[Re-edited: 25/01/2024]
EDIT: I changed the song's lyrics to avoid being bothered by the copyright-related trial addicts.
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Damian's P.O.V.
As he was about to reach the entrance door, the young man noticed something out of place.
The lock on the entrance door looked broken.
Despite not being the first time since he moved in there, it still annoyed him.
'Perfect! Someone broke the lock. Again. What a shitty neighborhood!'
He thought, his previous happy mood slightly dampened.
Rubbing his face helplessly, he thought.
'I really need to find another apartment. This one's security is truly terrible.'
Pushing those thoughts aside, he instead started moving to the staircase by the elevator.
He would have loved to be able to ride the latter, however, it had been out of service for months now despite the vocal protests of pretty much all the tenants living in that building.
That was New York City for you!
That combined with a job he loathed made the prospect of leaving more and more enticing for Damian.
As soon as his feet reached the third floor, however, his previous gloomy thought evaporated.
With an anticipating grin on his face, he walked toward the opposite side of his own apartment's door, toward Sofia's.
As his steps brought him closer, he noticed her apartment's door ajar.
'Did she leave it open for me? A nice gesture.'
He thought, amused.
Unfortunately, as soon as he pushed the door completely open, the greeting words he was about to utter died on his lips with his previous happy grin.
What replaced it was unprecedented seriousness mixed with some fear at the scene playing in front of him.
A man looking like a demented hobo had a handgun aimed in the direction of Sofia and her daughter.
The redhead was begging the man to let her daughter go, the latter looking terrified, with silent tears running down her otherwise adorable chubby cheeks.
The dirty-looking man, however, was muttering a string of incomprehensible sentences.
He was certainly mad and in other circumstances, Damian would have felt some pity for the guy.
But not now. Not when he was pointing a gun at both the woman he cared about and the girl who could potentially become his future daughter.
Instead, dark emotions surged inside him, making him hesitate as to what would be the best course of action.
Time seemed to freeze as many possible scenarios went through his head and not all were heroic.
Until he met her eyes and he understood the words she mouthed him.
'Run away' was what he read on her lips.
Not 'Save me' or even 'Save my daughter'.
That crazy woman simply asked him to save himself.
Looking up helplessly, he thought.
'Compared to her, I'm really trash.'
Letting out a silent sigh, he continued with the solidifying resolve in his eyes chasing away his fear.
'What was that saying again? True bravery can only be discovered in the face of death. Seems like today I'll find out what kind of man I am.'
His inner monologue stirred up his emotions, surges of adrenaline erupting throughout his whole body numbing his fear and bolstering his courage.
The glint of resolve filling his gaze seemed to be strong enough that even the redhead beauty picked up on it, shaking her head slightly with a terrified expression plastered all over the face.
Despite being very discreet, her reaction was immediately picked up by the mentally deranged hobo, who subconsciously lowered his gun and started to turn slowly in Damian's direction.
Seeing the man turning in his direction, Damian knew it was now or never.
Any delay would result in him getting shot without being able to retaliate.
Gritting his teeth, the young man shouted inwardly.
'I'll get you fucker!'
As soon as those words materialized in his mind, his body exploded in movements, the blood rushing in his leg muscles making the latter balloon slightly as they pushed against the solid hardwood floor, propelling his figure at a speed that surprised even himself.
At that moment, Time seemed to slow down, with the following events feeling like a series of still images to Damian.
Click.
A punch was thrown toward the man's face, breaking his nose.
A shot was fired before the gun dropped to the floor.
Click.
As soon as the gun touched the ground, Damian grabbed it before aiming at the other man's torso, pulling the trigger until the gun the bang sounds turned into clicks.
Click.
The other man swiftly fell to the ground, blood gushing from the several gunshot wounds and pooling on the ground below his still body.
Click. Click. Click.
It was then that Time seemed to resume its normal pace.
Seeing the previously fierce man lying motionless on the floor, his life and death unknown, while Sofia and her daughter were still unharmed, a feeling of relief washed over Damian's heart, prompting him to mutter.
"I did it... I... I did it..."
