Chairs and tables were toppled over.
Girls were crying over in the corner.
Bodies.
Blood.
The air smelled wrong, sharp and metallic, and it was thick enough to taste. My heart started to pound so hard I could feel it in my throat. It was like a scene from a horror movie. It didn’t seem real.
I took a step forward, and that’s when I saw him.
Luke was kneeling in the center of the room. His shoulders were hunched, his head was bowed, and he had one hand pressed against a body lying on the floor next to him.
Even from a distance, I could see the blood. It was pooling around them both. I started towards him, and my breath caught in my throat when I saw the blood on his hands and jeans. I thought it was his until I got closer.
That’s when I realized it wasn’t his at all.
It was Davis’s. Luke was kneeling in front of his brother, and it was his blood that was all over Luke and the floor. As I stepped closer, I heard him whisper, “For me… You were always the one.”
The words were terribly sad, but it was the way Luke said them that broke me. And just like that, everything inside me gave way at once. Tears blurred my vision as a sob tore loose. My hand flew to my mouth as the reality of what I was seeing crashed over me.
Blood.
Death.
Loss.
Grief was sitting so heavy on Luke’s shoulder that I feared it would cripple him. I was stunned and devastated. This wasn’t what I was expecting when I came here tonight. I’d come for Luke. For his smile. For his lips on mine. Instead, I found death and mayhem.
Luke didn’t speak to me. Not when I knelt beside him. Not when I placed my hand on his shoulder. Not even when I asked if he was okay. He just stayed there with one hand on Davis, like he was trying to ground himself.
Sirens started wailing outside.
That seemed to break his trance. He still didn’t speak to me, but he turned and shouted, “Rusty!”
Seconds later, he came rushing over. “Yeah, brother. Whatcha need?”
“Get her home.”
No explanation. No softness in his voice. No reassurance.
Just a simple order. Rusty nodded and said, “You got it, brother.”
Before I could argue, Rusty reached for me, placing his hand on my arm, and gently pulled me to my feet. My legs felt unsteady, and I stumbled before finding my balance. I glanced back at Luke, but he was now standing, and his attention was on his brothers.
Rusty led me out the back door, and just as we were stepping outside, the police came streaming in the front. Their guns were drawn, and one of them shouted, “Police! Stay where you are!”
He never missed a beat. He just kept walking toward his bike, and he pulled me along with him. When we reached his bike, he handed me a helmet and said, “Put this on.”
I nodded and did as he said. As I fastened the strap, I asked, “What happened?”
“It was a hit.”
That was it.
That was all I got.
Three simple words, but they turned my entire world upside down.
