Tristan
I didn't notice how I'd moved or how I'd managed to get there in time. The moment I saw the flick of the trigger, everything felt like a blur. Then the gunshot came and then…
Pain.
It was like an out-of-body experience. I could feel the seating bullet lodged in my body, yet at the same time, everything was completely numb. I didn't fully process it until I saw the red stain on Valerie's hands and dress.
‘Valerie,’
She was all I could think of.
Facing her tear-filled eyes and stricken look made my heart hurt. For the first time, I held hope that we were getting somewhere, no matter how long it took, only for this to happen. A gunshot and Valerie once again, except this time I was on the other end of her shoes.
Call it déjà vu, karma or the universe's sick sense of humor. At
