A weak groan from Thorne finally pulled me from staring at the door, that wall crumbling faster than it took to build. I dropped to my knees, twisting him over to look at the wounds. There were so many and the blood,hisblood coated everything. My hands, shirt, pants, the floor I’d forced him into on multiple occasions. “Thorne.” A weak whisper.
Through a shuddered breath and whimper, he slowly turned his head. “O-O-Oren…”
“Get the fuck away from him!” Matthew screamed, his footsteps closing in with every intent to kick me away from the man Ineededto hold. “You fucking piece of shit! You’ve done enough damage!”
I pulled Thorne tighter, refusing to let them touch him when it was my fault he looked like this. “Get a medic here quickly. One you trust won’t report anything he sees back to my father.” The commands came quickly, my eyes never leaving the fading honey of my love’s.
Matthew stopped abruptly, shock in his voice. “Oren?”
“O-Oren?” Liam repeated, as if he wasn’t sure what was real or fake. “Is that… Is thatyou?”
“Get a goddamn medic,please!” I snapped my head to them, tears I’d had to hide flowing freely. “Can’t you see he’s bleeding out? I’ll… I’ll explain everything later, but please, dammit, please.”
“Yes, sir,” Matthew responded, quick to grab Liam as the two rushed out.
A hand fell on my cheek, drawing my attention from where they departed, part of me too fearful to look away in case my father had been watching. Thorne’s rasped breath followed, his thumb weakly stroking across my skin.
“Y-You know…” he started, the physical and emotional pain tangible as he tried to speak. “I-I’ve always dreamed of…being held by you…l-like this.”
“S-Stop talking. Shit, Thorne…” My hand wrapped around his, cradling it to my cheek. “I should be on this floor, not you.Neveryou.”
“N-Not…true.” He chuckled, blood spurting from between his lips. “It’s about t-t-time my demons caught up with me… I’ve been… I’ve been running from them for too long…”
“Not true.Nottrue,” I emphasized. I settled to the ground, not caring if his blood soaked through my clothes. What was taking Liam and Matthew so goddamn long? “Just… just stay quiet, okay? You focus on me.” I tucked him further into me, the shaking of my arms uncontrollable.
Unable to listen to me, as always, he kept talking. “W-When…that bomb w-went off in Venezuela… I thought I-I was dead, thought we were all dead… And still s-somehow… You were the o-only thing on m-my mind… E-Even though you h-hated me for what I’d d-done…” A wheeze. “And I d-don’t regret it… Y-You know, my decision? I-I’m glad y-you stayed here, so you didn’t… so you didn’t see…”
His lids fluttered, his chest falling and rising far too slowly. Sinking into my arms, he weakly shook his head, clearly struggling to keep himself conscious.
“I-I…” A death rattle rocked his frame. “I just…want to t-thank you for giving me…time… For letting me s-s-see your beauty, and for granting me t-the privilege of l-loving?—”
I cut him off, refusing to let him keep uttering words I knew by heart. “Stop it. You’re going to be fine, because I won’t let death take you. Not after… not after I finally got you, understood therealyou.” I shook my head, a bitter cry escaping my lips. “You promised to stay with me. How can you love me if you leave?”
He looked up at me, the life in his eyes no longer there, and still, somehow, he gifted me a genuine smile showcasing his dimples. “I-I’m sorry, d-dove… I hope… I hope you can… f-forgive…”
Every word faded into a softness as his breath stilled, his head dropping against my chest. His gaze looked past me, no longer harboring the love or the playfulness I’d seen in it before…before he…
“Thorne?” I wasn’t even sure I said his name aloud.
My hands shook him gently, but he didn’t answer. “No. No, no, no, no,no.”
Reason was beyond my capabilities as a guttural scream tore my lips. “Matthew! Liam!”
I clutched Thorne tighter, fighting against the slickness of his blood. “I won’t let you,” I sobbed. “I can’t… I can’t do this without you so you come back.Rightnow.”
“Over here!” The voice was distant, almost as if I were underwater, but I knew it was Matthew.
Footsteps drummed; their arrival was something I wanted, yet I couldn’t let go as they worked to pry me from Thorne. Hands closed around my shoulders, pulling me from his lifeless frame, and the mere thought of having him taken away from me sent me into a spiral.
“Let me go!Let. Me. Go!” I roared, fighting against multiple sets of hands holding me back.
“Oren!Oren!”The scream shredded through my opposition, Liam clutching my shoulders. “You need to let him go, Oren. They can’t help him, can’tsavehim here.”
“N-No. My fault…myfault.” I couldn’t even form coherent sentences as I stared at the only man I’d ever loved. At the only man Iwouldever love, and I never told him. Never told him how much I did.
“It’s not…” Liam whispered, shaking his head. “It’s not your fault, Oren. T-They’ll save him. If they can save Simon, they can save Thorne.”
“B-But what i-if they can’t? I can’t… I can’t lose him, Liam.”
