Page 45 of Death Kiss

He doesn’t see me tear a broken and exposed arm bone from a body. It’s sharp. And still warm. Which sets my stomach churning.

Every step I take toward him hurts. The room keeps spinning and lurching. Pain screams as I approach him, bone lifted in the air.

He’s too busy congratulating himself.

Until someone yells out to look behind him.

He does.

Too late.

I shove the spiky broken bone into his throat. Surprise registers in his dark eyes, his mouth opening.

‘Tell Molly…’ He doesn’t finish his sentence, falling backwards as blood gushes from the wound, the bone still in my hand. Turning slowly, I look for any others who might still breathe.

There are none.

There’s no satisfaction in their deaths. Numbness fills my body. I fall to my knees, my head splitting with pain.

‘Liam,’ someone shouts from above. I look up, but it’s the last thing I see before I collapse onto the bloody floor.

TWENTY

KAT

The plastic bag’s handles dig into my palm as I round the corner. Buying food at the corner shop is always pricey, but at least the walk home isn’t too bad. Especially when Liam’s not here to let me be a princess who doesn’t need to lift a thing.

I check my phone with my other hand. No messages. No calls. Ellie and I spent the day together shopping as she waxed lyrical about her date with Freddie and how he knows exactly what he’s doing in the bedroom. Swallowing my concerns, I awed, ahhed, and said "good for you" in all the right places. It’s nice to see her excited, but I can’t help but think this pen-wielding blondie is going to break her heart. Or hold her back.

The turn into the alley is up ahead, and it still sends shivers through me when I approach it alone in the dark. I can’t forget about being dragged through it by Sam. Notes stuck to my door. Blood. If we can somehow wangle my parents’ place, maybe it would be good for us. Not a fresh start, exactly, but something like it.

Maybe I’ll paint my parents' room hot pink and put a roller rink in the ballroom. Not that I roller skate, but to annoy them if they ever come to visit.

I’m giggling as I round the corner.

Stopping fast, my bag falls to the ground, food spilling out around my feet. There’s a body in the alley. A rough sleeper? No. There’s blood.

‘Liam?’ I say, seeing a winding ivy vine on the bloodstained forearm. ‘Oh my god, Liam!’

My knees hit the ground as I reach to feel his throat. There’s a pulse, thready and weak, but there.

‘Can you hear me?’

There’s no response. Looking him over, I’m appalled. One eye is swollen shut, and there’s blood everywhere. I can’t figure out where it’s from. Gently feeling around his scalp, I hear a small moan fall from his lips. There’s a huge lump near the back, and my fingers come back sticky and red.

Did someone find out what we’ve done?

Do they know us?

Calling the hospital seems like the worst idea, because they’ll get police involved. I can’t fix this, though.

My phone slips from my hand on the first attempt to triple press the nine, but I take a deep breath and get through to the operator.

‘Emergency. Which service do you require?’ says the voice on the other end.

‘Ambulance.’

‘Stay on the line, please. I'm putting you through.’