Page 65 of Shattered Echoes

My vision blurs as tears well up in my eyes. I can still see his face, the look in his eyes, the gun in his hand. I can hear the deafening crack of the gunshot, see his body crumpling to the floor, blood pooling around him. The helplessness, the guilt, the horror—it all comes flooding back, overwhelming me and making me want to scream.

‘You will live out the rest of your days in misery, Colette! I promise you that.’ His voice resounds in my head, accompanied by the sound of a gunshot after he had pulled the trigger. I can still smell his blood on the floor, still see the creepy look on his face before he pulled that trigger.

I'm trying to block out the image haunting me, but it's next to impossible to do so.

I drop to my knees, my phone slipping out of my hold. I'm on the ground, struggling to breathe, with my heart pounding hard in my chest. I'm gasping for air, drowning in a memory that I had tried to lock away. My breath is ceasing, the room is spinning, and I'm lying here helpless. My mind is about to take me on a ride to the night that plagued me with darkness and unleashed these demons into my soul. I don't want to take this trip down memory lane; I don't want to recall the incident of that fateful night, but the more I resist, the more painful it becomes.

“Please, I don't want to go there. I don't want to remember,” I weep, getting overpowered by the force by which these images are hitting me by the second.

I throw my hands to my head as I roll over the floor to curb the intensity of my pain. The temptation to scream and ask for help is knocking on the door of my mind, but I won't do that. I face an ultimatum: to give in to the temptation of screaming out, or to give in to the memory of that night.

My head is aching, and I can feel the veins over my skull straining. I ball up a fist and slam it into the ground, but the memories are still pushing, forcing themselves into my mind. The walls that I built to keep the demons out are becoming weaker by the second and now they're breaching the walls.

It’s only a matter of time before they take over and force me to relive that night. I've fought them for as long as I can, but I can't fight them anymore. It's time I faced it. It's time I hold on tightly to my pain until it hurts no more.

“It's just a memory, Col… It's just a memory,” I reassure myself and shut my eyes, drawing in a deep breath as I finally take that trip down memory lane.

“Fuck you, Colette!” Ricardo yelled, his voice blending with the thunderclap outside.

It’s raining cats and dogs that night with frightening streaks of lightning flashing in the sky. He's come home drunk and has tried to beat me up with his belt. However, tonight, I put up a fight and kick him in the groin before running downstairs. He chases after me, pissed, calling me many hurtful names.

“Get back here, you cheap slut!” He emerges at the entrance to the kitchen.

I quickly grab a knife from the counter and flash it at him.

“Stay back!” I declare with trembling hands. “Don't take one step closer, or I swear to God, I'll…”

“You'll what?!” He steps into the kitchen, his voice thundering loudly.

I cringe in absolute fear, knowing that with the way things were going, one of us might die tonight.

“You don't even know how to use that,” he mocks me.

“Don't be so sure about that,” I say to him, trying to be as strong as I can. My hold over the hilt of the knife is quite firm, and I am ready to use it.

“You don't have the balls to kill me, Colette,” he replies. “Do you know who does?” He is being rhetorical. “Your fucking brother.”

I squint at him at this point but am still on guard.

He laughs wickedly.

“Did you know the bastard is attacking my business as subtly as he can?” Ricardo asks me, furious. “Of course, he's being very careful, so I can't trace it back to him, but I know what I know. I've lost a lot because of him…because he played hero and meddle with my affairs.”

“You're a coward!” I declare. “Why can't you face him like a man and leave me be?” I add amidst tears.

“Oh, but where's the fun in that?” He takes some gentle steps forward.

“Stay back, Ricardo, I'm warning you.” I swallow in fear.

“Henry is the reason I lost millions of dollars because of his accusations against me. He hid his identity, but I know it's him.” He scoffs and yells, “That bastard ruined me!”

I shudder at the sudden exclamation, but I don’t lose my guard.

“Because of him, I lost the clients that would bring a revolutionary change to my business because they don't want to be associated with someone who's going to jail.” He laughs like a madman.

I am overwhelmed by fear, and the man standing before me is a crueler version of the already cruel man I forced to marry.

“Henry's case against me is strong, and I might end up in prison, but I have a better plan.” He pulls out a gun.

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