Enzo cradled her in his arms, holding her close, as though the strength of his grip could keep her alive. He realized suddenly that he couldn't really see her anymore and there was water on his cheeks and he could hardly breathe. "I'm here," he whispered, brushing her hair out of her face, "I'm here."
Lexi began struggling to breath, as her intakes of air began to get faster and shorter. "I'm Sorry I'm dying, I'm sorry I let you down. " She whispered. "Will you tell my dad I'm sorry, will you tell him I loved him? Will you help look after him?"
"You –you didn't let me down, conejita," he said, trying to keep his voice light. "You're…you're the only reason…" he took a steadying breath. "I'm glad I met you. And I swear I'll find your family, and," his voice suddenly went dark, "I'll find whoever voted for you." There was murderous, murderous anger in his voice.
"I'm glad I met you too." She whispered. Her grip loosening as she started to see some light in her dimming vision. "Will you sing me a song?"
Enzo nodded, attempting a soft smile. He began singing in a hoarse voice, a song he sang the first night he held his nephew close, the song he sang when the boy was all alone in the world, "Duérmete mi niña, duérmete mi amor
duérmete pedazo de mi corazón."
Lexi struggled to breath now. "Will…..will you tell your nephew I said hi?" She asked, although it was barely heard.
"Course I will, of course," he managed. "You two would have been such good friends. He'd like you a lot, I think." He smoothed back her hair again. Her face was pale. Too pale.
She wore a smile on her face as she took her last breath. "I love you." Before her life flashed before her eyes and her body went limp. For who exactly? We're not sure, but she wanted her last words to be something. At least something.
Suddenly Enzo was holding a corpse. The girl he'd held was gone. Dead. He'd sworn to protect her, to help her out of this god forsaken place, but instead she was dead and he couldn't do a thing about it. He usually hated the feeling of losing control, but today he embraced it. Bowing his head, he held her body close, and whispered three words, "Who was it?" His voice dripped with quiet rage, like a flickering ember ready to burst into flames at a moment's notice. "Who voted for Lixi?"
River had her head down and ignored the question.
(Bet you thought Enzo wouldn't hit a girl)
(you thought wrong)
Enzo lowered her body to the ground, gently, carefully. Then he rose to his feet and turned to River, his entire body taut with anger. He could hardly see past the tears and the red haze in his vision. He hated her then. Hated her with every fiber of his being. "You? Was it you? Did you vote for that little girl, River?"
gone, all gone. You have no one she muttered to herself, rocking back and forth.
He noticed she was mumbling something but he couldn't hear her. Or maybe he didn't care. He stood over her, glaring down at her with devastation etched into every crevice of his face. "Huh? Was it you? Was it?"
River kept mumbling to her self. She looked up in a panick, tears rolling down her face, alone, your all alone. There’s no one for you, forever alone, they all left you “stop it, STOP IT!” She yelled pulling her hair.
Enzo let out a scream of pure rage and slammed his hand into the wall inches from her head. "Pay attention, damn it! Who did you vote for? Who did you vote for?"
“Why does it matter?!” She asked with wide eyes,” were all going to die!” She yelled back at him then started pacing
Enzo grabbed her arm and yanked her back against the wall, pining her down. His hand clenched tightly around her arm. "I'm going to ask one last f*cking time," he whispered, his voice tight, "Who did you vote for?"
“Let go of me.” She said quietly
"WHO DID YOU VOTE FOR?" His hand tightened around her arm. He knew his grip would probably leave a bruise, but he didn't care, he didn't care, all he cared about was the truth. If she'd killed Lixi…if it was her…
“Ask your friend that question first. My voting wouldn’t have made a difference unless he voted for her too.”
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Xander came from the side and shoved Enzo off of River. "Don't f***ing touch her like that! And don't you dare act like you haven't betrayed someone's trust in this game yet so that you could live! You are no better than the rest of us!"
Enzo whipped his head around, slapping Xander's hands away from him. "Someone killed that little girl, esè, and it sure as hell wasn't me," he said, standing to his full height. "Which one of you did it, huh? Or was it both of you?" Were they conspiring against them the entire time? Was it always their intent to kill him and Lixi? Had he been fooled?
Tears streaked Xander's face. "Have you ever been so afraid of dying that you were willing to do literally anything to get out? I was going to let you two vote for me last round… I had truly planned on it, but as the time drew nearer, I became afraid. I… I don't want to die, Enzo. I'm not even an adult yet. I've got a full life ahead of me, and I hate myself for what I've done, but… I just… I saw the opportunity. Lixi was set on voting for herself. I don't know if River voted for her or not, but… Yes, I broke the alliance, and I'm sor- no… Sorry will never be enough."
Xander drew back a bit, prepared for Enzo to possibly hit him.
Enzo's good eye dimmed as he froze, his entire body going rigid. He hadn't really thought Xander would do it. He'd assumed it was River. He shook his head, slowly. "No…no, you wouldn't. She was twelve. You wouldn't kill that little girl, Xander, you're lying." His voice cracked violently. "You're lying."
Xander was shaking. He could barely breathe, much less say another word. He could have saved her, and he knew it, but he was not the hero type. He never would be, not as long as fear ruled his heart.
"She thought you were her friend," Enzo spat, his body starting to move again. He took a few steps towards Xander, his fists clenching and unclenching. "You lied to her, and you lied and lied and then you f*cking killed her!" His voice rose until it was a desperate, agonized shout. "You killed a baby! You…you sick bastard, you sick son of a bitch!" His fist flew before he could even think, aiming straight towards Xander's sniveling, tear streaked face.
Xander stumbled backwards and fell, holding a hand to his face. All of those words hurt. He had not intended to lie, much less kill her- at least not until he was in that voting booth.
His hand had hovered over River's name, but he knew what would happen next. Xander was next on the kill list for sure, and he panicked. His hand went over to Lixi's name before he could think about what he had done, and he tapped it, then stared at the screen in terror. Lixi was going to die because of him, all because he was too weak and scared to hold up his end of an agreement. In that moment, Xander decided he didn't want to be a martyr for Enzo and Lixi, or for anyone. He just wanted to live.
Xander didn't get up. He didn't feel like putting up a fight he knew he would lose.
Enzo crouched over Xander, wrapping his hands around the other mans neck. "You wanna live, Xander? You killed a little girl to save your own ass?" His grip tightened. "Look at my eye. Look at that scar. And look at my face. You think I'm a stranger to death? To killing?"
Xander almost started to struggle and panic, but he then remembered something from the first day. He had broken that vase in the hallway and taken a shard to use as a weapon. It was still in his pocket. He drew it out and dragged it hard across Enzo's upper arm, hoping to at least get him to release.
Enzo yanked his hands away, cursing through his teeth at the sudden pain. He remembered the look in Xander's eyes when they'd first met and realized he'd been an idiot to trust a man like him. He jumped to his feet and backed away, his hand clutching at his wound. "I'll kill you," he threatened, his voice a harsh growl. "I'll do anything to kill you."