A sound I willneverforget.
A wet, final sort of sound that doesn’t belong in this world.
My knees almost give out. My stomach heaves. Bile scorches my throat.
“Dee… oh, fuck…DEE!”I shove harder, panic taking over, every rational thought burned away. My boots slip on the pavement as I break free of the crowd. My body feels disconnected, like I’m watching myself from above, a man tearing through the madness to reach what’s left of his heart lying broken on the road.
The van screeches to a stop, doors flying open, people shouting. I barely register it. All I can see is her—blood on her lips, eyes fluttering, her hand clutching that damn ring.
The one I gave her.
The one that should have meant forever.
Now it’s just a reminder that forever can be taken in the space between heartbeats.
Why am I so fucking slow?
I slide like a baseball player for home base into her side. The tubing is buried deep—too deep. Blood pools beneath her, seeping into the cracks of the road. Her right leg is twisted unnaturally. She’s shaking, her fingers clutching at the tube like she’s trying to pull it out herself.
“No. Don’t touch it. Don’t move, baby. Jesus! Dee, I’m right here.” My hands hover over her, afraid to touch, afraid to make it worse, but she’s so pale. Too pale. Sweat beads on her forehead, her lips tinged with blue.
“Call afuckingambulance,” I bellow, my voice raw and vicious. My hands press against her face, cupping her cheeks, forcing her to look at me. “C’mon, baby, don’t you dare leave me.”
Her lashes flutter, and when her eyes open, they’re glassy, unfocused, wet with tears.
“Hey. Hey, baby, don’t worry. Help is coming. Just hold on for me, okay?” My lips brush against hers, soft and desperate.
She shudders, her body weak beneath my touch. “Colt…” Her voice is barely a whisper, but her hand finds my cheek, her fingers trembling.
I grab her wrist, pressing her palm harder against my skin. “Don’t talk. Save your strength. I love you. Ifucking love youso much. Why the fuck did I wait so long to tell you?” My throat tightens, my breath ragged. “Dee, I’m an idiot. But you’regoingto be okay. Youhaveto be, so hold on, baby. Hold on for me.”
Her breathing is changing… short. Shallow. Frantic.
No. No. No.
Not now.
Not yet.
Hold on, baby. Please, hold on.
Her eyes roll to the back of her head.
“No. Dee. Don’t you fucking dare,” I command, my voice rough as I grab her face, shaking her lightly.
Her eyelids flutter open, and for a second, relief punches me in the gut. I cradle her head in my arms, but that’s when I see it. Her treble clef necklace is lying in the blood, ripped clean from her neck. A symbol of us, broken. I snatch it up and squeeze it in my fist so tight my knuckles ache.
“Colt,” she breathes, voice barely a whisper. My chest constricts.Fuck, I’m losing it inside. “Until the end of time,” she says, then exhales—slow, too slow—her eyes sliding shut.
Panic explodes through me. “Dee? Dee, baby, open your eyes. Look at me,goddammit.” I shake my head, refusing to accept what’s happening. “No, no, no,” I mutter, searching—fuck knows for what—anything, someone, something to stop this.
Then, in the distance, I hear them. Sirens.
I press my forehead to hers, my breath shuddering. My hands tremble as I cup her face, then I kiss her, desperate for a response. A twitch, a sigh,anything.
But there’s nothing.
“Dee, help’s here, baby. Hold on,” I grit out as the ambulance screeches to a stop.
