Fated Series. Book #2
"Be possessive of me, own me, keep me, because if you do then nothing and no one else can." - Maddox.
My name is Maddox Vallero, and I'm dead.
Well, that's not quite true. I'm alive in the breathing, walking, talking sense-but...
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Chapter 26 I Missed What? Maddox
The real question is whether I should even be allowed to have a driver's license—or if I should be trusted to operate anything that requires a shred of focus. I just made it home—drove across the entire city—and I don't remember a single second of it. One moment, I was standing in the conference room, feeling my heart splinter into pieces, each one smaller and sharper than the last, and still I couldn't open up. The next, and Sophia was walking out, taking the last of my air with her. Then I blinked again, and I was sitting in the garage, my hands still gripping the wheel like it was the only thing keeping me tethered.
Once again, I feel like I've been dropped into the ground, a coffin closing over me, shutting out the light and any remaining hope I was holding onto. This time, though, it's worse. Last time, when I lay waiting for death, I'd already made peace with it. I'd been still—calm even—fully expecting it to take me. It didn't. I survived. But this time... no. This time, death doesn't want me. The grim reaper is just standing there, mocking me, taunting me with his absence. And I, in turn, am ready to beg.
In the coffin, I welcomed him. Today, I'd plead for his mercy.
Stepping into the apartment, I stopped trying to make sense of how I'd gotten here. My reality was slipping, turning hazy and disjointed, like trying to grasp smoke. As I passed the front entrance, a sick feeling rooted itself deep in my stomach, spreading like rot, making my throat tighten until I felt like I might gag.
My head barely lifted as I made my way into the living space. I sensed someone at the counter but didn't care enough to look. It wasn't until my sister's voice cut through the air that I pieced together who it was. Still, I didn't acknowledge her.
"Raw fish," she called, lifting a piece of sushi with her chopsticks. "Want one?"
I wanted to throw up.
I couldn't fucken breathe.
Everything inside me felt like sludge. My head was spinning, my chest hollow, and my tongue so heavy it wouldn't even form the word "no." I didn't try. I just kept walking.
"What the fuck, Maddox?" she yelled, her voice chasing after me as I turned the corner, my shoulder clipping the wall like I was drunk. I wished I was. I wished I didn't feel anything right now. But I felt everything. Sophia had taken that from me—my ability to shut down, to block it all out. She'd cracked me open, and now my emotions raged.
I rushed down the hall, desperate to get away from her, from everyone. But I couldn't get away from him. The grim reaper was still there, walking beside me, a cruel smirk painted across his skeletal face. He laughed even harder now, his mocking louder, sharper. Because the last time he came for me, I wasn't this fucken pathetic. The last time, I was strong. I was unbelievably strong. Now? I don't even remember what strength feels like. All I know is this—an agonizing, bone-deep exhaustion that won't let me go.
