Shots echoed through the house. Three loud pops shook the room. With no hesitation the bullets obeyed the demands of the trigger and raced towards the target. Ruthlessly they ripped through skin, planting themselves deep into the warm flesh of their victim. Screams filled the room as his body collapsed to the cold, hardwood floor like puppet whose strings were cut from the control bar. The man that once stood tall and strong was now like a weak, fragile child. He laid on his side; left arm plastered to the floor while his right clutched his abdomen. Wincing as the bullets shoved themselves farther into his meat, he stared up at the man who shot him. His body trembling as he stared down at the gun he held. Eyes that burned with rage were now full of devastation and confusion. Slowly his gaze drifted from the man who became nothing but a blurred and dark image. Frantically gasping for air as the thought of death engulfed his mind; trying his hardest to not to slip into the dark.

     Shakily he lowered the gun, his mind replaying how his body twisted and jerked from the impact of each bullet. The sound of agonizing screams swallowing and trapping him into an unforgiving fate. Everything had happened so fast. The anger that boiled inside of him as he sat quietly and waited for him to come home; bitter thoughts growing dangerously hot. Every thought gradually setting his mind ablaze; burning his patience and understanding. The flames poisoning his actions as he ripped the cruel gun from his back pocket and slamming down hard on the trigger. The shots leaving his ears ringing as he watched the body fall to the floor; his head bouncing as it met the hardwood. There, only ten steps away, laid the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, the person who had put him through hell and back, the person that he knew without a doubt, was the love of his life.

     Continually he gasped for air as crimson blood seeped through his shirt. It was like watching a child have an asthma attack; their chest shifting up and down uncontrollably as their lungs inhaled faster than they could exhale. Their eyes, that once held life and emotion, slowly growing hard as they slip away closer to death. A numbing sensation that inches up their body as panic sets in. But unlike a child suffering from an attack, no inhaler could restore the breathing of one with three bullets lodged in their body.  

     Still shaking he stood continuing to stare at the person that was his definition of happiness. His mind racing as every memory flashed before him. Every kiss, every word, every smile, every dream that they shared was quickly fading away like the sunset, leaving behind nothing but darkness. Slowly he rose the gun and placed the barrel to the temple of his head; the heat of the barrel causing his heart to pound. Hot, salty tears enveloped his eyes as he let out a loud cry. Gradually he closed his eyes and took in what would soon be his very last breaths. Suppressing the image of the cold, blood stained body that sat motionless on the floor before him and replacing them with only the good times.      

            "I'm so sorry." He whispered, placing his index finger on the trigger.

     With eyes still closed, he forced a smile; goose bumps formed all over his body as he shook. There was no going back once pressure came in contact with the trigger and he didn't mind. All he wanted was to be with the one he loved most, the one he had shot three merciless bullets at. Assuming that his lover was already long gone, he inhaled one last time and held it. On the count of three, he thought to himself. One. Two. Thr-

            "I-Idiot," a weak voice emitted, "id..iot."

     The young man's eyes shot open at the sound of his dying lover's voice. Unveiling the cruel image of death itself, but only it was staring back at him.

            "I've...I've always," the weak voice struggled, "lov-loved you."