'My own death does not frighten me. But yours? Oh, that's my greatest, deepest fear.'

He was leaning against the wall, clutching his stomach as dark red blood oozed out of it.

Tears began to leak down my eyes as I ran up to him and looked down. I could see the huge bullet wound pierced through his torso. His shirt was stained red and the fabric was torn from the bullet. My hand flew up in attempt to muffle my pained sobs.

I had never felt so scared in my life. I didn't care about what was happening outside, or if anyone else was here.

All I cared about was him.

I couldn't have another person leave me.

"Sunflower, you need to listen to me", he began as I shook my head in terror, refusing to meet his eyes. I knew that if I saw them, I would break down even more and he didn't need that extra problem.

He used his free hand, which wasn't applying pressure to his wound, to carefully touch the side of my face and it was then that our eyes locked.

He was trying hard to conceal his discomfort but I knew him too well. I could see the pain blazing in his eyes and the tears pricking at the corner of his eyes.

He was so strong.

"I-I need y-you to take t-this and run", he said, his voice strained, giving away his cool façade. I had never wanted to take away someone's pain as much as I wanted to take away his. I would bare the weight of the world for him.

I would have done anything to swap places with him and keep him safe.

Seeing him in this state hurt me more than any of the pain that I had suffered in my life and it felt as if my heart was physically breaking.

He took out a gun from his back pocket and placed it into my hands.

I froze.

"Bambina (baby), I know your scared, but everythings going to be ok. Te lo prometto (I promise you). T-Theres a car waiting for you at the back of the house. You need to go now and it will take you to somewhere safe. I lo-"

Bang!

A bullet flew through the window and glass shattered everywhere. He quickly pushed us both down onto the floor, away from the glass and the windows. His body was almost covering mine to protect me from any danger and that made me cry even harder.

"I-I'm not l-leaving you!", I sobbed, clutching his arm tightly.

"Per favore Liliana! Non sarei in grado di vivere con me stesso se ti succedesse qualcosa (Please Liliana! I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you)", he said, his face twisting in pain. His hand was coated in sticky red blood and it was flowing out a terrifying pace.

Without a second thought, I pulled off the hoodie I was wearing, leaving me wearing a vest top, and tied it around his wound.

"Luciano! Lily!", a man yelled worriedly, running into the room we were in and began to shoot at the people who were firing at us.

"Matteo! Theres a car round the back, take Liliana to somewhere safe and call for backup!", Luca said, pushing through his pain to get up and aiming his gun through the broken window.

Matteo, who I assumed was a man that Luca trusted, began to make his way over to us, looking around for any hidden enemies.

Luca cried out in pain as he wrapped his arm around his wound, the hoodie I had wrapped around it now stained red.

From the corner of my eye, I could see a man aiming a gun in our direction. A red laser appeared on Luca's head and my instincts kicked in.

I took the safety off the gun in my hand and aimed it towards my target. Within a blink of my eyes, I felt the bullet release from the pistol and hit his shoulder, causing him to drop down onto the floor.

I dropped the gun.

I had just injured someone.

A human being.

He could have been someones son. Someones brother. Someones husband. Someones father.

And I had just shot him.

Without a second thought.

I was just as bad as him.

But he deserved it.

He was going to hurt my Luca.

My mind began to spiral and my breathing became erratic. I felt the familiar feeling of a panic attack rising and I wasn't stable enough to calm myself down.

I could see blood everywhere and the room around me was spinning.

I could faintly hear the sound of my name being called but I was too panicked to respond and react to what was happening.

My eyes felt heavy and I couldn't find the strength in me to keep them open for any longer. I closed my eyes and everything turned black.