…the third shot hit her.
She fell into his arms.
Everything spinning before her, all except him.
They fell to the ground.
He cradled her.
"It's going to be ok. I promise." He whispered. "Help, please! Someone call 911!" He cried.
A woman saw what had happened and grabbed her phone and frantically began dialing.
The man dropped the gun and fell to his knees. He had done what he had come here to do, kill and only kill. He didn't care who as long as he had done it.
Two men wrestled him to the ground where they held him there waiting for the police.
He held her close, tears left his eyes.
"Stay with me, please" He cried.
She smiled weakly.
"I…I…love you" She said breathlessly. And then she left him. He felt her go in his arms.
"No!" He screamed. "I love you! Don't leave me, please! Help me!"
But the woman who phoned the ambulance had left. Everyone ran past him as if they weren't there. No one stopped to help. Even the men who took down the killer were gone along with the murderer himself.
Why was no one helping?
"What's wrong with you people?!" He cried. He kissed her on the forehead. "I'm going to fix this"
He couldn't let go, not now.
Why?
Why her?
Why right now?
'I should have run. I should have taken the bullet. Not her. It was my fault.'
Her life had been taken out of this world and his world had being taken out of his life.
The rest of the band sat down at one of the round tables, all of them with a burger and smoothie.
Kristina raised her glass. "To Nat, the greatest band leader ever!"
"To Nat" The rest said in union lifting up their glasses. If only they knew the horror of what had happened.
"Where's Nat?!" Alex said fearing for his brother's safety. All had gone quiet. Panic set over him. "Nat!" He shouted. He ran out of his hiding place and ran to where he last saw Nat, the fountain.
"Alex! Wait, it might not be safe!" Juanita called after him but he had already gone.
"Help!" Nat shouted. But there was no one left to hear him. He could hear the faint sound of sirens echoing in the night's air.
Piper lay motionless and cold in his arms.
"Oh no" Alex whispered as Nat and Piper came into his view. "No, no, no" He shook his head in disbelief. He couldn't go any closer. He felt sick. He had just missed the bullet and she hadn't, it hardly seemed fair.
He had to help him. He plucked up the courage and went over to him.
"Nat…" Alex whispered as he saw the full horror of what had happened. Tears began to roll down his cheeks.
"He killed her Alex!" Nat shouted. "It should have been me!"
The sirens were getting louder, they were here.
They ran over to them.
"You're too late! She's gone!" Nat cried.
One of the paramedics knelt down beside him and checked her pulse.
"What happened son?" He asked Nat.
"She was shot!" Nat cried. The words choked him. "Make her come back, please!"
The paramedic took Piper out of Nat arms and she was put on a trolley.
"She's been gone a while" He whispered to his co-worker.
Alex crouched down and grabbed Nat, hugging him tightly whilst his brother sobbed on his shoulders.
The band were on their way to find Nat when they saw the ambulance. They looked at each other.
They then noticed how silent it was.
"I wonder what's happened" Quassim said pulling Rosalina closer to him.
"Looks like were about to find out!" Thomas said as they walked around the corner.
They saw Nat's shirt drenched with blood.
"Oh my…" Kristina whispered.
"Nat!" Rosalina shouted as she ran over to them.
The rest followed.
"Are you guys ok?" David asked. "Nat your shirt…"
They didn't say anything, both just stood there quietly.
"Wait! Where's Piper?" Cooper asked.
Alex shakily pointed behind them. They turned around where they saw the body bag.
Kristina lost balance. Thomas caught her but he too felt dizzy. They all looked in disbelief. Just a minute ago they were laughing and joking. They didn't know any of this had even happened.
After that, Piper was taken away and the band were taken back to the Wolff apartment.
Nat had gone upstairs and the rest of the band sat together.
"What happened?" Thomas asked Alex.
"There was this guy and he had a gun…" He couldn't say anymore, it was too painful to say the rest.
"…he shot her" Juanita finished for him.
Kristina put her arm around him.
"It doesn't seem fair, she was alive and well this morning and now she's gone forever" David said.
"And to think the night started out so perfectly…" Rosalina was cut short.
"No night is perfect." Nat said finally realizing what Piper meant by it, his eyes were red raw from crying.
No one knew what to say to him.
Alex stood up and went over to him and hugged him.
"I'm sorry…" He said. "It's my fault; I should have taken the bullet"
"Don't say that! Don't ever say that!" Nat said lifting up his head. "I could have lost two people tonight, Piper and you!"
Everyone stood up, surrounding Nat and group hugged. They were going to help him through it.
One day at a time.
The funeral finally came and Nat was adamant that he would attend.
He had asked her mother if he could play a song for her, to say goodbye. He'd been working on it for weeks and wanted Piper to hear it.
The rest of the band knew nothing about it, not even Alex.
All of them attended the funeral. At the end Piper's mother stood up and addressed the crowd.
"And finally a special tribute for my darling daughter" She sat back down and cried.
Nat stood up, he too had been crying.
"I wrote this song because she told me something before she…" He still couldn't bring himself to say it. "And I think that the whole world should hear it. So here it is"
He took his position by the piano and began to play a soft melody that echoed throughout the church.
'No
night can be perfect
But this comes pretty close
No night can
be perfect
But this comes pretty close
Two is the luckiest number
Two is the luckiest number
Two is the luckiest number
Two is the luckiest number
This school is half as old as you
Aren't you to young to be doing the things you do
That's what
the stalker said when he was feeling blue
I don't believe
Two is the luckiest number
Two is the luckiest number
Two is the luckiest number
Two is the luckiest number
No night can be perfect
But this
comes pretty close
No night can be perfect
But this comes
pretty close
Two is the luckiest number
Two is the
luckiest number
Two is the luckiest number
No night is perfect'
At the end he gave a little nod to say thank you and sat back down.
Whilst the prayers were been given out he thought of what she said to him before the retched man pulled out his gun.
"So now were together what do we call ourselves" She had asked him.
"What about Niper?" He replied.
"Either that or Pat" She said.
They both laughed.
He grabbed her hand and then shouted to the world.
"No night is perfect!"
Then he kissed her for what would be true love's last kiss.
The tears spilled down his face. She had filled him up with so much joy and happiness and now all's he felt was the stinging in his heart and the sadness of it all.
Mr Wolff put his arm around him as he said his final goodbye at her grave.
He laid a red rose upon the freshly dug dirt. "You are the rose in my heart that will forever blossom…I love you"