Crazy for Love

Bang!

"Fuck! Who fucking shot?" Joseph said sharply, his voice remaining low and controlled.

"Damn! That came from the dark corridor. Let's go check. Hopefully it's nothing."

Both walked fast toward the dark corridor, the air heavy with tension. Joseph headed first, pistol in hand, with Anna a step behind him, cautiously watching his rear.

Up front was a figure with a bright crimson mask that glowed in the faint moonlight seeping through the windows. His back rested against the wall, and his breath was unstable.

His hands pressed weakly against his chest, fingers slick with blood, dragging along the surface as if trying to stay upright.

Both stood there, just watching. They couldn't tell if he was friend or foe until the figure's hands moved slowly, removing the mask from his face.

"MARK!"

Anna lunged forward. Her pistol slammed hard against the floor as her grip loosened. Her eyes turned red instantly as tears slowly flowed down.

"Mark, I'm so... s-sorry... I'm rea...lly sorry..." Her voice trembled as her hands slowly applied pressure to the wound.

"Babe girl, you stil..." His voice dragged, barely holding together. Then it broke into a violent cough, blood slipping past his lips.

"Hey... hey, stop." Anna dropped beside him, grabbing his shoulder, trying to steady him. "Don't talk. Don't... just breathe, okay? Just breathe."

Mark tried once more, but this time the cough was far worse than before.

"Please!" Anna's voice cracked, sharper this time. "Stop talking, please. Joseph-" her eyes shot toward her partner. "Go start the car! We need to move him now!"

Her hand pressed harder against his chest. "Just stay with me, Mark," she muttered. "Please don't talk."

"You're such... a baby," he whispered, blood slowly slipping from his lips.

"Joseph is getting the car, Mark... please just hold on..." Her face held a strained smile. "...the car is coming... please... please." Dry tears flowed slowly from her eyes without stopping. Her words jammed against each other.

Mark smiled. His hand slowly reached for hers, pulling it toward his lips, then gave it a soft kiss.

"Anna... remember... the time we met..." he coughed hard, "...even if... you weren't mine... I wanted to always make you smile... always be by your side..."

Anna let out a broken sound... half sob, half laugh. Tears kept falling as her lips trembled upward.

"Anna, it's too... late. This is the... end for me..." His hand lifted slowly, trembling as it reached her face, brushing her cheek lightly.

Her breath hitched. "Stay with me... please-don't-"

"...but remember..." His voice dragged, barely there. "I will... always... love... yo..."

His hand dropped hard to the floor, and the room fell silent.

"Mark?" She reached for his hand, lifting it up and watching it drop once more.

"MARK!!!!!!!!"

"...No."

Her hands tightened around him, shaking now, desperate, like she could force life back into something that had already gone. "No... no, no, no... please, no..."

Her voice cracked under the weight of her own tears. Her wailing ripped through the silence of the corridor. "...Mark... not you... as well..."

Thirty minutes away from the corridor where Mark was shot dead, late at night at Landmark Beach, where only the sound of the Atlantic sea could be heard.

On a secluded wooden bench sat someone. His back hunched over and elbows pinned against his knees. His body shook violently, from the tip of his lips to the depths of his limbs. His heart raced continuously against his rib cage, almost like an addict suffering through terrible withdrawal symptoms.

"I had to, Anna... I had to do it," he said, his voice uneven and ragged. "You don't understand, you couldn't see it, but he... he had to die. Because of you. No, for you. All for you."

He slowly chipped away at the flesh and nails of his fingers as he tried to force his racing mind to focus.

"Each day... every single day, he was around you," he whispered, his eyes wide and unblinking. "He wasn't a good guy, Anna. He wasn't good for you. I needed to protect you. I had to protect you."

He rested back against the bench as a dark laugh mixed with sobs escaped through his lips. He looked down at the bench where a black pistol lay, then grabbed it forcefully, wiping it frantically against his jeans as if it were still covered in grease and gunpowder.

"Now he's gone. He's gone and you're finally safe. You're safe from him, Anna. I did it for you. I did it all for you..."

His body slowly calmed down, a dark smile slowly curling across his lips.

"You really are a piece of work, Dracula."

A dry voice tore through the silence of the empty beach.

"It's about time we move. Stop behaving like it's your first time putting someone in the dirt."

The shadow turned away, leaving Dracula alone on the bench under the dark Lagos sky.

Eight months later, January 23.

"You know," she said, stepping out of her apartment building, "at this point you're just stalking me." She smiled softly, looking toward the gates where the culprit leaned against them.

Ben-a young man in his mid-20s, sharp-featured, wearing casual blue jeans, a jean jacket, and a white inner shirt. His left shoulder rested against the wall, with one of his hands holding a paper bag and the other holding two cups of hot coffee.

He tilted his head slightly. "It's called friendship, learn the difference, fish," displaying a cute smile on his face.

Anna narrowed her eyes at him. "Why are you trying to act cute all of a sudden?" she said, laughing. "...You look like a freaking monkey," not even bothering to hold back her laughter.

"You memorized my schedule once again, jeez."

"You have a predictable life."

"You bought breakfast again."

"I know you definitely forgot to eat."

She sighed, taking the cup from his hand. "You really need a girlfriend."

"And yet," he said, pushing off the wall, "you can't do without me," he said, smiling warmly.

Anna took a sip first, and the taste was exactly the way she liked it-the regular. And of course it was. For a friendship already over 20 years old, at this stage every habit was already known.

Without thinking, Anna reached up to Ben's neck to straighten his collar where it had folded inward.

He smiled softly. It was usual as well...

"You could have told me, people are watching," he said with a slightly flustered face.

"What will they do? Let them judge all they want, it's not like we are dating or something."

Ben huffed, but the corner of his mouth lifted.

Anna's phone buzzed slightly. She barely glanced at it at first-just a usual notification, probably one of the usual advertisement alerts. Then she suddenly stopped talking, staring deeply at her phone.

Ben quickly grew worried as well. "What happened?"

She didn't answer. Her eyes stayed on her screen while her expression shifted slowly-the kind of change that only someone who knew her would notice.

Ben stepped closer. "Anna?"

"Anna!" he said, his voice slightly louder, grabbing hold of her shoulders, cutting her off from her trance.

She looked at him, her hand shaking slightly, then she turned the phone toward him. A message glowed on the screen from a group chat filled with old but familiar names. Names she hadn't seen in years, from a group that was almost dead.

Class Reunion - Tomorrow Night! Royale Restaurant, 7 PM. Don't ghost us again this time.

Silence stretched between them as she immediately locked her phone.