Die For You
A crash.
"Vause."
She didn't hear.
A shot.
"Vause."
She didn't move.
A scream.
"Vause!"
Green eyes focused, and she got pushed into her body again.
"Move! We gotta get the fuck out of here."
"But we never take hostages," she muttered.
"If you wanna have some deep talk about morals and benevolence I won't hesitate to silence you forever. Now take that goddamn bag and I'll take her if that suits you better."
In an instant, she gazed at the blonde girl whose fear was staining her blue eyes. Alex liked good plans but this plan was not good at all. Also, it hadn't worked out. The first time they robbed a bank and everything was going down the pan. They should have remained faithful to liquor stores and small diners. However, you would never still your hunger for money.
For some reason, she didn't want this beautiful stranger to be with her partner. She wanted to shoot him if he laid his hands on her. But this was just a job, and they were running out of time as the cops were coming closer. This wasn't the right time. Yet, her heart stopped for a moment when he put a gun at the blonde's temple.
"Jesus what the fuck are you waiting for?! We got the money-"
"It's not enough!"
Alex was watching at her whilst her partners were arguing.
"Fuck no! I'm not gonna die today just because you want more! Today, we've made more money than we would ever have when we'd still be robbing those stores. Vause, you coming?"
She wasn't the one who gave Dean a response. "Vause slowly realises that we're bad people."
"Shut the fuck up Leon."
But he only laughed, and shoved the woman that was at the muzzle of his pistol towards the exit of the building. All those other citizens remained on the floor, and Alex could hear them praying, whining, crying. How pathetic.
She followed her two partners and they stepped out of the building, seeing that their driver had arrived. The back of the black van opened and Alex could see the exchange of life and death. The cop caught up and maybe she was lucky or unlucky that they missed her and Dean was the one whose life was ended by the bullet. His corpse fell to the hard ground and instead of hearing how those two cold things collided, she saw the blood painting the world red. There was so much blood, but there would be a redder night for her.
"Vause!"
Her thoughts should stop paralysing her.
Reality set back in and she heard shots and screams. She jumped into the back of the van and right after her feet hit the floor, the van started driving.
"Fuck that was close!" their driver said from his cabin.
And Alex couldn't believe him. "Are you fucking kidding me?! Dean is dead! We left him-"
"There was nothing we could have done for him!" Leon yelled and let out a sigh as he was holding out a syringe to her. His voice was calmer when he said, "Shoot this."
When she took it, she remembered that they weren't alone. That young woman was in the corner and, the way she was looking at her, Alex thought that she had lost her mask. She was seeing her.
But Alex wasn't wearing her heart on her sleeve and she hitched it up, pushing the needle into her vein. She felt lighter immediately and invincible at the same time.
"Good girl," her partner commented after he had prepared his own shoot and fixed himself up, too.
Her green gaze wandered from the stranger to the wall. She noticed that one plan worked out at least when she saw the assault rifles at the wall. Standing up, she saw how the woman's back hit the wall. There was panic in her eyes Alex noticed.
Alex was looking at her as she asked, "What about her?"
"She's our joker."
The way he said it, it disgusted Alex. But her black mask was hiding her face.
The sound of sirens were suddenly too loud to ignore. Her fingers were on autopilot when they gripped around the automatic rifle. She shot one last glance over her shoulder to the blonde before she started a fire. She had never killed anyone, and that wouldn't change today. At first, her partner didn't seem to notice that she was only shooting at the tyres of the police cars. But when they haven't shaken them off and they were closer than ever, he lowered his weapon and turned to her.
"What do you think you're doing?"
She knew this tone, she never had much time for him. Actually, she couldn't care less about him if money wasn't the motive. After all, cash was king.
"What?" she yelled back and saw how one of the cops lost control over his car.
"You know what those things are for?!"
"What the fuck do you want from me Leon?!"
Not even the mask could hide the look on his face. He rolled his eyes before he began shooting again and muttered under his breath that Alex didn't really catch.
Nonetheless, she knew that it hadn't been something nice.
Alex didn't know for how long they have been shooting but at some point, she noticed how silent it was. Loud sirens were replaced by the smell of smoke.
"Where is Cook?" a voice yelled from the driver's cabin.
"Fuck!"
They had a plan, actually, they had tons of plans. And although most of them failed, Cook couldn't fail his. There was a substitute van so they could disappear. But it seemed that the car itself had disappeared instead. Whilst they were waiting for their rescue, Alex approached their hostage and saw something she hadn't seen before.
"Handcuffs? Really?!"
"Hey, don't give me shit for it Vause. I'm keeping us alive here."
"When Leon, when were you ever keeping us alive?!"
"Are you fucking kidding me?!"
For people who were drugged to the eyeballs, neither knew how to calm down.
Alex was kneeling in front of her, somehow trying to tell her with her eyes that everything was going to be fine. She wouldn't forget about her.
"Take them off," she eventually demanded with her back to Leon.
But he just scoffed and said, "You'd just put us at risk."
Before she could answer, a second van was by their side. "This motherfucker."