Strangely his breathing seemed to become more and more laborious, while a wave of exhaustion threatened to overwhelm his mind.
At first, he chalked it up to the life and death situation he had just gone through.
However, after the adrenaline coursing through his veins dried up, his gaze was attracted by a red tint below.
Lowering his gaze, he suddenly found that his white dress shirt was growing more and more red, and that was when it hit him.
"Fuck! I... I got shot... Didn't I...?"
Sofia's P.O.V.
The situation unfurled so quickly that neither Sofia nor her daughter were able to understand understand what was happening before it actually happened.
In less than a few seconds, the madman who had broken into her home and was previously threatening them with a loaded gun was now on the floor, bleeding out so heavily that even someone with no medical background could see that he was a goner.
However, it was not the bleeding corpse on her apartment's floor that concerned her.
No, instead it was her neighbor, Damian.
In deed, the man who had, despite having no relation with her and her daughter, risked his life to save them, was now bleeding heavily from the bullet wound on his stomach, though he seemed to have yet to realize his situation.
With a life on the line, Sofia could not keep wasting time.
Shaking herself from her stupor, the redhead suddenly heard.
"Fuck! I... I got shot..."
She stood corrected, Damian had clearly realized his predicament.
Shoving the random thought to the side, she dashed toward her kitchen, grabbing a clean kitchen towel before running toward Damian.
As she was pressing the towel on his wounds to stem the blood flow, she also guided him toward the sofa, helping him settled down on it as gently a possible.
While doing so, words of comfort left her mouth, before she switched to softly chiding him for his recklessness.
Then, her words turned back into comforting words once more.
The cycle went on until her speech became somewhat incoherent, all the while having tears running down her fair cheeks, the crystalline drops mixing with the growing crimson mark on the man's white shirt.
Despite her emotions going haywire, the young mother did not forget to grab her phone to dial 911, though whether they would be able to arrive on time to save the young man was unknown.
Seeing the panic on the redhead's face, Damian said weakly while flashing a reassuring smile, though the sickly white color his face sported from severe blood loss had pretty much the opposite effect.
"It's okay, Sofia. I'm sure I'll be okay. I'll be okay..."
Damian's P.O.V.
"It's okay, Sofia. I'm sure I'll be okay. I'll be okay..."
He said weakly while softly patting the hand laid on his chest.
As seconds passed by, coldness progressively invaded his body, with his mind turning hazier.
He felt... So tired... So heavy...
Strangely, as his mind started drifting away, the memory of his last conversation with his family came to his mind, prompting him to remarked, his voice barely above a whisper.
"You know, I... I'm glad the two of you... Are fine... It's just... Just too bad that I could... I couldn't as... Ask yo... You ou...."
His words seemed to break something in her, as sobs started wracking her body, making it difficult to understand her following words..
"ты... дурак... [A/N:'You're stupid'] Why di... didn't you?... Damian?! DAMIAN!!..."
Before his consciousness faded into eternal darkness, a last thought appeared in Damian's mind.
'Because I was a coward...'
General P.O.V.
As Damian's heart stopped beating, the only sounds that one could hear around him were uncontrollable sobs, and the muffled music still playing from his earphones...
♪ Mamaaa, ♪
♪ Just killed someone, ♪
♪ Grabbed his gun, turned it around ♪
♪ Pulled the trigger, Now he's down ♪
♪ Mamaaa, ♪
♪ How could it end, when it just began ♪
♪ It's too late now, Please understand ♪
♪ Mama, oooh, ♪
♪ Don't shed a tear, Please don't be sad ♪
♪ Leaving early, Please don't be mad ♪
♪ Carry on with your life, But don't let it weigh you down ♪
♪ Live without me, Now I won't be around ♪
♪ Anymore, The shivers coursing through my body ♪
♪ The blood leaving my wound, I can't breathe ♪
♪ No, I can't breathe, my vision turning hazy ♪
♪ Goodbye, everybody, my time has come! ♪
♪ Leaving first, Please understand ♪
♪ Mama, oooh ♪
♪ I don't want to die... ♪