Queen of the Barbershop // BWWM

3.

As bullets were being sprayed everywhere outside, Ghost was keeping a tight hold on Violet. "Stop fucking fighting me, Violet," Ghost softly growled at the panicky girl as she was trying to run away from her. Violet stopped fighting after she heard the concern in Ghost's voice. Why am I so scared? Deborah won't hurt me. Violent thought after she had stopped fighting Ghost's tight hold. After she had stopped struggling, Ghost had relaxed her hold, able to let her arms go slack as she held onto Violet's shoulders. Violet turned to Ghost and she started to sign to her. "Sorry about that. I panicked. I hope I didn't hurt you," Violet signed to her. Ghost sighed and she ruffled Violet's hair. 

"No, you didn't hurt me. I was more worried about her hurting yourself," she answered Violet's worry. Violet smiled at her and Ghost nodded back at Violet. Outside the shop, bullets were still flying as there were two gangs fighting for more territory. Boris and Richard ran to Ghost's office with Marie in tow. 

"Boss, what should we do?" Boris asked. Richard held up his gun.

"Should we join in the fight?" Richard asked, cocking his gun. Ghost glared at Richard, breaking his revolve to join the bloodshed. 

"No, we are not getting involve with that fucking shit! They can massacre themselves all they want, but we are not involved with them," their boss's voice was stern and powerful as she stared at all of her employees. "The gangs will stop eventually and when they stop, everyone is staying here for the night, just for safety precaution," Ghost ordered her crew. No one said anything as they knew that Ghost just wanted them safe and not in a body bag somewhere. They all understood and Marie inched closer to Boris and Boris held onto the Italian woman. Ghost knew that those two would get involved somehow and someway, but she knew that they didn't know it yet. As the gangs continued to shoot, Ghost started to think about Alex. I know he is safe. He is too innocent to be involved with any type of gang. She thought as she could see Alex's innocent face in her mind. She grinned, remembering that same happy grin that Alex gave her when he learned that he was accepted into Rush University. 

She wondered what was Alex was doing and she sure hoped that he wasn't hiding from flying bullets that could hit the glass and hit a stray target, like she was doing at the moment. She was trying to keep her crew safe and if that meant suffocating herself, then so be it. She could herself start to suffocate as she could feel Boris and Marie on one side of her and Richard was on the other side of her. Ghost remembered that she was gently holding Violet so the easily frightened woman couldn't just accidentally reveal her location. Ghost breathed in one good time and she pushed Violet into Richard's waiting arms. She couldn't breathe and she need oxygen. 

Ghost started to feel lightheaded as she couldn't breathe. She left her office and she saw the gangs. Her mind closing up, she took Richard's gun and she started to shoot everywhere just to protect her crew. She didn't care about the shop; she cared about the people that was in the shop with her. As she shot each bullets in the gun, she didn't hear pained grunts nor did she hear panicked shouts. She didn't hear footsteps running away. She didn't feel anything about emptiness as Alex ran to hug her. Ghost could smell the familiar of Alex as he pulled her closer. Shame filled her as she dropped Richard's gun onto the floor with a hard crash. "It's alright. You did what you could," he muttered to Ghost. Ghost didn't feel anything except the shame and the same emptiness that was still there. She couldn't believe that she had snapped as that haven't happened in a long while. That was the reason why she moved to Chicago so she could get a new start, but she guessed that she couldn't escape her past forever. She sighed as she hugged Alex a lot more closer to her. Alex had remembered the way to her shop and he had came just so he could shield Ghost from the gangs that he figured she had known was outside. 

As Alex hugged Ghost, he could feel the woman tightened her grip on his shirt and he felt bad for her. "I'm glad you're here," Ghost revealed her happiness at Alex being there for her. Alex smiled at her as he continued to hold her just to help her. Alex didn't respond to Ghost's words as he knew that words wasn't needed. He was there just to help her through the mental agony of the shooting a gun, something that Ghost swore she would never do ever again. Ghost couldn't believe that she had broke her own code. She picked up a gun and she used it against people. She couldn't believe herself as she glanced at the gun she had used. It was Richard's gun and she couldn't help the guilt that started to build in her heart and she wanted to close up her heart, but her crew and Alex had made her heart grown into wanting affection from her loved ones. Ghost couldn't help but to start sobbing as she realized that her loved ones were the ones that would stay forever, no matter what she had done in the past.