“Now you want to talk?” Amber yelled. “Now that I’m going to shoot her you want to listen to me?”
“Amber, please.” Moving closer to her, Kamal stayed in front of me with his arms out. “Come on. Anywhere you want to go. I’ll leave.”
“Move!” Amber screamed. “Get out of the way!”
“I’m not going to do that.” Kamal tried to take another step toward her. “Give me the gun, Amber.”
“Stop it!” She moved to the side. “Move.”
Kamal rushed for her.
Amber screamed. “No!”
Ganesha jumped out of my arms.
Kamal grabbed Amber.
Ganesha snapped at her leg.
Amber shot the gun.
Ganesha whimpered and fell to the ground.
Kamal struggled with Amber to take the gun from her.
“No!” I ran and grabbed the first thing I could. It was one of Zora’s blue vases. I lifted it up, rushed to Amber, and slammed it against her head.
“Ah!” Shrieking, she fell back.
Kamal wrenched the gun out of her hand.
I shoved Amber down to the ground, falling with her into shattered glass pieces.
And then I slapped her face, not sure if she had passed out. All the terror that I’d faced with her pointing the gun at me, unleashed onto her. I hit her again. “You fucking crazy bitch!”
“Help!” Amber blinked. Blood dripped down the side of her face.
Kamal dragged me away. “Jade, call the police. I’ll watch her.”
My ears rang. My heart beats boomed. I stumbled away and pulled out my phone. “Okay. Okay.” My breathing shifted to panting. I turned around. More horror greeted my eyes.
No. No. No.
Ganesha still lay on the ground. Thank God, his chest rose and fell. Weak whimpers left him. Blood pooled around his tiny legs.
“You fucking crazy bitch.” Walking over to him, my eyes watered. My fingers shook as I dialed 9-1-1. When the phone rang, I lowered next to Ganesha and sat by him, unsure of what I could do. “I’m right here.”
He turned his head to me and whimpered some more.
“It’s okay, buddy.” I gently rubbed his head. “It’s okay. You’re going to be okay.”
His head trembled against my palm.
A woman came on the line. “9-1-1. How can I help you?”
I rushed through everything, giving her the address to send the police and ambulance. I had no idea if medics could help a dog, but I knew they would do better than I could.
“Goddamn it, Amber! What the fuck?” Kamal carried her gun over to the table, took out the bullets, and set the gun down. “You’re supposed to be getting on the plane today. Why are you here?!”
“Kamal.” Blinking, Amber slowly sat up. But she still sat on the shattered pieces of the blue vase. “You hate me now?”
“Fuck!” Kamal pocketed the bullets and turned to me. “Are you okay, Jade?”
“Y-yes.”
Kamal turned his attention to Ganesha. “Maybe we should add pressure to wear she shot him. Can you tell where it is?”
“No. I’m telling them now.” I returned to the operator and explained Ganesha’s wound. Once I did, she walked me through the next steps. I discovered a bloody hole in his hind leg. When I tried to investigate it more, Ganesha growled and snapped at me.
“Okay, buddy. I won’t touch that.”
Ganesha licked my finger and whimpered.
“Don’t worry.” I patted his head. “Someone’s coming to help you.”
Kamal left the living room and returned with several towels. I added pressure to the hole and thanked God that the bullet hadn’t hit him in any internal organs.
Sirens blared in the distance.
I kept 9-1-1 on the line.
“Kamal?” Amber cried across from us. “You hate me now. Don’t you?”
So worried about Ganesha, I’d forgotten she was still in the room.
Kamal must have too.
We both looked up.
She held a piece of the broken vase glass next to her wrist. “Is this what you want, Kamal?”
I turned to him.
Anger covered his face. Kamal’s chest rose and fell.
The sirens sounded closer.
I rubbed Ganesha’s head as he shivered.
“Answer me!” Amber cried and kept the blue shard on her veins. “Is this what you want? Is this what will give you a happy ending? Do you want me dead?”
Fury blazed over his face. Kamal returned to applying pressure to Ganesha’s wound.
I swallowed. “Amber put the glass down.”
“He hates me.” Amber closed her eyes and sliced her wrist.
“No!” I screamed until my throat burned.
“Fuck!” Kamal jumped up and raced to her. “Amber. No.”
Blood spurted from her wrists. Her body shook.
“No, Amber.” He tried to stop the blood flow with his hand. Red liquid spilled over his fingers. She must’ve cut herself real deep. Her body spasmed against him. “No, Amber.”
All in masks and gloves, medics raced into the apartment with a stretcher. Masked police came next. Sounds no longer filled my ears. Stunned, I just stared as Kamal held Amber’s bloody, shaking body. Shock and terror took me over. The ringing in my ears increased.
Is she. . .
They took Amber from him.