Slow down you crazy child

You collapse, the weight is too heavy, your knees buckle. The pain is so intense you scream in agony. You cry out, hoping to stop this massacre, you scream until you have no air left to breathe. You reach out towards his body, the red suit half-destroyed, and you see his face and his lifeless eyes.

"NOOOO!!" you wake up with this word in your mouth. No, it wasn’t possible. No, no, no, it must have been a nightmare. Indeed, it was a bad dream, but one based on elements that actually happened.

Andrés was dead.

You heard the door burst open, and Sergio rushed in, out of breath, holding a pistol, terrified. It wasn’t his nature to use weapons; he rarely did, only when necessary. But becoming the most wanted man in Spain, perhaps in Europe, left him no choice but to get a weapon. Hearing you scream in the dead of night was reason enough for him to pull that pistol from its hiding place.

"I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it was a bad dream, I’m sorry," you said, breathless.

Sergio finally relaxed, though his heart started pounding again when he saw you crying. He approached your bed and sat on the edge, taking you in his arms.

"I’m sorry, sorry…" you kept repeating, sobbing, beginning to cry harder. Sergio held you tighter, quickly checking your arms and head to see if you were hurt.

You were a mess. Then again, he was a mess too after his brother's death, but he wasn’t pregnant with the man he loved and hadn’t watched him die in front of his eyes. Thank God he hadn’t seen his brother's face; he wouldn't have been able to sleep either… he wouldn't have been able to live.

You and Sergio had known each other for years. Since childhood, in fact. You were neighbors, and you quickly grew close, even though you didn’t share the same interests. Sergio was a very shy child, spoke little, read a lot, and was often alone. You were always energetic, had two brothers, and stood up for yourself. You were the one who made the first move. You couldn’t understand how someone could stay cooped up at home reading when the weather was so beautiful outside. After some insistence from your mother, you rang his doorbell, asking if he wanted to play at the park with you. And that’s where it all began. From that moment, you were convinced your life changed.

If you hadn’t met Sergio, you wouldn’t have discovered a love for reading. If you hadn’t met Sergio, you wouldn’t have become best friends. If you hadn’t met Sergio, you might have crumbled after your mother’s death. If you hadn’t met Sergio, you wouldn’t have had your first kiss with him. If you hadn’t met Sergio, you wouldn’t have had the courage to leave your abusive father for good.

Indeed, your life changed after meeting him. If you hadn’t met Sergio, you wouldn’t have joined the heist. If you hadn’t met Sergio, you wouldn’t have met his brother and fallen in love with him. If you hadn’t met Sergio, you wouldn’t be carrying the child of the man you love, but you wouldn’t have seen him die in front of your eyes either. So yes, for you, a meeting can change a life.

"Try to go back to sleep," he whispered in your ear after you calmed down a bit.

"I can’t, if I sleep, if I sleep, I see him," you paused for a moment, "and I don’t want to, not like that," you said, trying to stifle a sob.

"Do you want me to stay for a while?" he asked, not even sure what he was offering. "Until you fall asleep."

You hesitated for a moment, but deep down you knew you couldn’t refuse, you didn’t want to refuse.

"Please," you replied.

Sergio lay down next to you, a protective arm still around your shoulders. Slowly, you closed your eyes.

Sergio couldn’t. Not with you beside him. Not the "you" his best friend he grew up with. No, the new “you", the one who was his brother’s wife.

He couldn’t sleep next to this “you”. Not with the you who was pregnant. And certainly not with the you he had fallen madly in love with over the past few months. No, he couldn’t.

It was wrong, wasn’t it? Being attracted to you wasn’t part of his plan when he offered to have you live with him on this island, to help you with the pregnancy, with the child.

After all, you were right.