One Chance, One Bullet | Teen Ink

One Chance, One Bullet

July 16, 2008
By Anonymous

Amber cradled the weapon in her arms. A sterling silver pistol, so beautiful that it brought tears to her eyes; these are the tears that she had never allowed herself to cry. Now came her one chance for escape, her only chance. Fully loaded and ready to fire, she just had to pull the trigger. The world was in her hands, the power was better then any drugs or any sex. Nothing could compare to this, nothing.


The front door opened downstairs, it was show time. Her lying, cheating, good for nothing fiancé had just gotten home. Little did he know she had all the power in the world right now. Little did he know that his wife had called Amber earlier. She told Amber that they’d been married for seven years. Robert and Amber had been dating for six, and raising a child for five.


Amber stared at her finger where Robert had slipped an engagement ring onto last Saturday. Little did he no she’d pawned the ring to buy a pistol. The pistol that would send a bullet into Roberts’s heart, breaking it like he had broken hers. This is how she would end the last six years of lies, because Amber is all powerful. Here is her chance to take control. Not just for herself, but her for her son.


Footsteps ascend up the staircase, coming closer and closer. Every step makes her heart beat faster and faster. Then they stop, and the bedroom door cracks open. Robert squints, trying to adjust his eyes to the dark. This is her one chance; their son is next door. Now nothing stands in her way, the power is making her sweat. It’s almost too much to bear.


“Are you a vampire babe, why aren’t any lights on?” Amber doesn’t answer. She just sits and waits. Robert runs his hand against the wall until he hit’s the light switch. He sees Amber and her pistol, just waiting.

“What’s…what’s going on?” He trembles as he stares into Ambers grey eyes. They were once full of love, but now they are just hollow sockets. She’s no longer a blind fool, she’s all knowing.



“Have a seat baby.” Her voice is so icy and empty that it almost makes her shiver. “Your lovely wife called this morning while you were at work. She was happy to finally talk to your slutty mistress. Maybe her and I could even become friends, wouldn’t that be sweet? You could take the two of us out at the same time.”


Robert is shaking so badly he can barely hold onto the armrest of the chair as he slowly starts to lower himself down. Never once does he take his eyes off the pistol. Amber raises her arm and points the gun at him.

“I could kill you right now, you know? There’s no one here, I could say it was self defense. I tell you that I’m leaving and taking Jake; you go into a passionate rage and try to attack me. I reach for the pistol and shoot you. It’s in self defense of course, any judge would buy that.”

“Look Amber I love you. I know I was wrong, but you have to forgive me. I love both of you, but I’ll do anything to keep you with me. Even if I have to leave Savannah.”

“Oh shut up. If you wanted to leave her than you would have done it six years ago. But no, oh no. You stayed with me and Jake. How can you lie to your own son?”

“Please give me a chance…”

“You’ve had six years of chances!” Then it happened, her index finger pulled back. She was so trapped in her own head filled with raging thoughts, she couldn‘t here the footsteps coming up the stairs. Adrenaline pounding through every inch of her body. Jake burst into the room to jump onto his Dad’s lap like he did everyday that he came home from work. Only today was different, today Dad had a bullet flying towards him. His innocence had no idea what his father had been doing, that he’d been lying to him for his entire five years of life.


The bullet seemed to travel in slow motion. All the power that Amber had was gone; it vanished the second she pulled that trigger. Jake yelped and fell. His limp body crumpled and collapsed onto the carpet. Blood seeped into the fabric, it looked so unreal.


Robert started screaming and pulled Jake’s body into his arms.

“Dear God Amber, call an ambulance! Don’t just sit there. What have you done?” Tears stream from his eyes and drip off his chin onto Jake. Amber drops the pistol. This is one wound that can’t be healed with dinosaur band aids or a tender kiss that only a Mother could give. The bullet went through his chest and exited out his back. Jake was silent, no crying, no yelling, and no breathing. He’s dead, and it’s all Amber’s fault.


She snapped back into reality and ran for the phone. The 911 call was the most awful phone call she’d ever had to make.

The operator answered, “Hello, what is your emergency?”

Between her tears and her chattering teeth all she could manage to whisper was, “I just shot my son.” The rest of the conversation was a blur. The ambulance arrived and took her son to the E.R.


Amber knew there was no hope; she could see it on the paramedics’ faces. Police cars arrived with blaring sirens. They stepped out and Robert pointed to Amber.



He screamed, “She did it! She shot my son.” Then he started sobbing again. Amber had all the power in the world, and now it was gone. She was now in handcuffs and had lost the one person that she loved and that actually loved her back. Jake was pronounced dead at the Sherman Oaks Hospital at 11:00 pm.



Amber was sentenced to life in prison for first degree murder. But, after only three days into her sentence a guard found her hanging from the ceiling in her cell. Robert never went to her funeral, no one did. She died alone to match the way she felt on the inside. All Amber wanted was a way out, and she finally found it. Suicide was her one chance for escape, her only chance…


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