How to Survive Your 19th Life [BL]

Chapter 71: Deep Waters

I didn't want my parents involved. That was my only request. Emiel promised it would be painless, that he would be there with me, dying with me. It didn't matter much.

If I called for help, he would probably sneak back. The police couldn't hold him on anything, and the cops were corrupt. I wasn't safe. Dad wasn't safe.

Emiel came for me at night, after I was asleep for a good long while, doped up on pain medicine. I managed to sip some chicken broth my mom made for me, and a bit of water, but not much else. I got the counselor's session postponed until tomorrow... a tomorrow I wouldn't be here for.

A nurse with pink dyed hair and black nail polish helped him get me into a wheelchair. They handled me delicately as though I were something precious, not something that would be soon killed. Emiel smelled of ferns and sunflowers when he was close. He wore a peace sign necklace that dangled in front of my face as he strapped me into the chair. The nurse put something into the IV, and I blacked out.

When I woke up, I was in the car with Emiel, driving on a dark stretch of a country highway. My head touched the headrest with cool clarity. I raised a shaky hand and felt my skull, shaved bald with a bandage over thick stitches. The bandage was wet.

"Where are we going?" I asked Emiel, my lips barely forming the words properly.

"Don't worry about it." Emiel glanced at me, his eyes bloodshot. Had he been crying again? "I thought you'd be asleep still."

"How long have we been driving?"

"About an hour."

My head fell against the window with a thud. The car jerked right then straightened. Emiel grabbed my collar and pulled me back up.

"Be careful!" he snapped. It was quite humorous that he was so concerned about my physical wellbeing. I couldn't understand him.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm the love of your life."

I wanted to laugh but couldn't remember how. The road spun and bounced in my vision. "Who is Buffy?"

"From the show?"

"No, from Red's End." My fingers managed to find the buttons on the side of the seat. I lowered myself back to lay down some. This position was much more comfortable. It hadn't hit me yet that I still couldn't feel most of my body. Was I paralyzed?

"I don't know—"

"Long hair, pearly teeth," I explained.

Emiel went silent for a moment, then said, "How do you know him? Has he contacted you?"

"Previous life." I managed to giggle. "Who is he Em?"

"He works for me."

"Like an employee?"

"Yes."

"Who are you? How are you so rich?"

"Tell me what you know, Sol. Don't play games."

I sighed. "You got campus security, the cops, nurses, the school... everyone in your pocket. You can buy caviar by the pound. Outings Club is funded fully by you... You blackmail people. You can get away with murder. Who are you?"

"I'm the son of a powerful man," Emiel said nonchalantly.

"What does your dad do?"

"Nothing much anymore, he's dead."

"Why throw everything away for me?"

The car approached a bridge. Emiel slowed down. We sat in silence, and I heard the rumbling of a river nearby. I looked at the bridge and then looked at Emiel. This would certainly not be as painless as he promised.

Those hazel eyes met mine and his jaw set, a stern expression washing over his face. "Because out of everything I have or could have in this world... I only want you, Solomon."

He drove us into the river, where I drowned in his arms. Emiel actually died first. He blew out all the air from his lungs as soon as we hit the water and took gulps of water into his lungs. I sat in the arms of his corpse for a good minute before succumbing to the water myself.