with so many different men, and I haven't seen my brother in over a year. I'm alone in that house, Luke."
"Sure I've gotten every material item I could ask for, but I've never gotten love or compassion from either of my parents. All they care about is money and their reputation."
It was in this moment that Luke realized Ashton was taking off his mask. He was revealing who he truly was underneath.
"I wanted to play this game because I was hoping I would end up dead. I was too scared to do it completely on my own." He buried his face in his hands. "I'm so fucking selfish."
Ashton lifted his head and stared into Luke's baby blue eyes. "You're such a great kid, Lukey. I'm sorry I never told you nice things or treated you nicely. You were the last person who deserved any of this."
Luke was having difficulty keeping his eyes open as more and more blood spilled out of his body. There was no way he was surviving this one.
"Ashton," Breath. "I want you," Breath. "To tell," Breath. "My parents that," Breath. "That I love them." Luke had barely finished the last word before he gave in to his body. His eyelids shut and Ashton knew it was forever.
"Luke!" He sobbed. "Luke, come back!" Ashton searched the floor for the weapon that would end his life.
He pecked Luke's forehead before getting up to retrieve the black gun. As soon as his fingers wrapped around it, a series of crashes erupted from the hallway.
"Police! Put your hands where I can see them!" A man that seemed to be in his forties said, a gun in hand. Ashton turned to see a group of four police men, all armed with weapons, stating at the mess he had created.
"Move and we'll shoot!"
Ashton didn't let that stop him. Bullets were fired from both the police men and Ashton all in the matter of six seconds. All of the bullets were aimed at the same target. The boy that started it all, Ashton Irwin.
The medics loaded each teenager's body onto a stretcher before wheeling them outside. There was a crowd of larger people gathered around to watch the crime scene unfold. Emergency vehicles littered the block, lights and sirens blaring.
Soon enough the last stretcher was being rolled out, ready to be loaded in the ambulance.
"That's my baby!" A blonde, middle aged woman yelled as she rushed forward to see the dead body.
"Ma'am, you need to stay back." Ordered a paramedic.
"No!" She screamed. "That's my son! That's my baby."
Luke's mom clutched onto his lifeless hand, ignoring the blood that would stain her forever. She didn't understand why her reason for breathing was ripped right from her. She didn't understand why the world was so fucking selfish.
