There is no way that I can escape this now; no way that I can possibly escape her and all that lies behind the darkness in her eyes. I've gone too far. Inexplicably, I have become entranced by everything that she is, especially the red that we share. She is like the moon: haunting, beautiful, and so far out of reach.

I have walked her through the gates of hell and, still, she has made no attempt to turn back. She likes to push my buttons, to put me on edge in an attempt to feel the red that resides within her. She is dangerous, but I cannot pull myself away from her gravity.

There is a different side to her though, a side that I rarely see, a side that pulls me further and further from the shore that keeps me anchored and I am starting to drown. I can feel it every time that I look at her and it is petrifying.

She pushes me away so easily because she knows. She knows that I have begun to drown and that I am suffocating and she wants no part of it because she is drowning too.

There is no way out now, I've taken things farther than I ever thought possible and I am beginning to accept the fate I've designed for myself, even though I will hate myself in the end.

H.

Rain fell in heavy sheets and created a steady thrum as it fell upon the man-made structure. Harry was lying in bed with is eyes closed and humming to a song that he didn't know the name of.

It was early, around ten A.M., but it felt like it was much later because of the heavy clouds that covered the sun and released their tears in thick waves. He was entranced in his thoughts and the comforting quality of the rain and he didn't notice when Annabel appeared in his doorway.

She was wearing an outfit that consisted entirely of black: skin-tight black jeans, a fairly breathable black long-sleeved shirt that accentuated her breasts and left little to the imagination, black combat boots, and a black beanie.

"Let's do something."

Annabel was bored with sitting around the house and doing essentially nothing, besides having sex of course, and she had an idea that was bound to be exciting.

Harry blinked slowly and turned his head to look at her, "Like what?"

Annabel smiled wickedly, "I want to steal something."

She watched him carefully as he lifted an eyebrow and contemplated her statement. There was something about the way that he looked with his messy hair and light eyes that had her staring at him for longer than she had intended and he had noticed.

The slightest of smiles formed on his lips as he spoke slowly and decisively, "I don't have experience in that area."

He didn't state it explicitly, but she knew that he was intrigued by the idea itself. Annabel put on her sultry smile and walked over to his side of the bed. Harry was interested, but he needed a little push.

In another moment, she was straddling his hips and gently pushing his hair out of his face, "Me either. I've heard the thrill is intoxicating."

Annabel trailed her hands down his bare chest and looked up at him with eyes that were anything but innocent, "I'll make it worth your while."

Harry sighed and placed his hands on her hips, his fingers rubbing small circles into her skin as she bit her lip and anticipated his answer. The idea was entirely random and out of the blue, but he was certainly willing to go along with it if Annabel wanted to try it.

After all, how hard could it be? He'd killed dozens of women and he still hadn't been caught. There was nothing trickier than getting away with murder, so he wasn't worried about it at all.

His tongue poked out to wet his lips as he met Annabel's lustful and dangerous eyes, "Alright."

. . .

The car ride was silent, neither one of them needing or wanting to say anything in particular. Annabel was trying to paint on a clam façade, but Harry knew that she was bubbling with excitement just by the look on her face.

She could try to hide everything from the world, but there is a certain point for every one where it becomes inevitable and this happened to be one of Annabel's inevitable points. Harry didn't mention it and sat facing the window with the smallest of smiles on his lips.

They drove for hours. Harry figured it was because Annabel had strategically planned this out more than he had originally thought. It was nice to sit in a small space with her, even if they weren't talking.

Annabel was different in many ways, but this was one of the few instances that he caught a glimpse of what she was really like, a glimpse of what she normally hid from the world just because she could.

Harry got caught up in staring at Annabel and it hardly registered when the car had come to a stop. They were parked behind a set of gas pumps, slightly hidden by the relatively large metal structures, at a convenient store that looked like it had been built when whatever town it was they were in was established as a town.

Annabel unbuckled her seatbelt and retrieved her 'mask' from the center console. She mumbled something about the glove compartment and Harry opened the small compartment moments later.

