Alek angles his body toward me so the gun is pointed at his back. He grabs my face, his hands cold on my cheeks, and gives me a fierce kiss that steals the breath from my lungs. Time is suspended, and I give myself over to him, police and drawn weapons be damned.
Because this feels like he’s kissing me for the last time, and I know that the moment he releases me, everything will come crashing down around us.
He tugs my bottom lip into his mouth as if to memorize the shape of it. His tongue brushes against mine as if he’s committing my taste to memory. And I do the same because I’m not sure when I’ll see him again.
Alek is pulled off me, breaking our kiss. A policeman stands behind Alek, holding his arms behind his back and slapping handcuffs on his wrists. The officer turns Alek away from me to march him toward the police car.
“ALEK!” I lunge forward to catch up to him, as if I can stop this from happening, but then a pair of strong hands grab my arms from behind. When I glance up, another police officer is holdingme back, and I struggle in his grip to free myself. Another officer jumps in to help his partner restrain me, but all I can do is kick and scream and cry out Alek’s name.
I watch helplessly as the police officer takes Alek to his car and opens the door. With one last glance, Alek gives me a sad smile and mouths,I love you.
The police officer grabs his head and pushes him into the car, then closes the door with a thud. When the officer climbs in, he starts the car and makes a U-turn to drive off down the street, the taillights growing dimmer as the distance grows between us.
“ALEK!” I slip on the wet sidewalk and lose my balance, slumping in the officers’ hold. The rain mixes with the tears clinging to my cold cheeks.
I don’t know what to do or how to save him. All I can do is watch helplessly as Alek disappears into the foggy night, ripping my heart out along with it.
