Friends or Family?

What have I learned today?

Ace = Dumb ass.

What else?

Never get on any type of vehicle when he is driving.

So as the story goes………

So, Ace decides that he loves to go 80 mph on a rode where the law is only about 25 mph. I’m surprised we didn’t crash. He was one of the lunatics you see swerving in-between the cars. Me? Well I was clutching his waist in a death grip. I kept my eyes closed tight ‘cause I wasn’t about to stick around to see what would happen if I opened them. Of course Ace had to act like he did this everyday….witch was probably true.

Out of no where we finally stopped in front of the beat down house from before. Ace climbed off and slung my arm over his neck and I sort of hopped over to the house. We opened up to the house and the sight shocked me. Yeah, it was still a mess but the dead look in Maria’s eyes. She wasn’t dead yet but she looked like she would be at any second. He skin was pale and her hair was greasy like it hadn’t been washed for awhile.

“Oh my gosh! Maria what happened to you?” I exclaimed with urgency in my voice. I forgot about my damned foot and stepped on it at least three or four times. The pain was only in the back of my mind. It killed me to see Maria, so strong and beautiful on her death bed.

“Ace, Why don’t you get her help? Why don’t you help her? Are you going to just let her die like this?” The panic in my voice scared even me.

What was I suppose to do? If she left me from this world, what did I have left? Unnoticed tears slid down from my cheeks. Maria was too weak to even mutter a word.

“Listen Molly, Listen!” Ace shouted to me. He grabbed me by the shoulders but I refused to allow him to contain me. I knew Maria was sick, but never thought it was this bad. “Listen! We can’t allow her to go anywhere! She is wanted by the cops! If she goes to get help, they will help her. The problem is after she’ll be sitting in a jail cell the rest of her life. Do you want that for her? Do you understand?” Ace shook me a few times. I was unable to process what he said.

“But can’t you give her a fake name or something?” What? There had to be something we could do!

“No. They will test her blood and then know who it is.”

“Well you have to do something! What is wrong with her?”

“Cancer. You have to understand. She’s slowly dying. I had to let you see her one more time. I had to let you-” At this time tears poured out of his eyes. He stuttered and had to force the words out. “I had to let you say your good byes to her.” Ace covered his face with his hands to try and make a attempt at pushing away his tears. That’s when I saw it.

That’s when I saw the same silver pistol he used on me earlier. He planned to shoot Maria dead.

“No! You can’t shoot her! You can’t!” I screamed and pleaded. I jumped on him to try and get the gun away but it was no use. I wasn’t going to let her die. I remember Nick dying. I didn’t want to remember the feeling again. To know I could have prevented it.

“Listen! This is what she wanted! This is what she told me to do when she got to the point of no return. Look at her. Really look at her. Think of the torture the doctors would have to put her through, only to let her rot out in jail! Think of how she will feel. Alone, all alone in the world.” He grabbed my face close. His voice slowed down slightly. “You know what it’s like to be alone, don’t you? We all know you were alone for so many years. What happened to your real parents Molly? Did they love you? Did they die or just give you up? You know what it’s like to be alone. Don’t make Maria go through that.”

“No! It’s not the same! Your mind is twisted with hate and remorse! Please stop and think about your actions!” I screamed out. I didn’t want him to kill her. I couldn’t let him. He was trying to make me think of my parents, not Maria. Maria is what is important right now. Maria.

I heard him ready the gun. I watched him try to aim it at her heart. It took my head a few seconds to register what he was about to do. He was really going to kill her. I screamed “No.” I knew what I had to do. It seemed like the same moment he fired the gun, the same moment I jumped in front of Maria.

A searing pain ripped through my arm. This time I screamed out in pain. I don’t remember ever being shot before. A be be gun and a real bullet are two completely different things.
Ace growled in annoyance. He pushed me to the floor and readied his gun again. I put the pain aside for just a moment. I swiped his feet so he feel to the ground. The bullet shpt through the ceiling. Ace stumbled to get up. I kicked and cried for him to get back down but it was no use. He readied his gun for the third time. This time he didn’t miss. The bullet ran straight through Maria's heart.

She gasped and slumped over slightly.
“Ace…..I still love you. Mol-” She sputtered out.

Then….she died. I will forever wonder what she was going to say to me. A thick stream of blood ran down her, across the couch and down to the floor. I cried out loud, as if it would bring her back. I was in true disbelief that such a thing happened. Why me? Why Maria? Why?