All I have is desperation.
I slam the top of my head down hard against Amber’s chest, holding to the vain hope that this will work.
The wheezing gasp assures me it did, the sudden shock of pain pulling her out of sleep to assess the danger she’s in.
It's quickly followed by a sob as she struggles to breathe, and guilt floods my veins as I watch her mouth move to try and suck in a breath around the pain.
"I need you!" I tell her, before she even gets a chance to get her bearings.
She blinks at me, mouth open in confusion, and then notices Cal next to her.
The sob that leaves her is primal.
It's raw.
It's so fucking anguished that another part of me breaks.
He didn't want her to see this, but I refuse to let him die. I can't. I won't.
"No!" I growl at her. "Not now. You don't fall apart, do you hear me? He needs us. I need something to put pressure on the wound. A towel or—"
She rolls off the table and falls to her knees, whatever drug she's trying to fight off still having some effect on her.
I close my eyes for a second because I can't bear to watch my best friend's life slip away. I open them again when I hear her struggling to stand, and when she does, she thrusts a mess of fabric at me.
And she's entirely naked.
I don't hesitate or question her. It's better than nothing, better than my hands. The blood is seeping out and around my fingers.
"When I lift my hands, you press it against him. I know you're not all right, but I need you to be quick. Can you do it?"
She nods, her eyes wild and haunted, but they hold mine as I count.
One.
Two.
Three.
She's fast, pressing the folded swatch of her dress against his gaping wound and pressing her hands over it, putting pressure on it. I return my hands to the other side of his neck, making sure to cover as much of it as possible.
Her entire body trembles as she stands there, across the other side of the table from me, and tears stream down her cheeks as she dares to look at him.
His eyes are shut now, and I don't know how that happened or when, but I'm glad.
I'm glad he can't see her breaking down because of what he did.
I'm glad he can't see her die a little, because she seems to realize something that she never noticed before.
She doesn't want him to die.
47
Amber
Standing in the bright light of the hospital feels weird after months of seclusion. Even if I wasn't conscious for all of it, there was the captivity, the isolation, and us hiding from the world. The only time we've left the house since Cal and I have been together was to be married and when we were playing the game... that night at the party and the night we killed.
I threw on the first thing I could find when the paramedics took over, which is why I'm standing here in a robe that's too short, still covered in his blood.
