“I always think of you as being separate to me, this monster in my head that takes over, but it’s not true.You’re part of me, but I’m not part ofyou.I’m Romeo Knight and you are the darkest part of me.There’s no going back into the cage, I wouldn’t want that even if it was possible, but I can’t becontrolledby this darkness anymore.Not when I have a life that means more to me than death.His life, because it’s mine too and Ineedhim to live.”
Romeo let go.
A volley of coughs exploded from Chad, and he tried to turn onto his side.Romeo climbed off him and eased him over until he lay in the recovery position, gasping and choking.
“Chad?”
He didn’t respond.His eyes remained closed, but he heaved and pawed at the ground with one of his hands.One of his covered hands.Chad wore gloves, black gloves.
The hoodie he wore was also black, oversized on Chad, one of Romeo’s he kept beneath the back seat.
“I’m ...I’m still alive.”
Romeo slumped.“You’re still alive.”
“You stoppedit.”
“I did.”
Only just.
Chad began violently coughing again.
“You can’t do that,” Romeo murmured once Chad had stopped spluttering over the concrete.“You can’t disappear.You can’t ignore my calls and texts, not right now, not when I’m so ...unsettled.Not when...”
“When what?”
Romeo clutched his hair.“When it’s so loud in my head.It’s been so loud, Chad, ever since I found out you chose to take yourself from us—”
“I didn’t choose that,” Chad snapped.He groaned as he sat up and coughed into his elbow.
“It doesn’t matter whether you did or didn’t anymore.It’s the thought, and all the emotions that came with it are still there and you drove off without saying a word to me.”
Chad crawled as far as the car and propped himself up against it.“I shouldn’t have taken off like that.”
“No,” Romeo agreed.“You shouldn’t have.”
“I wasn’t ignoring you.I left my phone behind.”He shook his head.“No, that’s not fair.I shouldn’t have driven off like that.It was selfish.I’m sorry, Romeo.”
“And I’m sorry for almost killing you.”
Chad waved the apology away.“You didn’t.”
“I—”
“You.Didn’t.”Chad repeated with more force.
“It was closer than you think.”
Chad touched his throat.“You still picked me.You pickedus.All of us.”
“All of us?”
“The monster, the detective, Chad and Romeo,” he snorted.“We’re all still here, and we’re allusand we can’t have this disconnect.We need to work this out ...we need to...”
“Merge them all together.”
Chad nodded.“We’re all broken pieces, but they will fit together.It might not be a pretty picture but—”
