Between Ice Blades

POV: Lana

"Cindy, please. Put the gun down."

"Shut up, Alex!"

The gun swung towards me.

I flinched, throwing both hands over my head. My back hit the wall, and I realised there was nowhere left to go.

"Cindy, listen to me," Alex said. "We can talk about this."

"Talk?" She laughed, but her eyes were wet. "You had months to talk to me. Months, Alex! And what did you do? You walked away, chose her, and announced your engagement as if I meant nothing to you."

"That's not true."

"Then why am I standing here with a gun while she's wearing your shirt?"

My eyes dropped to the shirt hanging loosely over my thighs. Alex's shirt. I'd pulled it on that morning without thinking anything of it. Now, under Cindy's stare, it felt like evidence of a crime.

"Cindy, please," I whispered. "I never wanted to hurt you."

Her head snapped towards me.

"You don't get to speak."

I pressed my lips together. My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat.

Cindy looked me over, her expression twisting with disgust.

"What is it about you?" she demanded. "What do you have that I don't? I'm a professional athlete. I've built a career, a reputation. I've stood beside him in front of cameras, sponsors, everyone. I've sacrificed my time and my opportunities to make sure his career stayed on track."

"Cindy," Alex said quietly, "I never asked you to give up your life for mine."

She stared at him.

For a moment, the anger slipped, revealing something raw beneath it.

Then she raised the gun towards him.

"Don't you dare make this my fault."

Alex stopped moving.

"You wanted me beside you when it suited you," she continued. "You wanted the image, the appearances, the perfect couple. And I gave you everything. Then you decided you were tired of me."

"I tried to end things between us without hurting you."

"And now look at you!" Her voice rose. "Engaged to her. Happy with her. Letting the whole world celebrate while I stand there looking like a fool."

She pointed at me again.

"And for what? Her?"

I wanted to tell her that I hadn't stolen Alex. That he had made his own choices. That I hadn't asked him to propose to me just to humiliate her.

But the gun kept finding its way back to my chest, and every time it did, my courage deserted me.

"She's got nothing," Cindy said. "No name. No money. No career that matters. And somehow, she's the one you chose."

"Enough." Alex's voice sharpened. "Whatever happened between us, Lana has nothing to do with how I ended our relationship. This is between you and me."

"No." Cindy shook her head. "You don't get to decide that anymore."

"I'm not trying to decide anything for you. I'm asking you to put the gun down."

"Stop telling me what to do!"

She was crying now, though her grip on the weapon remained steady.

"Everyone thinks they know me," she said. "The difficult Cindy. The arrogant Cindy. The woman who's too harsh, too demanding, too much for everyone."

She wiped her cheek with the back of her hand.

"Fine. Let them see what happens when I finally stop being the woman they expect me to be."

A chill travelled through me.

Alex took a cautious step forward.

"Cindy, look at me. You don't have to do this."

"Stay back."

He stopped, holding her gaze.

"Please," he said. "I know you're hurt. I know you hate me right now. But don't destroy your life over this."

"Destroy my life?" She gave a broken laugh. "You already destroyed it when you chose her."

"I didn't choose her to punish you. I chose her because I love her."

The silence that followed was worse than the shouting.

Cindy looked at him as if she were waiting for him to take the words back.

He didn't.

Then she turned to me.

"If I can't have Alex," she said, her voice suddenly calm, "neither can you."

"Cindy, no!" Alex lunged towards her.

She whipped the gun back in his direction. He caught her wrist, trying to force the weapon away from me.

I heard the struggle before I understood what was happening: the scrape of shoes against the floor, a chair crashing sideways, Alex shouting her name.

Then the gun fired.

Pain tore through my chest.

I stumbled backwards, my shoulder striking the wall before my legs gave way. I landed hard on the floor, gasping for air.

For a few seconds, I couldn't understand why my chest hurt so much.

Then I looked down.

Blood was spreading across Alex's shirt.

My blood.

"No," I whispered.

I pressed my hand against the wound, but the pain made me cry out. My fingers came away red.

"Lana!"

Alex's voice broke across the room.

I forced my head up.

He was still struggling with Cindy. The gun had slipped from her grasp, but neither of them seemed to notice. Alex shoved her away from him. She stumbled backwards, caught her foot against the fallen chair and crashed to the floor.

Her head struck the edge of the low table.

The sound made my stomach turn.

Cindy lay still.

For one terrible moment, Alex stared at her.

"Cindy?"

She didn't answer.

He dropped beside her, touched her shoulder, then looked at his hand. I couldn't see what he saw, but the expression that crossed his face told me enough.

He scrambled towards me.

"Lana. Baby, look at me."

I tried. His face swam above mine, blurring at the edges.

"Stay with me, all right? Just stay with me."

I wanted to ask him if Cindy was dead. I wanted to ask whether I was going to die, too.

Instead, I reached for his hand.

He caught mine immediately, wrapping both of his around it.

"Please," he whispered. "Please don't leave me."

His voice sounded nothing like the man I'd fallen in love with. It was frightened and broken, and I had never wanted so badly to take away someone's pain.

I tried to tell him I was still there.

My lips moved, but no sound came out.

The room dimmed around me. Alex kept calling my name, his hands trembling around mine, while Cindy lay motionless a few feet away.

I couldn't keep my eyes open.

The last thing I felt was Alex holding my hand.

Then the darkness swallowed everything.