Forever His Princess

-thirty three-

NIKOLAI EVANS

"Princess?" I called out, walking around our house to find her. "Mar?" I made it to the kitchen and saw a figure run out of the door to one of the gardens.

What the fuck? Who was that?

"Mar, is that you?" I walked closer to the door but froze when I heard a whimper from behind the kitchen counter. "Who's there?" My blood ran cold and my eyes immediately started to water when I saw Manny lying down on the floor, covered in blood.

I ran to him and dropped to my knees next to him. "You're- you'll be ok, little man." I mumbled, trying to reassure him as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"It hurts, Dad." He said barely audibly. His eyes started to flutter closed and panic ran through me. My hands fumbled around his little body, trying to find the wound.

"No, no, come on, Manny. Keep your eyes open."

"I'm cold." His lips started to turn blue.

"There's too much blood. Fuck, I can't find where the blood is coming from!" His wheezy breathing stopped. "Little man?" I mumbled, feeling a lump form in the back of my throat. "Manny?" I started tapping his cheek to wake him up but there was no response.

I checked his neck for a pulse, a sob leaving my lips when I didn't find one. I lifted him into my arms, holding him to my chest.

"Open your eyes for Dad. You- you can do that, can't you? Come on, Manny... for me, hey?"

I felt my heart break more and more as the seconds went by before I gently placed him on the ground, kissing his forehead.

"Amari!" I ran towards the kitchen door to look for her but she appeared in front of me before I opened it.

"Yeah?" Her face dropped when she saw my hands covered in blood.

"Something happened with Manny?"

"What did you do?"

"No, you have to believe me, it wasn't me. I- I tried to save him, princess. I couldn't find where the blood was coming from."

I turned around to where his body was but he wasn't there anymore. There was no blood like before, no evidence of my dead son ever being there. I looked down at my hands, seeing there was no longer any blood. None of it was there.

Where'd it all go?

I heard the sound the a gun and I turned back to face Mar to see her pointing one at my head. "M- Mar?"

"You didn't love him, you called him yours but you killed him."

"It wasn't me." I cried out, shaking my head.

"He died because of you. I'll die because of you. Can't you see, Nikolai? This. Is. All. Your. Fault." Her words carried such spite, each was like a stab to the heart.

"No, no, no." I muttered repeatedly.

"I could never love you."

"Please- please don't say that." I let out a shaky breath. "I can't lose you too, princess."

"I never did love you." She shot the gun, the bullet going straight to my chest, making my body dropped to the ground.

I brought my hand slowly to my chest, touching the wound before lifting it up to see my blood soaked hand. "Princess, help me- why would you-"