(Matthew's point of view)
Long after the gunshot noise stopped, I could still hear it.
It echoed in my head, loud and sharp, as if it had made a home there and wouldn't leave. I dropped to my knees next to Esther, and my hands shook.
Blood spread across her dress quickly and darkly, and for a moment I couldn't think.
I said her name, "Esther," but it came out wrong. "Stay with me." Please.
She opened her eyes wide in shock. At first, her lips moved but no sound came out. When she tried to breathe, I felt panic hit me hard in the chest.
I whispered, "No, no, no," and pressed my hands against the wound, not caring that they were covered in blood. "You're going to be okay. Do you hear me? You're going to be okay.
Someone was yelling. I figured out it was me.
People came running from a
