I don’t want to die from a bullet to the head.
If Enzo is going to kill me, I want him to do it with his bare hands. I want him to feel the life he’s taking, and how desperate, determined I am to live. And a tiny part of me hopes he won’t be able to kill me if he’s forced to endure my heart stopping, my breathing slowing, and my essence leaving my body.
I swallow hard, trying to remain calm.
No, it won’t make a difference. He will kill me either way, unless I find a way to escape. But at least this way, I will have some amount of control over when and how I die.
Enzo doesn’t lower the gun.
I’m going to die.
Right here and now.
Instinctively, I close my eyes, like somehow not seeing the bullet coming will make dying easier.
I should be thinking about my mother, whom I miss. Or how my father will be lost, unable to survive without me. I should be thinking about the friends I will never get to see again. About the future I will be deprived of.
I will never fall in love…
Get married…
Or have kids…
Not that I ever thought those things were really in my future anyway.
But my brain doesn’t go to any of those things. All I can think about is that damn kiss. The first one, the second one…I want more.
I let my lips curl up in a smile. At least if I’m going to die, I’m going to die with something happy in my head. Even if it is twisted that I’m thinking of Enzo when he’s the one who’s going to destroy me.
One second.
Two…
Three…
Nothing.
My eyes flutter open. Enzo’s eyes darken as he looks at me. He lowers the gun, empties the ammo, and tosses the gun to the side while the bullets fall to the ground next to him.
“Why?” I ask, my bottom lip trembling.
“You ask that question a lot, thief.”
“That’s not an answer, Killer.”
“Because you a
sked me to. You didn’t beg, you asked with dignity. And after not being able to answer the one question you want answers to the most, I owe you.”
“Thank you.”
“My debt has now been repaid. We owe each other nothing.”
I nod. “Nothing.”
Enzo steps toward me, and I reciprocate.
I should be running. I should be searching for a weapon to fight back. To kill him before he kills me.