“Oh god—no.” The words splinter, broken and raw. My face is hot all at once and then cold, and the tears are there before I can blink them back.
“I’m sorry, Raelynn.” His words crack at the edges.
“No, no, no—she’s not—” My voice shreds apart before the word can finish.
“She was gone before we got inside.” His tone is a soft finality.
The scream rips out of me before I can stop it—sharp, guttural, ripped from someplace deep. My knees give out. The world tilts violently, but Emilio catches me before I hit the ground, strong arms locking around me. I collapse into him, sobs tearing out so violently it feels like I might split apart. He lowers us to the floor, one hand cradling the back of my head, the other banding tight around my shoulders. I tuck in against him and shake until I can’t feel where my body ends and the air begins.
“Rae? Rae, what’s—” Tessa’s voice cuts in, high and panicked, feet thudding down the hall. She rounds the corner, her eyes wide with panic.
She freezes when she sees me crumpled in Emilio’s lap, my face buried in his chest, my body shaking so hard I can barely draw air.
“Khloe,” I choke. Saying her name out loud feels like glass in my throat. “She’s gone.”
Tessa pales, her face draining of color. “What do you mean gone?”
Emilio’s voice is steady but grim when he answers for me.
“She was murdered.”
The words slice through me like a blade, sharp and merciless. Hearing them out loud makes it real in a way I wasn’t ready for. My body convulses with another sob, my throat raw from screaming. I bury my face deeper against Emilio’s chest, clinging to him like he’s the only thing keeping me from shattering completely.
His shirt smells like rain, and faint traces of his woodsy cologne—comfort in the middle of devastation.
Tessa staggers back, one hand pressed to her mouth like she can shove the truth down her throat and keep it there. “No,” she whispers, voice breaking. “Not Khloe. She—she can’t be.”
Her knees buckle. Emilio reaches out without letting go of me and steadies her by the elbow. “Sit,” he says, gentle but leaving no room for argument. She drops to her knees on the other side of me, leaning into both Emilio and I as she sobs.
I can’t breathe. It feels like cinder blocks have been set on my ribs. I drag in a breath, and it stutters and snags. Images of Khloe slam through my mind—her laugh bouncing off our apartment walls, the mischievous smirk she always wore, her incessant teasing, the midnight calls and texts she would have with us when we needed someone to talk to, the way her presence filled every space. They flicker too fast and then stop altogether, like someone yanked a plug.
Everything I loved about her is now…
Gone.
EIGHTEEN
EMILIO
I holdRaelynn in my arms for what feels like hours, rocking her gently. Every sob rakes through her and hits me like a body shot. I’ve given death notices more times than I care to count—knocked on doors in the dead of night, watched faces crumble, families fracture, listened to them deny what I was telling them, refusing to accept that their loved one is gone. Those nights leave fingerprints on you. But none of them has ever come close to tonight. Delivering this to Raelynn felt like I ripped my chest open with my bare hands, tore my heart out, and stomped on it.
She’s endured more than anyone should have to. Losing her mother, her father, and now Khloe… it’s too much for one person. I know what it’s like to lose pieces of yourself. I’ve buried people, carried caskets. I’ve dealt with my fair share of grief but not like this. Not this deep.
This is the kind of loss that carves straight to bone, and leaves scars that never stop bleeding.
Max doesn’t leave her side—not once. He’s a steady presence through it all, pressed against Raelynn like he knows she’s breaking and can’t stand to let her do it alone. His head rests on her lap, eyes lifted toward her face, quiet and patient. Every fewseconds, his tail moves—a slow sweep against the floor, the only sound in the heavy stillness. When her sobs start to quiet, when the shudders in her chest finally begin to ease, it’s his warmth that grounds her. She knots one shaking hand in my shirt and the other disappears into his fur like she’s afraid that if she lets go of either of us, she’ll disappear with everything else the world’s taken from her.
At some point, Tessa pulls herself up from the floor. Her face is pale, streaked with tears that haven’t stopped since I told them. She doesn’t speak—just slips quietly down the hall, her footsteps dragging, the door to her room clicking shut behind her. The silence that follows feels heavier. Like the apartment itself is holding its breath.
Still cradling Raelynn, I brush her hair back from her face with one hand, my thumb tracing the wet trails down her cheek. Her lashes stick together, clumped with tears. She’s beautiful, even like this—especially like this. Vulnerable in a way that makes my chest ache. I lean down and press a soft kiss to her forehead, lingering there for a moment.
“Come on,” I murmur, more to myself than to her. My voice barely works.
I shift under her, and she moves with me automatically, still hanging on. I stand, gathering her up as if she weighs nothing. She tucks herself against me, feet dangling, arms tight around my neck. Her hand knots in the collar of my shirt, refusing to let go. Max follows, his nails clicking softly against the floor as we move down the hall, never straying more than a few inches from her side.
Her room is dark except for the soft glow spilling from the hallway. Shadows stretch across the walls. Max jumps onto the bed as soon as I open the door. He circles once before curling up at the foot, his eyes locked on her, unblinking and protective.The soft thump of his tail against the sheets is the only sound that dares to exist.
I pull the comforter back and lower Raelynn gently onto the mattress. She looks so small like this—fragile in a way I’ve never seen her. The fire that usually burns in her eyes is gone, replaced by something hollow and raw. Her skin is pale, streaked with tear tracks that glisten under the dim light.
