Giselle looked behind him, gasped, and Xavier felt something shatter on his head. His vision focused on red spots. His fist closed in on Giselle's throat, her head hitting the wall as he struggled to gain his balance. He pressed the gun under her chin.
"Move forward and I'll shoot her!"
The room fell silent save for Giselle's sorry whimpers.
"Oh baby," he whispered, pressing the metal harder. "It's gonna be okay."
It took him a few moments to gain his focus, then turned around to face Chris who stood pathetically in front of him, his hands raised. Xavier pointed his gun at him, his other hand still on Giselle's milky neck that he wanted to bite more than anything.
He smiled. "Do you wanna see me kill her? Or maybe I'll do to her what you did to Amara. That'll really teach you the lesson."
Chris panted.
"Do you wanna save her?" he asked.
"L-let her go," said Chris.
"Beg for it. Come here. Kneel before me."
Chris waited a moment, then walked toward him and knelt.
"Good. Now put your forehead on my feet. Come on, good boy."
Chris glanced at Giselle with tear-filled eyes, looking pitiable, then leaned down, pressing his forehead on his feet.
It didn't feel as good as he'd expected, so he raised his leg to kick him in the face, but was swept away as Chris grabbed his feet and dragged him back, his head hitting the wall. He tried holding onto Giselle's throat for support out of instinct but something told him to let her go, and he did.
It didn't take him a while this time, and he fought back with all his might, landing blows where ever he could, accepting pain like a medal. They rose from the ground, grabbing, punching, fighting for dominance, fighting to live. Not that he cared, he thought, landing a nasty blow to Chris's nose with his forehead, watching him stumble back. He didn't care whether he lived or died. His threshold of endurance was long crossed.
The moment that Chris took to regain his balance, Xavier grabbed the gun that had fallen on the floor and pointed it at him, letting out a laugh. He'd won.
"Giselle!" Chris yelled in a warning.
Giselle grabbed his hand and pulled, and he grinned at her feeble attempts.
"Stop it!" she cried. "Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!"
Chris made a move toward them. He pointed the gun at her to stop the lover boy, then grinned at his fallen face.
They'd lost.
"Xavier!" she still screamed, her annoying voice piercing his eardrums. She pushed and scratched, but he didn't budge. If anything, it was mildly entertaining.
"If you shut up for a moment, I can concentrate on shooting the man you cheated on me with," he said calmly, positioning his gun back at Chris.
Giselle stopped, her eyes wide, then raised her hand and slapped his face, turning it to the side. He looked back at her and smiled proudly.
"Atta girl," he purred.
She slapped him again. His cheek stung.
"Okay, I'm done with this." With every intention to shoot the murderer before him, he placed his finger on the trigger. Giselle pushed him with all her might.
Irritation ran through his brain, and like flicking off a bee, he shoved Giselle back. She slammed into the wall behind her and fell silent.
His head whipped toward her, color painting his vision but draining from his face.
Time slowed down.