Heartless Betrayal

Chapter 23 - Darkness

Chapter 23

Keegan’s POV

                “If I can’t have her, no one can.” Toby smirked, before spinning around and leaving the gymnasium, Christian and Talia hot on his heels.

                “No,” I sobbed, dragging myself closer to Sydney.

                “Don’t…mate, you’ll just make it harder for yourself.” I looked at Alex, tears were streaming down his face as he slowly walked towards me.

                “No!” I cried harder, continuing towards her and stopping as I came to the edge of the puddle of blood. “Sydney, n…no.” I sobbed, putting my head in my hands to block her from my vision as well as halt the tears and stop them mixing with the crimson puddle in front of me.

The girl I loved was lying dead in front of me.

I sat there as all the pain from before washed over me, I would have thought it would have hurt less the second time around, but it was just as bad, if not worse. It ripped open the wounds that had just begun to heal when I saw her alive, and now they were torn open even further than before. It felt like someone was cutting pieces out of my heart, agonisingly slowly, piece by tiny piece. I couldn’t deal with it.

I crawled forward a little more until I could reach out to her hand. I slowly ran my fingertips over hers, before moving them to the knife she had dropped to the floor.

                “I’m sorry.” I whispered, “I wish I could do it, but I can’t. I can’t be here knowing you’re gone.” I looked down and saw my hand was shaking. I gripped the knife tighter and slowly turned it so the blade was pointing into my chest, the same place it was for her.

                “Keegan… mate,” Alex began.

                “Shut up!” I shouted, I was sobbing uncontrollably now, my throat was closing in and I couldn’t breathe. If I didn’t do it now it was only a matter of time before I suffocated anyway. I heard Alex running over to me now, he would try to stop me, pull the blade from my hand. I couldn’t let him do that.

                “Sorry.” I whispered again, staring at the blade only millimetres from my chest, before taking a deep breath and pressing it into my skin.

                “Stop.” A small voice commanded. It wasn’t Alex, and that was enough to stop my movements, the knife having only just broken the skin. “Don’t, Keegan.” I looked down at Sydney, who was struggling to sit up in front of me.

                “What? B…but how?” I stammered, she looked like an angel. Maybe was dead, had I actually done it? I moved my hand to where the knife had pierced my skin, there was barely any blood on my shirt. I was very much alive.

                “It’s not real.” She said softly, my heart dropped in my chest. It wasn’t real. I must be dreaming then, how could I imagine that she’s alive? Her eyes were trained on the floor, her hair was matted and the bags under her eyes were dark and clearly visible. She looked a mess. But somehow, she still looked angelic.

                “The blood, it’s not real.” She continued. Oh.

                “But how?” Alex asked, wiping at his cheeks as he appeared beside me.

                “They put me in a science room.” She began timidly, “I was about to major in science before all this happened, Toby knew that. I don’t know how this slipped his mind. Then he was stupid enough to leave me a note telling me how he was sick of me and he was going to make me stab myself in front of you. I realised that I had taught myself to make fake blood a couple years back for Halloween, and they had everything I needed for it in the science room. Then I just put it in a zip lock bag and taped it to my chest.” She finished.