“By killing me?” August scoffs.
“Correct. There isn’t another way. And the impression I got from you this morning is that you’ve finally realised that.”
They hold dark eye contact a moment. The scene comes upon me, vivid. Assassin August with the gun pointed at my August’s head.
I thought I was helping. I thought I was saving him.
But that was what he wanted.
I feel sick all over, ready to vomit knowing these two have some weird murder pact going on, and me on the outside of it. Knowing August was going to let this guy blow his brains out like that.
He must be able to see how upset I am, because he takes my hand, pulls me around to face him. “It was the easiest way.”
“You don’t just do that. You don’t turn your back on the people who love you. You don’t take your life. It’s mine now, August. It’s my life now. You don’t get to do that.”
He reaches for my cheek, a feeling I’ve come to love so much, so I slap his hand away. “August?—”
“Don’t. Don’t say my name. Don’t sayourname when you’re taking half of me. You have no right to it. Not when you’re killing me too.” Suddenly, despite my anger, I’m pulling his hands back, grasping for him, pushing his palm up against my hot skin.
He strokes my face, and I wish I could melt into his touch. “I never wanted to hurt you.”
“You did hurt me.”
“I know.”
“Then fix it.” Maybe that’s unfair. I don’t care.
The breath from his lips comes heavy. An apology.
I’m not fucking having that. “You think you’re crazy, destroying worlds? Well, guess what? I’myou. Whatever darkness is in you, it’s in me too. Try me. You haven’t seen fucking crazy yet.”
“He’s right,” Jon interjects. “He almost killed a guy on the way over here.”
“You did what?” August gasps out.
“I didn’t!” I automatically protest. Then I remember. “Well, I did. Kind of. But I didn’tmeanto. I was upset and?—”
“You’re not helping your cause,” Jon mumbles, deadpan.
“Oh. Right. I mean…” I front back up to August. “Yeah. Yeah, I almost killed a guy. Almost ran him down just for the sake of it. Old man… with his… stupid cane.” The vision of his appalled face smashes into my mind, and my guilt redoubles. “God, I feel so bad. That poor guy. I must have scared him half to death.”
August’s hand slips around my waist, and as though my brain has no say in the matter, my whole body responds to him, leaning into him like a sapling reaching for sunlight. He holds my cheek, and kisses me softly. “Stop being so adorable.”
“No.” I shake my head. “Not if it’ll keep you here.”
Earnest, he looks deep into my eyes. “If there were any other way, I would take it. You know that.”
“I mean every word.” I hope he understands the depth of the message: “If you do something crazy, so will I.”
His lips part, his brow setting hard. “That’s not a nice thing to say.”
“And it’s not a nice thing to do.” I stare back at him, hoping I can shoot every bit of hurt and fury I’m feeling right now deep into his mind and his heart. “You’re not going anywhere without me, not ever again. You’re not leaving my sight. You’re attached to me from now on, the two of us, one person. Do you understand?”
“Okay, this is all lovely,” Assassin August interrupts. “Really, it is. But you seem to be forgetting the problem here: you two are a ticking time bomb. I didn’t come all this way to murder myself for the fun of it. You’re going to destroy this world. And if August doesn’t die soon, he’ll destroy the next world after this, then the next one after that, and he won’t stop. Look at him. He’s not aging. He’s resetting every time. We’re talking the complete multiverse, billions of worlds, all shot down because you two want to fuck.”
“It’s deeper than that!” I yell at him.
“I don’t care!” Assassin August yells back. “I don’t care if he’s the love of your life. How many loves of how many lives are you both about to snuff out?”
