I held Isabelle's cold, limp body in my arms, my heart racing with a mixture of fear and regret. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. I dialed Shawn Banner's number, my hands trembling, and every second felt like an eternity as the call connected. "I f*cked up, and I mean bad this time. I think... I think she's dead."
The silence on the other end was deafening. Not even the distant sound of crickets dared to break it. My heart sank further as I heard him mutter, "Hide her body in a place no one goes. Keep an eye on her. If she doesn't wake up in a few days, bury her somewhere no one will find her."
Each word pierced through me like ice. A cold sweat broke out on my forehead as the weight of those words settled into my gut. I felt the urge to retch, but I pushed it down. What had I done? My mind spiraled into chaos as the horror of my actions crashed down like a tidal wave. I could feel my world collapsing, a future that had seemed so certain now slipping through my fingers like sand.
I looked down at Isabelle, her pale face barely recognizable, a stark contrast to the vibrant girl who had once filled my days with laughter. A wave of nausea washed over me, not just from the sight of her lifelessness, but from the realization that I had thrown it all away in a fit of rage, my inability to control myself leading to this grotesque nightmare.
"Fu**," I muttered, panic twisting my insides. How was I going to get away with this? I had possibly killed a sixteen-year-old girl. The thought echoed in my mind, reverberating through my body like a dark anthem. I didn't want this. I didn't want any of it.
With shaking hands, I placed Isabelle in the back seat of my car, covering her with a blanket to shield her from prying eyes. Each second dragged on, heavy with dread as I drove. My mind raced with a million thoughts. Could anyone hear her faint, shallow breathing? A reminder that she was still alive, still here, but for how long? My heart thudded in my chest like a drumbeat of doom.
I glanced at her in the rearview mirror, guilt clawing at my chest, a beast ready to devour me whole. "What have I done?" I whispered, choking on the weight of my choices. The guilt threatened to suffocate me, and I knew I had to keep her safe—if not for her sake, then for my own.
Driving through winding roads and thick trees, my desperation grew. I searched for a place that felt right, a place where we could hide from the world, where my crime could be buried like a secret whispered in the dark. My heart raced as I pulled into an old, abandoned clearing, the perfect spot where no one would look. I parked the car, the silence heavy around us, and for a moment, I just sat there, looking at her, an eerie stillness settling over me.
"Please wake up, Belle," I murmured, my voice breaking. "I can't lose you like this. You're everything to me." But the only response was the soft rustle of leaves and the distant call of birds, a mocking reminder that life went on, even as everything around me crumbled.
I wanted to shake her awake, to see her beautiful blue eyes sparkle with life again, to hear her laughter echo through the trees. Instead, I felt the darkness closing in, wrapping its tendrils around my throat, squeezing tighter with every passing moment. Panic pulsed in my veins, a constant reminder of the chaos I had unleashed.
In that moment, I felt the terrifying truth settle in: I didn't love her, but I couldn't bear the thought of losing her either. She was a part of my life, a piece of me I had tried to control but had shattered with a single, impulsive act. Losing her would mean losing the last semblance of control I had left, the one thing that kept me from spiraling into madness.
As the weight of my actions settled in, I realized I was no longer just a scared boy hiding from the world. I had become something darker, something monstrous. The lines blurred between love and possession, between care and malice. I was trapped in this nightmare, and I had to live with the consequences of my choices. I had to keep her safe—even if it meant burying the truth along with her.
Urgency gnawed at me, and I could almost hear the sirens in the distance, the cold fingers of the law creeping closer. Every minute felt like a countdown, a race against time where I was both the hunter and the hunted. I swallowed hard, knowing that the stakes were higher than ever. I would do whatever it took to keep my secret safe, even if it meant becoming the very monster I feared.
