Memories are a funny thing. Some good, some bad. Some so vivid they can bring you back to a moment as if it was happening all over again. For Drew Torres, a memory invaded his mind so strong it was like torture every single time it replayed itself. It attacked him not as if like a memory, but like a reoccurring nightmare playing on repeat without the ability to switch it off. But he held onto it as if it was a life savor. He felt his entire body ache every single time he closed his eyes and saw the face of the beautiful girl who held his heart. Her lips, her hair, her eyes. Everything about her held him like a dark curse that was unwilling to let go. And then he saw the gun, laying on the street, smoke floating from it as if it was taunting him, whipping around in the wind as it laughed. He felt his chest heave quickly as he laid on the bed, trying to remember how to breathe. The cold damp cell felt as if it was closing in on him, getting smaller and smaller by the second as he clutched at his chest. His eyes closed and as if the switch had been turned on, a memory fell into his mind, filling his head.
Her laughs filled the busy streets of Toronto. Cars sped around them, people talking loudly, filling the night air with a buzz of noise but all Drew could hear was her. Her giggling laugh that had captured him completely and he found it hard to focus on anything else but her as she walked in front of him. They'd just finished watching a movie, it was late and almost past his curfew but he didn't care. Bianca was the kind of girl worth taking risks for. He could get grounded a million times and he wouldn't care, not when he got to spend his time with her. Not when she was the girl holding her hand out for him to take. And he did. He laced their fingers together as they walked, proceeding into the nights darkness and she led the way. His life had changed since he'd met her. She was beautiful, but this was a give in. Her beauty was only a plus added on top of the amazing girl that came with it. She was more than just a beautiful face and an amazing body. She was his best friend. She was the girl that he'd fallen irreversibly in love with and he knew that it would never change. He smiled as he followed after her, letting her pull him where she wanted to go but as he continued behind her he grew increasingly aware of the watch on his wrist, which now felt ten times heavier.
"Bianca." he said her voice calmly, but no matter how many times he said it each time felt like honey on his tongue, "I've got to get home."
She stopped and turned back at him, her eyes wild with happiness and it made his stomach do flips.
"Right now?" She asked, the tone of sadness hidden behind her wide smile.
He nodded, but could feel his own disappointment at the fact that their night was coming to an end. Anytime he had gotten to spend with her he cherished. His parents weren't exactly happy of his choice for a girlfriend but he couldn't help who he loved, and he loved her.
The street savvy, girl full of attitude and bite. Not exactly the perfect match for a straight raised boy with strict parents and a wealthier status. But he didn't care. None of that mattered. What mattered was that his heart belonged to her. Chain, locked and she held the key.
"Come on," he said, tugging her arm in the direction of the alley they stood beside.
It was dark, the only light shinning down upon it came from the full moon above head. It washed out all the color, leaving it black and white. It was like a charcoal painting, silhouetted in front of them as they took each step slowly. Bianca stopped him, pulling him back with a smirk on her face. Her hands found their way to his cheeks and he grinned back at her, flashing a smile that could light up a room as she looked into his eyes.
"I love you." she whispered as her hands moved to his neck and pulled his face to 'd kissed her a million times before and he could do it a million times again, never growing tired of it. She had the power to make him weak in the knees, to make his heart skip a beat and erase the world around them. Her lips were soft against his and he had to remind himself to breathe as her fingers moved softly against his neck. He let his own hands fall to her waist and pulled her body to his, igniting his nerves as the kiss continued. There was nothing in the world he enjoyed more than kissing her. He found it hard to believe that someone as perfect as her existed and even harder to believe that she was pulled back from the kiss and he smiled, neither of them moving from the position they'd gotten in and he nodded.
"I love you too."
He slid his hands from her waste and back into her own, their fingers connecting as they continued on. They descended further into the alley, being engulfed by complete darkness. It was quiet, too quiet as the city noise was erased by the walls. It was as if they were in a different place completely, hidden away from the world.
He felt Bianca's hands slide to his arms, holding him tightly as they took each step. They'd been down that very alley many times, but the darkness set an eeriness around them. Drew could feel the hair stand up on his neck as a chill fell over him, but it wasn't because it was cold. No, the thing that had triggered the goosebumps on his skin was the sound of footsteps behind them. He felt his heart race slightly and Bianca took in a gasp of breathe.
