Page 2 of He Saved Me

“Oh, God, Mom. I'm so fucking sorry. I'm so sorry.” Josiah quietly sobs as he rocks his mom back and forth in his arms.

I scope out the surroundings, and my eyes land on Josiah's dad, a bullet between his eyes. Josiah's chrome gun lays on the ground beside him.

“Fuck. Jo. Fuck.” I place the end of the barrel of my gun against my forehead and pace up and down the hall.

“He fucking butchered her. He fucking killed her,” Josiah cries without looking at me.The front door creaking open alerts me that someone has entered. I point my gun in that direction.

“Police! Put your gun down!” Two cops enter and pointed their guns at me.

“Whoa. I'm a friend of the family. We walked into this.” I lower my gun to my side.

“Slowly set your gun down on the floor and kick it toward me,” he instructs as his gun follows my every move.

I do as he says without a fight since I’m not trying to die tonight.He picks up my gun, hands it over to his partner, and holsters his weapon.

He looks at the corpse on the ground and shifts his eyes toward Jo’s mom.

“Josiah. It’s Detective Carter. I need you to step away from the body.”

Josiah shakes his head, ignoring him.

“Josiah. I need you to step away from your mom so I can help her.”

Josiah continues to cry softly, sayingI'm so sorryon a loop.

“I'm Detective Carter. What's your name?” he asks me as I stand frozen in place, trying to wrap my head around what the hell I walked into.

“Seb,” I say without glancing in his direction. My eyes are still locked on Josiah and his mother.Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen plenty of death and blood, but this right here…this is beyond fucked up.

“Ok, Seb. I need your help to remove Josiah from his mother. Can you do that for me?”

“Seb. Did you hear me?” he repeats.

“Yeah.”I swallow the lump in my throat.

Lowering myself to the ground, I place one hand on my friend’s shoulder. “Josiah, you need to step away and let them help your mom. Ok?”

He swats my hand away and glares at me. His eyes are bloodshot, puffy, and red from his tears.

“Don't fucking touch me,” he snaps through clenched teeth.

The paramedics arrive, and two officers yank Josiah off his mom.

“NO! LET ME GO! SHE FUCKING NEEDS ME!Please,” he begs while being dragged away outside, his clothes and hands covered in blood. “GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF ME!”

“Jesus Christ,” Carter curses under his breath. “What the hell happened here?”

I can’t answer him because I am focused on the sound of Josiah's wails. I haven't seen him this broken since Elisa died.

Shorty.La Reina.

Fuck.

La Reina was born strong, like a superhero with a protective shield, but she’s human, just like the rest of us. She’s not made of armor. Not even the most powerful shield will protect her heart and soul from a brutal attack.

I don't know if she will survive this when she wakes up and learns that her piece of shit father butchered her mom. Shorty has gone through so much. The beatings, the mental and emotional abuse she endured for years, and the aftermath of being kidnapped and almost dying in a car accident.What kind of monster does that shit to another human being?

“I need you to step outside, son, so the crime team can process the scene.” Carter breaks my trance as he leads me out the front door.

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