I can’t really blame him. If the tables were turned, I would do everything in my power to get to Harvie.
I squeeze the trigger, shooting him square in the chest, and he drops like a brick. His head hits the stairs with a sickening thud, and I’m already moving, kicking the gun from his hands.
“She was mine,” he chokes out, the life fading from his eyes.
“No, she’s mine.”
His eyes go blank just as the stairway door bangs open.
“Rule!” Harvie yells, and I aim my flashlight up the stairs as I rush to get to her.
“Go back inside,” I tell her, trying to steer her out of the stairwell.
She doesn’t need to see him or his body.
I lead her back inside, taking her cold hands in mine. She’s shivering, and I pull her closer.
“It’s okay,” I murmur into her hair.
“I was so scared. I heard a gunshot and then you didn’t come back right away. I thought… I thought that you…”
She can’t finish her sentence, and I can feel her tears on my bare chest.
“I’m alright. I’m okay,” I promise her as she trembles in my arms.
“Was that him?” she asks, looking up at me with big green eyes.
“Yeah. Did you recognize him?”
“I didn’t really get a good look.”
“That’s probably for the best.”
“I want to see him,” she says after a moment, and I frown.
“Why?”
“I want to know that this is really over.”
I think about it for a second. The gunshot was in his chest and I can keep the lights off and just show her his face. I’m not sure if that’s a good idea or not, but I know that I won’t be able to talk my stubborn girl out of it.
“Okay,” I say, lacing my fingers with hers and leading her back to the stairs.
His body is sprawled out over them, and I aim the flashlight at his face.
“Did you know him?” I ask, and she frowns.
“He looks familiar…”
She thinks about it for a minute, and I’m about to pull her back inside when she stops frowning.
“He helped with the lights on one of my photo shoots last year.”
“What?”
“Yeah, he held up one of the screens while they were taking pictures. I stumbled in these super uncomfortable heels, and he steadied me. I just smiled and thanked him, but that was it. I never talked to him again.”
“Well, that was enough apparently.”