"I don't want to be here anymore." She said quietly and their pace began to quicken. But as theirs began to quicken, the strangers footsteps did as well, only faster. He felt panic. Either this was someone passing through, which seemed unlikely or they were in trouble. He opted for the later of the two.
"Don't move." Drew said to her sternly and they stopped in their tracks as the stranger met them and he felt his arm get yanked by an unfamiliar hand.
"Put up your hands." The voice was deep, but not much deeper than his own. But somehow it still made his body quiver with fear as he felt something cold and hard against his back. He couldn't move, he could hardly breath but somehow the nudge of the item against his back made him lift his hands into the air.
"Yours too." he said, and he moved the object in his hand to Bianca's side. Drew felt an instant rush of rage as he saw the object in his peripheral vision. A gun, a black handgun and thought it should have shot fear throughout him he felt his face grow hot as it was pressed against Bianca's back.
"Get that away from her." He said through gritted teeth.
"Shut up." the voice spoke and the gun again was moved to him, shutting him up instantly.
"Give me your wallets, purses, everything." he demanded and they quickly did as he said. Drew pulled his wallet from his pocket, fumbling with his hands to get it from his jeans. He held it out but didn't move, allowing the man to pull it from him and his eyes moved quickly to Bianca. She looked scared but she hadn't moved.
"Bianca," Drew spoke softly, "Give him your purse."
But she shook her head, holding it with all her might, "No."
"Give me the damn purse." The man demanded but she shook her head.
"This is all I have. Everything in my life is in this purse."
"Babe it's just a purse, give it to him you can get another."
But before either of them could speak another word the man yanked it from her body. She held onto the strap tightly, keeping him from taking it from her.
"He has a gun, just let it go!" Bianca stopped mid yank and let go, watching as the man stumbled back. But as he did, the moonlight hit him just perfectly, glowing on his face.
"I know him!" Bianca called out, louder than she should have and Drew knew instantly that the man had heard. Drew watched as the panic played out on the man's face. His eyes wide, his lips parted and as if in slow motion he raised the gun into the air and pulled the trigger.
Time sped up then as if in fast forward and suddenly he was on the ground, holding the bleeding body of the girl he loved.
"Oh my god." he cried, "Oh my God Bianca, oh my god."
She was gasping as she laid back, her face frozen in shock as she held her side. A bullet to her lower stomach had knocked her to the hard cement. Drew held the hold, trying to stop the bleeding but it was no use. No matter how much pressure he put on, the blood wouldn't stop. It seeped through his fingers and he looked up at her face. Her eyes were full of tears, falling down her cheeks and it was impossible to keep his from doing the same. The world around them stopped. There was no sound, no time. Nothing. Just them, and them and the man standing beside them like a deer in headlights. The gun was still in his hand, hanging at his side as he stared in disbelief at the sight in front of him.
Drew's eyes moved from Bianca to the man and hi face distorted in pain, "What did you do?"
He yelled the words, not caring at all that the gun was still hot and loaded. He stood from the spot and the man coward back, dropping the gun to the cement before he began to run. Drew's jaw clenched, his fists tightened at his sides as he looked down at the smoking gun and then back to the bleeding love of his life.
"Drew." she gasped quietly, growing weaker by the second.
"I'll be right back baby." he said as he leaned down to her and kissed her tear covered lips.
"No please don't go." she tried to call out but it was no use. He had always picked up the gun and began to run. The alley was long and narrow and he could see the man running in front of him. "
"STOP!" he yelled out after him and as his voice echoed throughout the alley, the man turned back to look at his chaser. That move though, was his mistake. As his eyes caught with Drew's his foot caught the cement and pulled him down to the ground. Gravity was not his friend. Drew watched as the man fell face first against the dirty alleyway ground. But he felt no pity for him. No, his veins were on fire, scorching as he approached him. The dark night fell around them, dulling everything about the world. It was only them and Drew's anger boiled beneath his skin.
"Get up." He demanded but the man stayed still. "I SAID GET UP YOU COWARD."
He watched as the mans face lifted, being hit by the moonlight to show the fear that danced across it.
"You shot her!" he yelled, "You shot my girlfriend!"
"I'm sorry… I… I didn't mean… I wasn't…" the man blubbered on but Drew ignored his words.
