The threat seems to cut Ana deep as her face contorts from fear to something I’ve never seen before. Anger so dark her hands begin to tremble.
“That’s where you’re wrong.” She spits out with venom. “I’m no longer your wife, you lost that right the moment you laid your hands on me, I’ll never belong to you ever again. You might have broken my body, cut me down to nothing but you’ll never break my soul because in all this time, it’s belonged to someone else andmy facewill be the last thing you see.”
Fury explodes from Ricky and everything seems to happen at lightening speed as Ana uses some kind of sharp stone to gut his stomach, blood rapidly blooming across his white shirt. The gun fires, the sound splitting the sky and I press the trigger, firing a bullet straight through the side of Ricky’s head, causing blood to splatter over Ana’s face.
He hits the floor with a hard thud and I throw my gun to Elibefore racing over to Ana who suddenly falls to her knees, the stone falling from her grip as she cradles her stomach.
“Dean.. something’s wrong.” She chokes out.
“Talk to me baby.” I say, smoothing the matted hair from her face and that’s when she reveals her hands, her palms soaked in a slick layer of blood from the gunshot wound in her stomach.
“No, no, no. Please.” I beg as she begins to shake in my hold, tears flooding my eyes. “Eli!” I shout, turning to face him. “Get me an ambulance now, she’s been shot.”
“Already on it.” He says, firing our location down the phone.
Stripping off my vest, I ball the fabric up and press it to Ana’s stomach, attempting to slow the bleeding that’s pumping out of her but it seems to seep through the fabric and in between my fingers.
“Stay with me mama, keep listening to my voice. I’m right here and help is coming.” I say, panic lacing my voice as her eyes begin to glaze over. She raises her hand from the top of mine to place it over my heart, soaking the white fabric in crimson.
“I.. always knew you’d come for me. That’s.. just the kind of man you are and..” She heaves in a heavy breath. “I love that about you. I.. love everything.. about you.”
Tears flood my eyes and I have to blink them away, letting them fall down my face as my heart shatters into a million pieces and I swear I can feel her soul slipping away from mine, the bond between us breaking slowly.
“Don’t.. say that. Don’t say goodbye to me. I’ll never survive losing you.”
Ana grips my shirt in her hands and pulls me closer to her, planting a soft kiss on my lips, surrendering her soul to me and I can taste our tears mixing together.
She pulls back a fraction. “I always knew I’d never.. make it out of here, but.. I’m so glad it’s your face.. that I see before I.. leave.”
“No. Please. Please, stay with me. Just.. stay awake and stay with me. I’m begging you baby,please.” I beg with everything I have, praying to a higher being not to take her away from me.
Please, don’t take her from me. I’ll do anything, just let me keep her.
Keeping the vest pressed to her stomach, I pull her closer to me, wrapping her in my embrace as her skin begins to grow cold.
“Eli! Where the fuck is that ambulance?!” I yell.
“It’s here now man! They’re coming.”
Ana’s eyes begin to grow heavy and I shake her, forcing her to keep awake. “You hear that baby, help is here, just hang on for me.” I beg, hearing the sirens growing closer.
Her voice is weaker now as she starts to speak. “Just.. say that you’ll forgive me.”
Forgive her?
“There’s nothing to forgive. I love you, more than words could ever describe, scars and all. You’re it for me.” I whisper to her cheek, feeling her skin cold against my lips.
“And.. you’re it for me.” She says, before going limp in my arms.
“Ana? Baby?”
“No. Talk to me!” I say with dread, shaking her limp body. “No! Fuck! No. Come back to me!” I yell through gritted teeth and when I don’t feel her responding, an agonising scream rips through my throat, loud and painful enough to awaken the dead, tearing a gaping hole straight through my chest. I sway back and forth on my knees with her body in my arms, tucking my face into the crook of her neck, desperate to feel her pulse againstmine but I can’t.. I can’t feel it anymore. It’s not there, why isn’t it there?
Please bring it back.
Bring her back to me.
The leather chair creaks underneath me as I shift my weight, trying to get comfortable. The sounds of machines beeping have become the soundtrack of my life, a continuous noise in my head. Repeating the same thing everyday until everything becomes one big blur. Somedays it feels like my life has stopped whilst everything else continues on around me, time proceeds on without me, leaving me behind.
