Chapter 4 The gun

Octavio stared at the handgun in the lowest drawer for a minute, before removing and holding it up. He looked at it then dropped his hand on his thigh. Tears brimmed his eyes and he pressed his lips together, staring into space. For some time, he remained in that position. When he got up, he placed the gun on the table and pulled out one ruled paper from the pile on the table and started scribbling.

When he reached the bottom of the page, Octavio folded and put it in the envelope then wrote 'Juliet Fetterman' on it. He opened the closet and removed a jacket, then put the gun in an inner pocket. With a heavy heart, he said 'bye' to his mother who was lying on the couch and continued walking out of the house.

Once outside, he stared at the house, the only place where he'd had some amount of peace. He jumped into a cab which took him to Fillis, a nearby small town town. When he reached there, he took the road that led to Fillis River. He knew David and Kylie would be there through his stalking. The upper side of the river was rumored to be haunted so very few people ever went there, even during day time. Two years back, seven college students in their early twenties had drowned while on a picnic. The last to die among them had narrated strange events like how the water had some magical pull that drew you into it. People who went there during the night and survived always told creepy stories about the place. Some people never came back.

It was a bit creepy. Wild bushes grew around the river and that part was so deep and silent. Few people dared to go past the bushes to the untidy clearing. Some, however ignored all that and went there to have a good time with their loved ones.

Octavio spotted them and crept to the bushes behind David. Kylie had her back to the river as she chatted happily with him. They were seated on a dark blue blanket, a bag and soft drinks placed on the side. Octavio clenched his fist, jaw clenching when David caressed Kylie's hand and she smiled at him.

He removed his phone and dialled Juliet's number since she was the only person he could consult at the time.

"Juliet," he said, quietly.

"Hi Octavio," Juliet said. "Are you okay? Did something happen?"

"I called to tell you that something terrible is about to happen."

"Oh no! Do you want me to help you? Where are you? Should I come over?"

She was such a good person it hurt to give her bad news.

"No," he said. "What I mean is I'm about to cause something terrible and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"Octavio, you're a good person," Juliet said. "Don't do anything you'll regret."

"I didn't call to ask for advice, Miss Fetterman." Octavio said, coldly. "I just want you to help me decide."

"What are you planning to do Octavio?" Juliet inquired.

"To kill either Kylie or your father," Octavio threatened. "I know it sounds cliche but if I can't have Kylie, no one will. One of them has to die today."

"Listen to me, Octavio." Juliet said. "I can talk to-"

"Shut up!" Time was going and he wanted to quickly get over with it. His heart was thumping furiously in his chest while sweat pooled up in almost all parts of his body, especially his palms. "Just tell me, David Fetterman or Kylie."

"Don't hurt anyone Octavio," Juliet said. "My father may be a douchebag but we're not the ones to judge. Leave that to God. Kylie is a young-"

God. Octavio felt that God had deserted him a long time ago. He'd let satan tempt him to kill his father and that was why he'd had such a bad life. He thought God didn't care about him, especially during those moments when he was alone. He had no idea where he'd go after death, but as long as it was out of the horrible world, he'd be fine.

"You've made your decision," Octavio said. "You defended your father first so I'll go with Kylie."

"Octavio don't hurt Kyl-"

"Call the police, Juliet." He said and hung up before she could say something that'd change his mind. He text-ed his current location to her, then aimed at Kylie, who was laughing at something David had whispered into her ear. She was so pretty.

"I love you so much Kylie," He said, wiping tears with the back of his hand. His hands shook as he pulled the trigger.

The bullet went through Kylie's chest. She fell onto the ground and David quickly stood up, looking around furtively. Octavio walked out of the shrub, glaring at him.

"See what you did to her?" Octavio said. "You ruined a young girl's life. Run, Fetterman, before you ruin your family's lives, too."

"But-" he tried to say.

"Go home right now if you don't want the police to find you here."

David hesitated for a while but Octavio put his pistol on the grass, sat down then slowly eased Kylie from the blanket onto his lap. "Take this and make sure to destroy everything that links you to her."

David did as told, putting the blanket into the bag and rushing off. Much as Octavio hated David, he didn't want Juliet to live a life like his. He didn't want her father to go to prison so he touched all the places he'd seen David touch so as to leave his fingerprints. He was sobbing and telling Kylie they'd be fine when he heard police sirens.

"Why did it have to be him, my love?" Octavio asked the girl he'd just killed. "You shouldn't have hated me so much, I just wanted us to be a happy couple. Now, look what you made me do. " Using his palm, he wiped away his tears that had landed on her beautiful face.

When he heard soft footsteps, Octavio threw his phone into the river, picked up the gun, turned off the safety and held it near his face, ready to pull the trigger.

"Drop the weapon," A policeman said as soon as he saw Octavio.

"I killed my love," Octavio confessed before pulling the trigger. His brains gushed out as he fell backwards.