A pistol lay on top of a bunch of vehicle registration papers and napkins. Harry shook his head and closed the compartment, "I don't use guns."

He glanced over at her for a moment as he grabbed his 'mask' and she didn't look very amused anymore. Annabel rolled her eyes as he pulled the thick fabric over his head, "Just do it. You don't have to actually shoot anyone."

After considering it for a moment, Harry agreed it really wasn't that big of a deal. It was really more for show anyway. Everyone knows that if you pull out a gun people start listening.

The ski mask that she insisted they both wear to keep their identities hidden was already pissing him off. It was thick and scratchy and he couldn't wait to rip it off once they were done.

"Showtime."

Despite it being Annabel's plan, Harry took the lead with his hands shoved deep into his pants pockets, the gun resting heavily in the single pocket of his sweatshirt. His heart was racing, but it wasn't because he was afraid.

His heart was racing because of the sheer notion of what they were about to do. Killing was one thing, but this was something else and he was already hooked with the adrenaline and the pure fact that he was doing this with Annabel.

This was the first time Annabel had ever asked him to do something with her and he was actually glad that he'd decided to join her. She was supposed to take the lead, but he found himself pushing open the doors like he was meant to be there.

The overweight man at the desk didn't really acknowledge them at first, but after standing directly in front of the counter for a whole minute in a half, he finally registered that they wanted something.

Annabel wanted to laugh at how oblivious the man was. For Christ's sake, they were in all black with ski masks covering their faces and he looked at them like they were just a typical pair of customers.

He was balding and what remained of his hair was a dark, greasy mess that couldn't seem to pick a direction that it liked. Grease stains took hold of the majority of a shirt that was two sizes too small for his beer gut.

Harry pulled the gun from his pocket and held it over the counter, low enough to not pose an immediate death situation, but high enough for the man to see that it was there. Annabel grinned wickedly behind her mask.

"We'll take everything you have."

No one else was around for miles and neither Harry nor Annabel thought about what would happen if someone were to show up during their little heist. Everything was going as planned, the balding greasy man was handing them all of the cash in the small register, a terrified expression on his chubby face, and the parking lot remained empty, save for their stolen vehicle.

There wasn't much money in the register, and really they weren't expecting much, and the man had almost given them everything when a door in the back burst open and in ran some tall man with gangly limbs, shotgun in hand.

Of course, this shouldn't have been surprising considering that they were in the middle of nowhere, but Harry and Annabel hadn't been expecting it and it ruined their energetic and confident moods.

Harry cursed under his breath and Annabel laughed because of the added danger. Annabel reached over the counter and took the remaining cash and yelled, "Run!"

Harry's never had to run from a situation before and it takes his mind a lot longer than it should to process that he needs to run before the lanky guy filled him with lead.

Annabel is already out the door and halfway to the car before he takes a single step. Maybe it was the love of danger that has kept him in place, or maybe he's finally found something else that he's afraid of, whatever it was, he still hadn't moved.

The small man with the shotgun was threatening him now, telling him that if he moved he would blast a hole in "that pretty little body" of his. Suddenly, and all at once, it clicked in his mind that he needed to get out now.

Harry didn't heed the man's warning, his legs already pushing him toward the door in long strides. His ears heard the shot before his body felt it. There was too much adrenaline pumping through him for it to really hurt like it should, but the impact was definitely noticeable.

Annabel was waiting for him in the car. She was pissed because if he had just listened to her and ran then this wouldn't have happened. His blood creating a dark spot on his black shirt that was blooming rapidly; he was such a fucking idiot.

For a serial killer, he wasn't that smart when it came to robbing convenient stores in the middle of nowhere. It felt like an eternity before he had actually made it to the car and Annabel was no longer in a laughing mood.

They sped off in the opposite direction of where they came from to throw the police off their trail later. The masks came off in moments and a heavy two minutes of silence passed between them before Annabel suddenly burst out in hysterical laughter.

