In that moment as people dropped their jaws alongside their cups and plates before the cowardly slowly sneaked out of the kitchen, the pressure of those surrounding them unintentionally deterring them from running like headless chickens.
Katlego could feel some sweat running his forehead as he contemplated, hesitating to pull the trigger until the rage in his heart quickly melted alongside his strength as soon as he heard Zintle's voice; just before his jaw dropped and threw out his voice, as soon as he saw her, from behind, as she kissed Thato amidst the chaos that'd erupted.
For two whole seconds he felt himself going on an imaginary journey centred around her, before remembering that he'd seen her missed call alongside her message earlier that day.
The more he thought about her the more she angered him, but seeing her in front of him drove him to insanity so he looked away. Alas, Adrenaline had already engulfed his soul like a flame fueled by paraffin, and soon enough his pulse had quickened and his heart was slamming against his chest, and before he knew it..."
"Pow!" He had pulled the trigger, and those that had rushed out of the kitchen soon came back, accompanied by curiosity, only to see Catherine on the ground, for the bullet had hit her instead of Karabo.
"Katlego! Katlego? what have you done?" Cried Caroline as her tears spilled onto her cheeks just after she'd rushed to Katherine who'd just been shot in the liver. Donnel calling an ambulance as he sympathetically watched Caroline assisting Katherine to take some short, calculated breaths in order to ease her pain. The ghostly expression which had now dawned upon her face looking vaguely familiar, perhaps 18 months aback when he'd attended their parents funeral, after their fatal car crash from Bloemfontein.
The moment still playing in his head when Catherine had bravely dived in between of her little brothers and taken a bullet for Karabo, putting her slimly thick body, lovely job and beauty on the line. Such thoughts still haunting Donnel and possibly some nearby faces, judging by their swollen expressions, their eyes now shadowed by guilt. Thato, Sphe and their girls now nowhere to be found; their presence already swallowed by the smell of fear which permeated around him with a suffocating intensity.
Catherine soon sighed and leaned back into Caroline's lap, still putting on a smile that was filled with painful pauses. Her one hand in another girl's hand, the other hand in Katherine's. Caroline's other hand tenderly pressed against Catherine's gunshot wound to minimize her bleeding, which had already left a big red stain on her white blouse.
"It's all my fault," cried Caroline as she looked into Catherine's eyes, which were clearly glancing into Zintle's tearful brown ones, as people surrounded them, bringing them pats of comforts.
"Katlego... Katlego!" Soon yelled a very familiar voice, as she rushed in, stealing the spotlight from Katherine, Caroline and Zintle, holding a rose in one hand while her other hand was in the pocket of her baggy, grey hoodie. Just like when he'd seen her kissing Thato a minute earlier.
"What do we have here?" Smiled she, Catherine's future sister-in-law, from one ear to the other, just before she took her hand out of her pocket and revealed her gun just before cocking it.
'Katlego my love... Where... Are... You?" sang she in a sarcastic tone, before giving off an insane laugh. One which left cynicism and paranoia lodged in everyone's throats.
"Lethabo please put that gun away. You'll hurt yourself," said Karabo as he gestured her to calm down.
"The same way your brother hurt me? Why did i even bother dating someone younger than me?"
"Just calm down, you don't know what you're doing. You'll hurt someone with that gun," Karabo seemed to speak bravely and calmly but his tone seemed to be bubbling with fear and a cold concern.
"No Karabo, never will i let a boy dictate me ever again. Never!"
And just like that... Pow! She shot him, and immediately the smell of panic filled the room, washing away the waves of gossip.
When screams and chaos erupted from the crowd she also caught sight of Katlego as he rushed towards his brother, whom he'd wanted to shoot not so long ago, before firing two other gunshots that left him laying beside his brother, in a shared pool of blood, morbidly fighting to stay afloat.
Gracefully, a grave fear breezed into the room and ran its cold fingers over Donnel's goosebumbs, leaving him frozen dumb despite the suit the stylish suit he was wearing. He could clearly see that her eyes were filled with a mixture of pity, sorrow and hatred. That's when the revengeful idea hit him and he picked up the gun that Katlego had dropped and aimed at Lethabo, for he was in love with Catherine.
Donnel felt his life flash before him, furious at himself for failing to stop Zintle from coming between the twins. The same twins he could never bring himself to admit that he loved just as much as he loved Jaylene, as well as their 25-year-old sister. His bisexual nature conflicting with his indecisive nature for he could never bring himself to decide as to whether he was straight or bisexual, nor could he ever decide who he liked more between Katlego and Karabo and his girlfriend Collette. Sadly, it was to late to tell them now and he just breathed a sigh of realization as his horrific thoughts blocked out the screams and the abnormal sense of loss that allowed a heart-wrenching feeling to sprout and overtake his cardiac organ.
"Maybe i should just tell them, there's still time", the thought that barged into his mind and pushed him back to reality. But before he could bring that thought to fruition, another gunshot sound hit his eardrums and left him laying against the floor. Still recalling the incident which had fallen upon the twins, making them consequences of Love's misunderstandings. His blurry sight catching sight of a laughing Lethabo peering down to him, before the cops pushed through the crowd and captured Lethabo before she could pull off another gunshot.
He then closed his eyes and felt a certain warmness swallowed up his body and made him let out an unfinished, regretful statement: "I should have...", in a strained voice. A sorrowful yet angry lump in his throat shortly before he coughed out some blood, and placed his hand above his chest, where his gunshot wound was located. Soon enough he felt some hands grabbing and lifting his body before placing it on a cushy surface before pushing it away. Rendering him helpless as they slithered above his existence... The sounds of sirens out-sounding the concerned, chaotic voices around him