Beautifully Broken

“Get your hands off my girl.” I demand. This must be him, that Gerald guy Piper has been worried about. Outside of his dark hair, this dude looks nothing like Bane. Lucky fucker took after his mom.

Gerald reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small black gun. The girl behind the counter screams. I’d forgotten she was there but maybe she’ll do something with her life and call the cops.

“Leave him alone, Gerald,” Piper pleads. “He’s just a kid.”

I’m not a kid, but the argument is pointless. There are more important things, like freeing my girl from the near chokehold. I look around, the lobby is empty and we are in the center of it, too far to reach anything. My best bet is to tackle him and push the hand with the gun away at the same time. Piper will get hurt, but he’ll let her go and she can run. Then I can beat the living shit out of this scum until the cops come.

“A stupid fucking kid,” Gerald says waving the gun in my face. “You have until the count of three to disappear before I make you disappear.”

“I’m not leaving without her.”

“One…”

“Rex, go. I’ll be fine.”

“Two…”

This dude won’t shoot. My dad would have his head if he hurts me. “Let. Her. Go.”

The dude chuckles. “Stupid boy. Thr—”

“No!” Piper screams.

The gun goes off. The boom echoes through the lobby. I’m thrown backwards, falling on my ass but I feel ok. My ears ring. My heart races. Motherfucker shot at me!

“Stupid bitch,” Gerald grumbles.

And then I see her. The reason I fell. The reason I feel okay. Piper lays a foot away. A puddle collecting around her, staining the shirt she stole from me a shade of red no one should see. Sirens sound in the distance. I slide closer and pull her onto my lap. Blood pours out of her shoulder like a faucet. I press my hands over the hole. It needs to stop.

It has to stop.

There’s more shooting, outside the building but everything sounds far away. A tremor ripples through Piper’s body. It’s the only sign of life I’ve seen since she fell and it’s not much to go on considering she’s barely breathing. Tears well in my eyes. “Piper!”

Out of nowhere, I’m surrounded by cops, firemen, and paramedics. A set of hands lift Piper out of my lap. Another moves me out of the way. Someone asks me questions, but I don’t hear them, can barely see them. I run my hands over my face, probably spreading Piper’s blood everywhere.

“Sir,” a short woman in a police uniform says. “Are you hurt?”

I shake my head. “No.”

“Do you know what happened?” she asks.

“Rex!” A girl calls from behind me. I turn to see Jenny beside Cooper. She screams, covering her mouth with her hands.

Cooper runs around the semi-hysterical Jenny towards us. “Piper!”

“Sir, you’ll have to stay back,” the cop says extending her hand.

“Fuck that,” Cooper pushes past her. “That’s my sister.”

“Sir!” the cop demands.

Two other men try to run interference but it’s too late. I can tell by the way Cooper stops in his tracks. He turns, back tracking towards me and shoves me in the shoulder. “What the hell happened?”

“I don’t know. I came downstairs and that guy Gerald she was worried about was here.”

“Gerald?” the cop asks.

“Gerald McCarron,” Cooper tells her.