Harry was bleeding a lot and the numbness had subsided to the point where the pain was nearing excruciating. He knew why she was laughing and, even though he was in an extreme amount of pain, he laughed with her.

Laughing hurt because he had been shot low in his abdomen and he stopped within moments only to mumble, "Never again."

Annabel's laughter died down and she nodded as she pulled off the road and drove into the woods, "Put pressure on that unless you really want to end up like those women."

In his state of euphoria and panic, Harry hadn't even thought about trying to stop the bleeding. Instead, he just sat in the passenger seat like a dumbass and watched as his blood pooled over the upholstery.

"Right."

Applying pressure only made the pain ten times worse. Harry grit his teeth and focused on trying to stop the bleeding as Annabel drove them even further into the middle of nowhere. The plan was to ditch the car in the woods after wiping it down and burning it and then head to her parent's cabin a few miles away.

Now that Harry was losing blood, the plan became a hell of a lot more difficult. He could feel the bullet burning inside and he wanted to scream every time that he moved. Annabel decided that they were far enough into the woods and stopped the car.

She got out of the car without a word and quickly walked around the front to get to his side. His head was spinning and he felt like he might throw up. It was the blood loss and he knew it.

Funny how the sight of red entranced him when it was from anyone else, but when it was from himself or Annabel, he hated it. Annabel lifted his chin and made him look into her eyes.

"Can you make it for a mile?"

Harry nodded slightly. It would be painful, but he could manage for that far. Or at least he thought that he could.

Annabel frowned as she watched his eyelids flutter and his jaw clench and unclench from the pain that was incrementally growing stronger. She looked at him for a long moment before pulling his hands away from the wound.

Her fingers grazed over his skin like ghosts, but it didn't feel that way to him and he winced. Annabel mumbled a slight apology made him sit up to see if the bullet had made it clean through.

"Good news and bad news. The good news is that the bullet didn't actually pass through, so that means you'll have to suffer a lot less with the wound stitching process, the bad news is that it's still in there and I'm going to have to dig it out."

Harry groaned and closed his eyes tightly, "Lovely."

Annabel chuckled lightly at his response, "We can't do it here though."

He knew the reasons why and he made no move to protest because it was either deal with it or possibly get caught. Annabel helped him out of the car and led him to a tree so that he could lean on it while she cleaned the car for any prints, removed the gun from where Harry had left it on the floor, and set fire to the vehicle.

Once the car was brimming with bright flames, Annabel went back to Harry and decided to make him a tourniquet because his hand certainly wasn't suited for the job. She surprised him by ripping off the sleeves of her shirt and tying them together.

The surprise left the moment she went to wrap the fabric around him. He cursed loudly once she pulled it tight, but this time she didn't apologize because it was saving his life.

Darkness was settling upon the forest rapidly and they had to move or they would be lost in the woods for the remainder of the night. Harry forced himself to move but after a while he started to lose the strength that he'd somehow gathered to walk for about half of their mile journey.

Annabel didn't complain or groan under his weight as he leaned against her to keep himself upright. Light streamed down and between the trees in faint rays, it was beautiful but neither of them noticed because of how difficult their plan had actually become.

The bugs began to appear after a little while, but all they could do was try to ignore them because Annabel couldn't swat at them without knocking Harry over and Harry could barely walk as it was.

By the time that they'd made it to the cabin Annabel had spoken of in their plan, the moon was already in the sky and the forest was livelier than ever. An owl hooted in the distance and grasshoppers were playing their songs without a single care in the world.

Harry hadn't seen the cabin because he was focusing all of the energy that he had left into walking and not entirely crushing Annabel with his weight. Annabel didn't mention it, but she did sigh in relief once she found the hidden spare key and unlocked the door.

Knowing that they were finally somewhere that he could rest, Harry let fatigue consume him and practically fell on top of Annabel. She made a small sound of surprise and effort, but she managed to keep him upright and somehow lead him into a bedroom in a near pitch-black hall.

