“I’ll leave.” I grasped for straws. “I’ll go far away from here and then you can have Sebastian all to yourself. He doesn’t have to know and he won’t be upset if I’m still alive.”

She looked as if she was actually thinking about it, and for a moment, I felt some sort of hope.

“Nah, killing you sounds better. Sebastian won’t just let you leave. He’ll search until he finds you. I’m sorry, Jessica, but this is the only way.”

“No, it’s not, Victoria.” Sebastian’s voice sounded from beside us.

I nearly cried out in relief at the sound of his voice and Vick spun around, just as stunned as I was.

He stood tall in the doorway. The darkness of the night covering half of his face. He stepped into the room, making it feel smaller. I wanted to run to him. I wanted to hold him in my arms and tell him I forgave him. If I was going to die, he needed to know he could go on with my forgiveness.

“What are you doing here?” Vick hissed. “You just had to come to her rescue, didn’t you?”

“I’m not going to let you kill her,” Sebastian’s deep voice brought me an ounce of relief.

“Well, since I’m the only one with a gun here, it looks like you’re fucked out of a choice.”

“Don’t do this. Even if Rosslyn wasn’t in the picture, you and I would’ve never happened. You were different after killing her parents and I never looked at you the same.”

I listened to Sebastian try and talk Vick down, all the while trying to think of a plan. He wasn’t going to be able to distract her forever. I reached back toward the table next to the couch, my fingers barely touching the edge of the bag I’d brought with me.

I breathed a silent sigh of relief when my fingers brushed against the cold metal tucked beneath my wallet. Wrapping my fingers around it, I stood up and held the gun behind my back.

“After everything we’ve been through, I can’t believe you’re saying this to me,” Vick sniffled. Raising the gun again, she began to silently cry. Except this time, the gun wasn’t pointed at me, it was pointed at Sebastian.

“I guess this isn’t going to end in anyone’s favor because if I can’t have you, than neither can she.”

I froze, her words destroying my whole world. The dreaded sound of a gunshot filled the apartment, echoing off the walls and slamming into my chest.

“No!” I screamed.

Sebastian fell back against the wall. His eyes locked on mine in anguish, as he began to slide down to the floor. His body went limp when he fell to the carpet and his eyes closed.

Vick turned toward me, black mascara-filled tears streaming down her face. She raised her gun at me again. “You did this, you bitch. You made me kill him.”

My grip tightened around the gun in my hand as my thumb went over the safety, unlocking it.  “You were wrong about one thing, Vick. You’re not the only one...”

Her eyes filled with confusion and then panic when I pulled the gun from behind my back and shot once.

Vick’s eyes went blank as she blinked and stumbled backwards. She looked down and touched her chest, blood tainting the tips of her fingers. She fell to the floor with a heavy thud and the gun fell from her hand sliding on the floor.

I moved across the room toward Sebastian, and fell to my knees next to his still frame. Snatching my cell from my pocket, I dialed 9-1-1 and screamed into the phone that I needed help.

I didn’t listen to the dispatcher, instead, I pulled Sebastian’s head into my lap and pressed my cheek to his.

“Sebastian,” I sobbed, shaking him. “Don’t you dare die. You can’t leave me, you can’t. We just found each other, remember? Please, I just found you,” I cried into his neck.

He didn’t move. I held him close and waited until I heard the sirens from afar. I remained there, holding him in my arms, begging him not to leave, while the cops burst through the door.

Everything happened in a blur and I felt like I was no longer a part of my body as I watched them cover Vick’s body. When they finally got me to let go of Sebastian, I was pulled over to the couch and questioned. I nodded my answers and cried.

“So then she pulled the gun on you?” the officer asked. “Can you tell me what happened then?”

I was talking, but it didn’t sound like me. I explained to them everything that happened, and how Vick had been the one who killed my parents twelve years before. I didn’t tell them about Sebastian, I didn’t want his name linked to their murder. He was there, but I knew in my heart that he was just as much a victim as they were.