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“Lay him flat,” Vin says pulling him from my lap. I stand to my feet and watch him as he and another man begin to hold rags or their jackets to his stomach and shoulder. My heart breaks more.
“Who did this? Why did they do this?” I scream loudly. The world seems to crumble around me as I fall to the ground on my knees. Dom and I haven’t known each other long, but I still feel things for him. He can’t just leave me like this. It’s wrong. It can’t happen!
The ambulance and police pull in and Roni rushes to handle them. The ambulance is backed up and comes closer when the stretcher is pulled free. The men move quickly lifting him up onto the stretcher and poking around on him. As soon as they load him into the back, I climb in too. The man hooks up all kinds of machines and wires. My stomach churns at the thought of him not making it. He’s a kid. He’s eighteen years old for God’s sake. Tears leak down my cheeks as they work on him. Then I sit back as the ambulance pulls off and drives toward the hospital.
“What happened?” the man asks.
“We were having our wedding and someone just started shooting. He doesn’t get to die on me! Not now! Do you hear me, Dom! You don’t get to do this!” the ache in my chest only gets worse. The ride seems to take forever and when we get there I’m not allowed to go with him. Instead, I’m ushered to a waiting area where I stand in shock with my arms wrapped around myself.
“It’s my fault,” I whisper to no one. “It’s all my fault.”
“Eva?” I hear Vincent calling to me and step out of the waiting room. His hands are covered in his best friends blood as well as his shirt. When he sees me, he grabs me and pulls me into his arms.
“I want to kill them all, Vin.”
“I know. I know you do and we will.”
“He can’t leave me. I just got him, Vin.”
“He isn’t leaving anyone. Come, let’s sit until the doctor’s can tell us more.” He leads me over to the chairs and I sit but I don’t feel right. I feel sick. Sick to my stomach. And then the doors open and I realize why. The only words that register to me.
“I’m sorry. We did all that we could.”
25
Evangeline
Standing here staring at the coffin doesn’t seem real. A week ago we were getting married. A month ago he was being his alpha asshole self. Today I’m crumbling and falling into the nothingness that I’ve allowed myself to become. A week has changed me. A week has ruined me and a week has ended all hope of a happy future. My chest aches, my limbs feel heavy. Nothing makes sense to me anymore. The cops have no leads on who shot him. No one knows anything and what makes me even sicker? His father. That retched man had the nerve to show up here with his wife at his side. Her tears? Those seemed genuine, but his? No, those are all fake. They’re for show and my stomach recoils every time I look over and see him wipe his eye. He did this.
There’s a feeling in the pit of my stomach that tells me as much and the funny thing is, he doesn’t know we’re married. I was married and became a widow all in the same day not even having time to enjoy what being married meant and to be honest, I don’t want to know anymore. I don’t want the burden of ever losing someone else the way I lost Dominic.
The pastor speaks, but I don’t hear a word. I keep my arms wrapped around myself protectively even though the amount of security around here could rival the president of the United States. Men in dark suits, dark glass, and no doubt guns under their jackets line the streets, the cemetery and the coffin. Everything seems so surreal right now and I don’t know how to handle it. I swallow hard and watch as Dom’s mother walks over and places a red rose on top of his coffin before being lead away in hysterics. That’s when his father walks up to me.
“I understand you were there when this all happened. My condolences to you as well, Miss?” He’s fishing for information that I’m not willing to give and just like the first time I moved here, I give him the name I was here under.
“Miss Cavello. I knew Dominic from school. I’m sorry for your loss,” I say respectfully although it feels like acid on my tongue.
“Thank you. Dominic will be greatly missed amongst our family. I’m unsure what he was doing in Las Vegas to begin with,” he adds trying to pry more information from me. it won’t happen. I won’t give him anything but a bullet with his name written all over it.
“He had said he was taking a break before tests,” I offer a lie. Lies. That’s all he’s ever going to get from me. I can’t believe I’m back in Chicago. The one place that tried to ruin me, but Las Vegas will now be the place that gutted me. I can’t look at anything there and not see his face, that smile that we very rarely got to see. He kept that hidden from the world and it was an honor to have seen it on the few occasions that I had.
“Ah, yes. School can be very demanding. Well, I must go.”
“You aren’t waiting?” Until they finally lower your son into the ground? What kind of father are you? I want to ask the questions, but I also know better. Instead, I wait for an answer.
“No. I wish I could, but it’s too much. You can stay if you’d like.” Giving him a sad smile, I nod once. I was there when he took his last breath I’ll be damned if I walk away before he’s buried. With that his father walks off and leaves me there with Vincent.
“Vin?”
“Hmm?”
“Will you teach me to shoot?”
“Why? Dominic wouldn’t want that.”
“I’m aware of what Dom wouldn’t want, but I’m also aware of the face that his father put the last bullets in his body. He stole his life and in return I will steal his,” I inform him keeping my head held high even as tears stream down my cheeks.
“Dom wouldn’t want you in harms way, Eva.”