Harry mumbled "Sorry," as she got him situated on the bed, but she didn't respond. Annabel left him in there while she turned on some lights and gathered the things that she needed to fix the hole in his abdomen.

Harry was beyond exhausted, but he was trying his best not to pass out because he knew it probably wouldn't end well if he did. Annabel had started a fire somewhere and a weak groan escaped his lips because he knew it meant that she couldn't find anything to stitch his wound and she was going to cauterize it instead.

Nearly five minutes had passed before she returned, but to Harry it felt like a century. She would make sure he was alright; he knew it even though he had no idea how she knew what to do.

The process of taking of the tourniquet and his shirt was awful. Harry tried not to make any noise, but it was a difficult task and he ended up gritting his teeth and letting a few groans escape.

Annabel tried to be as gentle as possible, but it made little difference and it would only get worse from here. She'd brought a small bucket filled with water and a washcloth to clean the area so that she could clearly see what she was doing and spare him as much pain as possible.

Harry winced every time she touched the cloth to his skin and, for the first time in her life, she felt bad for hurting someone.

She stopped wiping the blood away for a moment and he opened his eyes to catch her looking at him with a genuine frown, "I'm sorry."

Harry laughed lightly even though it hurt, "For what?"

"For getting you shot."

He forced a shrug out of his tired body, "It happens."

Annabel wore a soft smile as she finished wiping blood away from his bullet wound. She didn't say anything for a moment and for some reason that worried him.

"What is it?"

Annabel shook her head gently and sighed, "I'm trying to think of a way to dig the bullet out that would hurt you less, but I don't really have any other options."

Harry sighed and gripped the edges of the bed as tight as he could manage, "Alright. Let's get this over with."

Annabel didn't give him any warning and he nearly screamed when she dug her fingers inside the gaping wound in order to find the bullet that hadn't made an exit upon impact. He was lucky that it had missed his vital organs, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to save him.

Somehow, after five minutes of her digging around inside his body, he'd managed not to scream and Annabel had retrieved the bullet that had been adding to his pain for the last hour or so.

Annabel held the bullet up in the light and examined it for a moment, "This little fucker's not bringing you down today."

Harry tried to laugh but it turned into a pained moan. Annabel frowned and got back to work. She'd found some alcohol under the sink in the bathroom and pressed it to a rag before pressing it into his skin.

Harry hadn't been expecting that at all. "Fuck!"

Despite how much she wanted to laugh, Annabel hardly flinched and maintained her cool façade. After taking a look at his injury, inflamed and very red, Annabel left the room again. She returned a few moments later with a large and glowing object in her hand.

Harry tried to man up and prepare himself for what was to come, but once he saw the red glow all of the courage that he had mustered up fled for its life. Annabel didn't bother wasting time and muttered another apology seconds before pressing the searing metal to his skin.

There was no holding it in this time and he screamed so loud that he was sure someone had heard him all the way back at the convenient store. Annabel was surprised that he hadn't passed out yet and lauded him internally.

She watched him carefully as she bandaged his soon-to-be scar. He was breathing deeply and sweating profusely, but he was still awake and he wasn't in hysterics.

Harry closed his eyes and laughed lightly to himself and Annabel found herself smiling as she asked, "What's so funny?"

"We just robbed a convenient store for fun."

Annabel continued to smile as she cleaned up the mess that she had made while helping him, "We certainly did."

After a few minutes of trying to put things back where they belonged, Annabel stopped caring and ended up climbing into the bed with Harry. He was nearly asleep, but he was awake enough to notice.

Harry smiled softly as Annabel scooted pretty close to him, it was a small bed and she didn't really have much of a choice, but she had chosen to stay with him instead of sleeping in a different room.

"Annabel?"

His eyes were barely open, but he refused to shut them and succumb to sleep until she answered a question that he'd been wondering about for weeks.

She hummed and kissed the bottom of his jaw in response. It surprised him because she was never really affectionate with him, but he wasn't going to make a comment about it.

"What are we doing?"

Annabel sighed softly, "I don't know."