He was right on time as the fire began to spread in the driver's cabin. After they had thrown their bags full of money into the new vehicle, Dean violently grabbed the stranger's arm to pull her up. "Ladies first."
Internally, Alex has killed them multiple times. He pushed the blonde into the other van and Alex followed her. When Dean jumped into it as well, they saw how their old van got up in flames. Another one of them died, too. Luckily, the heroin was working, apparently the only thing that was doing its job and didn't let Alex think that it could have been her.
When she turned to the blonde to check on her, her green eyes were suddenly blind. Everything was black.
A crash.
The sun was higher than she had been when her eyes shot open. And the pain instantly began to spread within her. She almost puked when she saw that a big shard was impaling her, the end of the broken piece coming out of her stomach.
Dizziness was blocking her view until she saw that she wasn't the only one in the van. She couldn't tell for how long she had been unconscious. However, she wanted to get up on her feet as fast as she could when she saw that Leon was there, collecting the bags. Of course he would leave her, just like they had left Dean.
When she wanted to speak up, she coughed up blood instead and that sound caught his attention. He was on his knees and his eyes were on her when he said, "You're giving me a really hard time Vause."
Again, she wanted to say something but her throat was full of red iron.
Then he pulled out his gun and Alex knew what he was going to do.
"I have no choice, you know that right? It's your fault… why can't you just die?"
A shot.
Her life was flashing right in front of her eyes and the last thing she saw was that blonde woman. And when she opened her eyes and believed she had died, she was also the first thing she saw. How she was holding a gun that was smoking. How she had taken the life of Dean whose lifeless body was at her feet.
Alex couldn't speak but it wasn't because of the blood in her mouth. She was blown away. The blonde eventually tore her gaze away from her and began to search for something. And Alex was looking at it. Despite the humongous pain in her stomach, she leaned forward, reaching for the small sparkling thing.
Eventually, she could grab it and was holding the key out to her. She was full of pain and nausea, about to faint every moment but she was certain that this woman was keeping her awake. She reminded her to stay alive.
The stranger immediately dragged the key out of her hand and was releasing herself. And then she would disappear, just like Alex would, for good.
She was still looking at her and saw that the blonde glanced at her before she turned around and got up. Maybe Alex would find a gun that would hasten her death. Her silhouette vanished and Alex's hand was roaming over the floor. Although she didn't know why, but watching her leave just like that added even more pain. Alex would die in this van, and her body would turn to dust, and nobody would know nor care.
Nobody would remember her. It was such a devastating truth that blood wasn't the only thing Alex coughed up.
And then Leon's last words were ringing in her ears.
"Why can't you just die?"
Before everything around her turned black again, she saw a silhouette approaching her.
Only death could make them part.
Staring at her wrist, the blonde carefully grazed her fingers over the inked skin.
"I'll never understand those tribal motives."
"And yet you chose one."
"You're crazy."
"Crazy about you."
Piper was smiling when Alex moved closer and kissed her. When they broke apart, Alex leaned back into the beach lounger as they were watching the sunset from the patio of their beach house. Whilst her green gaze was fixed at the horizon, Piper asked, "What if you regret it?"
Before Alex replied, she let out a raspy chuckle. "Kid, you picked it for me. I'll never regret it."
"What if-"
But the raven-haired woman just kissed her, and she rested her hand on top of her thigh, playing with her fingers. Staring at their matching rings, she eventually looked up at the woman that was sitting in her lap and said with a smirk on her face, "We're honeymooning and you're already thinking about divorce?"
"Why did I marry you again?"
"You really wanna go down that path? Cause, you know, we'd be having an endless conversation about my awesomeness."
"Never mind," the blonde responded and returned her gaze on the sunset. "I love Cambodia."
"Me too."
Sometimes, you needed things to keep your memory alive. And every time Alex would look at her tattoo, she would return to this moment. She needed something that would remind her that this once was real. Otherwise, she would be afraid that she would forget it.
She froze when she felt that iron at the back of her head. They caught up to them, they had run out of time. If she just could see Piper's face again, she needed it just one more time. They loved each other so much that it made them hungry, greedy, craving for more. It all was too familiar, she had been in this position before. With Dean, and Leon, and her other partners. The only difference was that her partner, was her wife. And this wasn't just any bank, but the First National Bank.
And the cop that finally would kill the infamous Vause said, "The game is over."
Alex couldn't even disagree with him.
Yet, for some reason, Piper proved herself to be her guardian angel, saving her once again. When she heard a shot, it wasn't her body that fell onto the ground. The cold vanished and it was Piper whom she saw when she turned around. She had to think of Leon. As long as she had Piper, she couldn't die.
And then she realised that Piper killed for her. Nothing changed, Alex was still loyal to herself. She would never kill anyone, not under any circumstances. She was a criminal, she was a robber, but she was no killer. Unlike her own wife who killed to save her life, for the second time.
"We need to get to the car Al," she reminded her as she was carrying huge bags full of money.
Cash was king.
Alex understood but, she didn't hear. After all, it still sent a shiver down her spine when death was so close to her.