"I don't... I don't want to hear it! Get up now! The count to five… you run…" he waited for a moment with no movement from the man, "NOW!"
He watched as he pushed himself to his feet and Drew began to count.
"One…" Bianca's face flashed inside his mind. She was left bleeding on the ground only a few yards behind them. His own panic began to fill his body.
"Two." the man had managed to push himself up, but fell against as he stumbled away.
"Three." He watched as he scrambled with his own feet, now jelly beneath him but Drew didn't care.
"Four." he lifted the gun, feeling it's warmth beneath his fingers. It was like a heavy power, and he felt a jolt of unknown excitement as he aimed it forward and narrowed his eyes.
"Five." The banging sound from the bullet as it left the gun ricocheted throughout the alley, echoing off the black walls, drowned out from the world around them. A bullet through the heart sent the man to the floor and as his body laid flat against the dirty alleyway, Drew dropped the gun. He could feel his heart racing and his body began to shake. But nothing mattered to him other than getting back to Bianca. He turned as fast as he could and ran back to her, closing his eyes to stop the tears that fell from them.
She was laying with her knees bent, her chest heaving fast and deep. Her makeup had made it's way down her cheeks and around her body was a thick pool of blood.
"Drew, what did you do?" she croaked, her fingers holding the wound that was leaking fast.
"Oh my god." was all he could manage to reply as he placed his hands to her face, "Baby, oh my god."
Bianca shook her head, biting her lip as she closed her eyes and blinked the tears from them.
"It hurts." she said and gasped and Drew looked back to hole the bullet had created.
He pulled his own shirt from his body as quick as he could and pressed it to the bloody mess that was pouring from her body.
"I love you." she said as her hands moved to his face. He didn't care that her fingers were covered in blood. He didn't care about anything at all.
"I'm so sorry." he spoke, "I'm so so sorry."
"You didn't know." she cried, "It's not your fault, you didn't know this would happen."
"We shouldn't have come down here."
"Stop it." She cried louder and he watched as pain covered her face and she choked out tears.
"Please stay with me." he cried, "Bianca you have to stay awake hold on, I'll call the cops. I'll call them okay you have to hold on. Everything is going to be okay, Alright? You're going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay. Just stay with me, okay? Don't leave me, don't you dare leave me!"
"You don't have a cell phone…" she choked, "By the time you come back… I'll be dead. So… so you stay with me…" she spoke breathlessly, "Just stay."
She shook her head, her eyes pleading and her face pale. The color had drained from it like the blood from her body. His shirt which was once white was now drenched deep red and he cried as he pulled her body into his lap. He held her tightly, crying as she breathed deeply. Her hard jagged breaths heaved against him and he placed his hand to her cheek.
"I love you. I love you so much." he cried, his tears falling freely down his cheeks to her body. He was covered in her blood and he leaned down, kissing her lips. Her eyes were heavy, barely staring back at him but as weak as she was growing, she managed a smile.
"I know." she said, brushing her finger against his cheek. Her hands were freezing, "I love you too."
She cried harder, "I don't want to die."
Drew's breath caught in his throat and he tried to swallow hard to find the ability to breath.
"You're not going to…" he tried to sound convincing but her ability to hold onto life was growing weaker with each second.
"Stay with me," she gasped quietly, "Until I… until I fall asleep."
Again he choked and nodded, leaning his head down to kiss her lips. He kissed her once. Twice. Three times.
"I love you so much. I'll always love you." she said in a whisper another time as he pulled back and looked into her eyes. They were dull, lifeless.
"Always."
With his words, she closed her eyes and he watched as she breathed her last breath. With her last breath the life left her, leaving him there in the dark alleyway alone with her cold body. The body of the girl he loved. The body of the girl he would always love.
He opened his eyes, his body back in his cell and let out a breath. He'd forgotten to breathe and felt the familiar sting of tears in his eyes. Here eyes lingered in his mind, haunting and hypnotizing. Her face never left him, and just as he promised he'd never stopped loving her. He never would. 25 to life for a bullet to the heart of the back of the man who tore his world apart, and she's not in his arms. She would never be in his arms again. So instead, he held onto the memory that changed his entire life in an instant.
"Stay with me until I fall asleep." he whispered as he closed his eyes and her face filled his mind yet again.
