Blood ... blood everywhere ... it puddled on the floor and seeped through the grout between the white marble tiles. Moving slowly towards the rug. Splattered on the wall from the two gunshots through the back of his head.
She was standing by the stairs when it happened. It happened so fast. She tiptoed closer. He was face down, the thick red liquid dripping from his brain, gushes out of the bullet wounds on his head, and the smell ... she looked away. She couldn't bear to come any closer.
She gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. There was no way he was still alive. She saw his head explode and his body fell to the floor like a dead log. Even in the dark, it was clear to see the two shots went straight through his skull from a close range.
It felt like a terrible dream she couldn't wake up from. She was numbed in shock, her mind was playing the scene in slow motion, what could she have done differently to stop it? He was dead. She pressed the back of her hand against her clamped lips but it was no use. She let out a cry, and once it was out, it was like she had opened the gates of hell. A long agonizing howl belched out from the bottom of her gut. This can't be real.
"You killed him!" she turned her gaze to the man who had done this.
She stood with whatever strength left in her. She shoved him with both hands, "You killed him!"
The gun was still clutched in his trembling hand, he clenched his teeth. If he could turn back time, he would do it again. "There's no other way," his voice cracked.
Her scream exploded. There were no words to say. Just a long high pitch noise coming out of her mouth and he had to drop the gun and cover her mouth with his hand.
"Calm down ... he gave me no choice."
His lips were shaking, his face drained of colors, his eyes ... fearful.
"We can do this ... you and me ... we'll clean this up, get rid of the body and no one will know." He nodded profusely as if to get her to agree with him. "I did this for us ... don't you see? He gave me no choice ... I love you, Olivia, this is the only way we can be together peacefully ... he won't leave us alone ... he'll never leave us alone."
She pushed his hand off her mouth, "You're crazy ... you'll never get away with this." Her breaths were heavy from the immense pressure of his crime. "You killed a man."
"You did too ... you think you'll be free of this? I didn't kill him ... we did."
The realization of what he said left her stunned. She felt something was pushing up from her stomach. He was right. Even though she didn't hold the gun to his head, she was a part of it too.
She shook her head, "I can't do this."
She had one hand on her head and the other holding her abdomen. She looked around the murder scene and what was left of the man she once loved and maybe ... she still does.
"We can't get away with this ... you! You can't get away with this ... I didn't kill him, I never wanted him to die ... you did this."
He held her by the arms and shook her, "We did this, Olivia, you know that's true ... they will look at our relationship, they'll find we have every motive to do this and they'll put us in jail ... and for what? For wanting to be free from him? He'd kill us if we didn't do this."
He always had a way of rationalizing everything, even murder, justifying his every action but she was not convinced. "We don't know that ... he's not a murderer."
"I'm not a murderer! And look at what you made me do?"
The sudden spike in his voice startled her. "I did this for you ... you did this to me ... to him ... now we have blood in our hands but we can get through this together ... because that's all I ever wanted Olivia ... I just want to be with you."
His eyes softened, tears were pushing through its corners, "I can't lose you, baby, you're the best thing that ever happened to me ... I'd do anything for you ... you know that ..."
His grip loosened, he pulled her into his embrace, his whole body was shaking. He's not a murderer. The fact that he just killed another human being had just materialized in him. He was hyperventilating. He cried.
She stood still. Her brain froze. Her eyes stared into nothing. How did it all come down to this? How will they ever get through something like this?
She slipped her arms around his waist. The warmth of his body, the familiarity of it soothed her. Is it love? Can she ever love a person who had committed murder? Let alone murdered someone who was dear to her heart, no matter how bad it was, they were once deeply in love.
But this man loves her too, so much that he was willing to risk everything for her. She pressed her face on his shoulder and breathed his scent. This man would do anything for her, and he had proven it.
She clasped her hands together behind his back and felt the diamond ring on her finger. She sobbed. The ring was still on her finger, it had to mean something. She pulled back from him. She looked deep into his eyes trying to find something to convince herself of what she has to do next.
He was half the man he used to be, lost in the chaos of what he had done. He needed her.
She had to decide what she was going to do, and she had to do it fast.