A Love To Die For

“I hate it when you call me Turtle.”
Despite her words, she was smiling. I came up with that nickname for her as a joke about her coming out of her shell. We were both shy kids, and it was very hard for me to ask her out. I think it was well worth all the sweat and mental stress.
She put her books in her bag and closed her locker. Even these simple movements gave me chills. It was intoxicating just to be around her. My attraction to her was more than sexual, far from it. I genuinely enjoyed her company. I didn’t care if she called me her boyfriend or not. As long as we were friends I was going to be happy.
“Want me to walk you to class?”
“Your class is on the other side of the school.”
She laughed, and started walking to her class. I was feeling extra chivalrous, so I walked after her.
“It’s alright, Mr. Simmons is always asleep. He would never notice I was late.”
She laughed but didn’t tell me to go away. I took a deep breath, trying to gather the courage to reach for her hand. Slowly my hand began to listen to me again. She preempted me when her hand entered mine and squeezed. I was so surprised for a second I didn’t react. Then I found my grip and held on.
Laughing, she said, “Look at you, Mr. Charming.”
“You know for a shy girl you can be mean.” But I was laughing with her.
We reached the end of the hall, when suddenly a kid came around the corner. I didn’t recognize who he was. His hair was a matted mess of tangles, and his clothes looked like they were way too big for a kid his size.
I froze when I saw the gun in his hand. He was holding it loosely, but well enough that I couldn’t knock it out of his hand if I went for it.
A whimper beside me brought my attention back to Turtle. Without thinking, I stood between her and the gunman. My movement seemed to put him on alert. He solidified his grip on the gun.
“What do you want?” My voice sounded braver than I felt.
“I want to put her out of my misery.”
His words, more than his emotionless voice, turned my blood to ice. I put my arms behind my back and gripped Turtle closer to me. I didn’t know what she had done, but I was positive it didn’t compel her death. He raised the gun and pointed it at me.
“Move, or I shoot you as well.”
Again with a voice that was the monotone of a machine. Not trusting myself to talk I shook my head side to side. I was on the verge of tears, but trying my best not to show it. I heard him sigh, and then there was a deafening explosion.
At first I felt nothing and thought he had missed me altogether, but then pain tore through my entire body. I heard Turtle scream as I fell to the ground. Blood gushed out the hole in my chest. Turtle knelt beside me. Her lips were moving, but I couldn’t hear any of the words. Like it was coming out of a mist, a gun appeared in my vision and pressed against her head. I tried to get up to help her, but before I could reach her I fell into the darkness.1