Action

+*- 60 -*+

9 Oct 2020

-= Bella =-
"You?!" I stared into the once caramel eyes, now darkened to a rich and cold dark chocolate. Strawberry blonde hair frizzed and laid flat against the face I knew all too well, disheveled and clearly unwashed.
  Tanya's eyes were filled with hysteria as her finger shook dangerously against the trigger of the pistol that I was hyperactively aware was pressed directly to my head. The dull light in the room behind her caused an eerie backlight on her frail figure. The hell she had experienced was worn like a gown on her pallid, sickly skin, once a golden apricot.
  Cold sweat slipped sickeningly down my back as I struggled to swallow the lump in my throat. My voice was lost, and there was no one to hear me scream. My silent prayers that the cops had already arrived vanished like smoke the moment it dawned on me that there would be no reasoning. If no one interfered, this would be the end.
  She had escaped from prison, probably tonight since there was no news on it yet. That alone would give her more time. It was already apparent she was fucking psychotic, so she had already made up her mind on what she had come to do. And perhaps the scariest part; she had nothing to lose.
  I accepted the fact that, while this was the most dramatic and irrational response to me dating Edward, it was completely rational to her. In fact, some part of me pitied her, and wished I could have helped instead of making an enemy out of her. However, considering my life was teetering on the edge and the only thing keeping me alive was the hesitation of some psycho bitch's twitchy fingers, I found it difficult to bring any feelings of empathy to the surface.
  While I was entirely scatterbrained and filled with an unhealthy mix of fear and anger, a part of me realized Tanya was lost in her own psycho shit. She was blabbering on about something, but the blood racing in my ears made it dull to an indistinctive hum.
  Accepting my imminent demise, I took a moment to console myself. I had endured a lot of bullshit in the past couple months, and this ending was pretty bullshit too, but at least it fit with the common theme of my life lately. A twinge of pain shot through my heart and stomach at the thought of Rose and Edward finding out - or worse, finding me. Would Edward become a suspect, stuck in hours of interrogation while he was suffering with endless guilt and grief? Or would the police put the pieces together, knowing Tanya had a vendetta against me and it couldn't have been a coincidence I had died the same night she escaped?
  A newfound determination boiled under the surface. While I might have accepted this end, no one else would. Why would I not fight for them? Why would I not fight for myself? Life had been hard, but there was a certain beauty in the pain and suffering. The bad showed me how good good was. Sure, Tanya burned my damn house down, but that finally lead me and Edward to each other. To love each other.
  As if the elastic holding me underwater had snapped, my senses returned frantically, momentarily disorienting me. As soon as I came to and realized that Tanya was far too distracted yelling angrily at the wall, I reached up, snatched the gun, and knocked it from her hands.
  She pounced on me as soon as her shock dissipated, and I fought back with every ounce of my strength. I yelped as I felt my head bashed against the wall, and I kicked furiously in front of me as I was blinded by blood trickling down my face. I heard a satisfying crunch as the wind was knocked out of her.
  Taking advantage, I got on top of her and attempted to pin her arms. She thrashed aggressively, managing to wriggle out of my grip and kick my arms out from under me. My elbows rubbed painfully against the carpet as I groaned at the soon-to-be carpet burn. I rolled onto my back and my eyes widened as I saw her scrambling for the gun. By the time I managed to get to my feet, she whipped around and aimed at me. Both hands gripped the handle firmly, but her trembling hands gave her away. Her jaw set.
  "You ruined my life, you bitch." She spat at me. I closed my eyes. I gulped. The air went from my lungs.
  The gunshot echoed.