Cowboy Casanova

Chapter 41

FAITH POV: I feel blood on my face as the weight of Michael's body rests on me. My ears ring. I try to lift him up, but I'm to weak. His injury is reminiscent of Tim's. His blood is everywhere, and his head is unrecognizable. I try to shove him off of me again, making sure not to open my mouth so no blood can enter. I can feel the blood dripping down my face. I feel sickened by the sensation. I only move him enough to where I can sit up. He is still on top of my legs. I crawl away from him, finally freeing myself from his weight. I pull myself up on the bed so I can sit up off of the floor. I now sit on the edge of the bed, staring at his corpse. I can spot two bullets laying on the floor beside him, and another poking out from above his eye. He was shot... 

But by who? The only other person here is Tim, and he can't hold things, so how could he have aimed? I look over to see him holding the gun I keep in the room for safety. He's staring at it without any real emotion. I must be freaking out, because when we lock eyes, he goes into immediate protector mode. 

"It's okay baby. It's over now." He says, grabbing a washcloth, wetting it, and wiping my face. I shut my eyes tightly and try to keep myself from shaking. He holds onto my hand. I feel the washcloth wipe my forehead, cheeks, and eyes. "You can open your eyes now." He says. I look down at the wash cloth in his hand. The once white fabric is now fully maroon. I feel my jaw dropped and tears coming down my face. I want to say something, yet I am unable to do so. "You okay honey?" He asks. 

"Dead..." Is all I choke out. I feel like if I try to say more, I will begin to stutter due to my nervousness. Tim nods. 

"He's gone." Tim says. I exhale deeply and begin to sob, all in one moment. He rubs my back and hands me a phone. I dial 9-1-1 and try to talk to the operator. 

"9-1-1 what's your emergency?" 

"Husband... d-d-dead...." I start to stutter heavily. Tim rubs my back and tells me to breathe. 

"What happened to your husband?" The operator asks. 

"Shot-t-t..." My voice shakes in addition now. My whole inside of my body is quivering. I can barely breathe. 

"Okay, ma'm we will have an ambulance there immediately." The operator says. "Just stay on the line with me, okay?" They request. I obey. 

A doctor is evaluating me at the hospital to make sure I am mentally stable. To be honest, I feel anything but stable. They give me my pills that Michael has not been giving me. I feel a lot less pain. The doctor claims that I'm acting normal due to circumstance, and releases me from his care. Now the cops would like to speak to me. 

"We are so sorry for your loss." A male officer says as we sit down in the hallway. I nod. "Okay, I'm just going to ask you a few questions about what happened over the past 24 hours. Understood?" He asks. I nod yet again. 

"Understood." 

"So how did this event start?" He asks me. 

"He came in my room, heavily intoxicated. He started pushing on where my scars were from a previous accident. He then proceeded to strangle me, then pin me down, eventually raping me." I say blandly. 

"You did not give consent?" The officer asks. 

"No sir." I say. He nods and writes something down. "Then he just continued to beat me." 

"So at what time did you shoot Michael?" He asks. I sit for a moment. I didn't shoot him. 

"I shot him once I heard the sound of my daughters awakening." I lie. He'll understand. 

"And where were they?" He asks. 

"In their rooms just down the hall. At most, thirty feet away from our door." I say. He nods.