"They're here," Piper said and was standing in front of her, dropping the bags to cup her cheeks, "Alex."
Alex looked at her, but she didn't see her. So the blonde reached into the pocked of her jacket, in her palm two pills. She put them into her mouth before she kissed Alex deep and hard enough to get her back.
"I love you."
"I love you too," the black-haired woman replied and was eventually driven by the sudden rush.
She picked up the bags and they both made their way to the car. Before they got into it, one of Alex's least favourite sound appeared. Piper was right, they were here.
Kicking down the gas pedal, they tried to escape. Alex was so full of ecstasy and adrenaline that she barely forgot. Luckily, she had Piper who reminded her of their getaway route. This was the last time, their ultimate coup. They were done. Almost.
"They're coming closer," the blonde stated and winded the car window down to lean over and started firing.
"Faster baby!"
"I'm trying!" Alex told her whilst the road in front of her was getting darker with every second.
But they had made the perfect plan, and they had the perfect route. Everything would be fine once they would be free. She just had to remember that.
However, she would never certainly know what she heard first.
A crash. A shot. A scream.
A shot. A scream. A crash.
A scream. A shot. A crash.
A crash. A scream. A shot.
A shot. A crash. A scream.
A.
She knew she wasn't dead when she woke up and the world was upside down. Yet, when she looked to her side, she knew she was in hell.
"Piper."
They were stuck in the car, close to suffocating as the insides of the vehicle were pressing against their bones
"Piper."
Due to their positions, Alex was struggling to reach out to her. Her blue eyes were closed and there was blood all over, she had never seen so much blood. But she would see more red. As she could barely see anything, she didn't understand why the blonde wasn't moving. Alex tried to free herself, moving back and forth to get closer to her.
"Piper."
She was on autopilot, in trance. She couldn't stop saying her name.
"Piper."
She needed to remember. She wasn't allowed to forget.
"Piper."
Eventually, she could touch her and was holding onto her shoulder, trying to free her. But this time she had no key, this time, Piper wasn't just in handcuffs. Alex almost thought that-
"Al."
"I'm here kid, I'm here. Pipes, baby, look at me, I'm here."
The words were just falling from her lips, like a waterfall and she let out a sigh when she saw those blue eyes one more time. It was almost the only colour she could see, they were almost blue enough to fade out red. But there was so much blood.
"Don't forget me."
"Of course not," the brunette assured her without hesitation although she didn't know why Piper was afraid that she would.
The blood couldn't stop her from touching her face as she said, "Let's get out of here kid."
However, Piper's voice froze her in an instant. "Al."
She turned to her and was too drugged, too paralysed, too faded to understand the real world.
"Don't forget me."
Alex was missing things.
That was why she responded, "I won't, remember, I just said I wouldn't."
Alex was missing things.
"You need to do it," Piper mumbled, her words drowning in blood.
"What? What are you talking about?"
Suddenly, Piper's arm moved slowly, searching for something that Alex couldn't see.
"Please, never forget me."
And then she got dragged back into the real world.
"Piper, what are you doing?" she asked, although she understood.
"Do it."
Her gaze flickered to the gun before she looked at her wife again. "Listen to me, I'll get us out of here, okay? You hear me? We'll be fine, I'll get us out of here."
"I'm dy-"
"No, you're not dying, you're not dying, you're not-"
The brunette cut herself off, no longer able to forget about reality. There was so much blood, the small of iron was polluting the car, and loud sirens were growing louder. Suddenly, it was too hard to forget the real world.
Whimpers let her violently know that Piper was suffering. She had to do it, she couldn't let her suffer, she had to take her pain away.
But Alex was no killer.
Was she really considering killing her own wife?
"No no no no no no no," she quickly muttered under her breath, her hands looking for a last exit.
But her thoughts were getting the best of her.
And then Piper reminded her, "They're coming."
Her own movements died, and she was just looking at her, seeing that Piper's eyes were on her. And although they were full of panic and horror, she found the slightest bit of hope in them too. So the blonde handed her the gun again. "Release me."
She didn't want to but her fingers gripped around the butt. Releasing the safety catch, it wasn't her who rose the gun. Holding her blue gaze, it wasn't her who put the finger on the trigger. Hearing the sirens, it wasn't her who was pointing the gun at Piper.
Alex wasn't thinking, Alex forgot to move, Alex wasn't there.
"I love you."
They had run out of time, it was over.
And Alex forgot how to breathe.
A shot.
Alex forgot.
Until she finally remembers.
She remembers pulling the trigger. She remembers pulling the trigger a second time but the gun died instead of her. She remembers how she failed her. She remembers how she couldn't let her go. She remembers what I love you means. She remembers that she cannot remember to forget her.
She almost forgot.
Her emerald eyes flicker to the weapon of the officer in front of her. After all, she is a criminal. But no crime is worse than almost forgetting your own love. So she reaches forward, her hand moving faster than a heartbeat.
Forgive me, baby.
Cold iron meets her temple.
I'm coming home, baby.
She closes her eyes and whispers, "I'm sorry."
I hope you waited for me, baby.
Another shot.
Not even death can make us part.
