I was there, the cold metal grasped tightly in my small hand, when it hit.
It was a sudden, sharp pain in my stomach, punctuated by a scream that may or may not have been me. I put my hand to the wound, dropping the gun. Crimson ran over my pale fingers and gushed down the front of my grey sweater. My knees fell against the asphalt, the dull thud registering an intense and agonizing fire throughout my entire body.
I looked up. The last thing I saw before passing out were his eyes, blue like the sky.
And now I lay here. The sheets are stiff and cold and dirty, just like everything else in this stupid room. There are no windows and I've refused to let anyone turn on the lights. My stomach still aches, but that's inevitable; no one has ever taken a bullet and walked away unscathed.
I raise my shirt to inspect the wound, the gauze is soaked red as usual. I slowly and agonizingly crawl out of the bed and over to the mirror. Looking myself over as I always do I make sure I am still looking good. Satisfied, I leave to go get ready for the day ahead of me. Outside it's already cold and dull, raining as usual with the dead and dying orange leaves blowing across the road. Wrapping myself up in a sweater from the closet I trudge down the stairs and into the kitchen where the coffee is already started.
Grasping the hot cup between my hands I think back to the day when this all started and how it all began.
We used to be the best of friends, nothing could ever seperate us no matter what they tried to do. Always together and always sharing everything with each other, even the worst and deepest secrets we had. Every night after school we would sit by the fountain out front and talk about what ever we had on our minds. Every time I would stare into his deep blue eyes it would seem as if the world just faded away and all that matters was the moment there with him, hand in hand with his long blue locks framing his perfect face. Time seemed to slow down and we could breath easy, relieved of all stress and worries.
Suddenly, our lives and friendship were ripped apart that dark day. Nobody really knew what happened other than the fact that they were dead. They were all dead. Both our parents were killed in the same fateful crash. They never saw it coming, the lights went out right as they were approaching the crossing. Hydroplaning through the intersection they connected with an indiscernible noise. Both cars were fully destroyed in the crash. It took the firemen a full 2 hours to recover the bodies from the wreckage of the crash. Their screams still lingering in our ears.
Ike, my childhood friend stood there beside me, his face impassive as if he couldn't understand what was happening, I'm sure he did though. My face cold and stinging from the fall wind and my tears I'm sure. After that all I remember was crying in his arms for what seemed like hours. I think I heard him sob too, I can't be sure.