The Blood On My Hands

Chapter 6

"Oh my God," I exclaim. "What can I do?"

"Nothing now. It's too late," Josh hangs his head low in defeat.

And so we watch Mark suffer. We watch every bone in his body bend and break in odd angles. Every inch of skin stretch until blood seeps through his pores. Every orifice gurgles out the black, slimy liquid. And every part of him aches and bleeds and shrivels to nothing.

Even though Mark deserved every ounce of pain he got during his death, I still couldn't let go of the fact that I was as bad as him now: a murderer.

Josh looks at me, his lips trembling.  He pulls me into an embrace as he shakes with sobs.

"I'm so sorry, Rosie. This shouldn't have ended this way. He shouldn't have died."

"It's okay, Josh. It's for the better. He killed Violet. And he wanted to kill us. As long as everyone's safe now, it's all okay," I reassure him. I was hoping I could reassure myself with the same words but I couldn't believe it.

Josh pulls away, his shimmering eyes a deep and innocent blue. Sensitive and  light. Not brown and menacing.

He lifts his hand to my face and I see his thumb leave from beneath my eyes, glimmering in the dim light. I hadn't realized I was crying.
I take his hand and put it back to my face, leaning into his warmth. My eyes close and I can feel the tension and stress of tonight seep through my tears as they come out harder.
Josh wraps his arms around my trembling body and holds me there, stroking my hair in silence because he knows there's nothing he can say.
I look up into those gorgeously pure eyes, and his mouth lowers to my face, kissing away the searing tears. His lips move down my cheeks and finally find my my mouth. Wet and salty with my tears, but impossibly gentle and more reassuring than Mark's could ever be.
I let my arms bend around his neck and my hands run through his hair and down his neck. Josh picks me up and lifts me by my thighs, not missing a beat of the rhythm of our lips together.
I press harder into the kiss, letting my emotions run through it, through him. His feet move forward toward the wall in compassion, and my back thumps against the wall, but we don't pay attention.
A loud clap of thunder sounds and lightning strikes out of the window, shocking me and Josh apart.
A giggle rips from my puffy lips as does Josh. He puts me down onto my feet as we both fall apart in laughs.
A yawn racks my body.
"Yeah, it's late. I'm tired too," Josh lets out in a raspy voice.
He picks me up off my feet and carries me to my parents' bedroom and sets me down on the bed.
His mouth lowers to my forehead and with that, he begins to leave the room.
"Wait!" I shout.
Josh reappears in the doorway, half his body in the room.
"Stay with me? I don't think I can sleep alone tonight."
A look of uncertainty crosses his face before he shakes it off and climbs in next to me, tugging off his shoes and jacket.
I pull him closer to me, and his arms wrap around me.
I remember his steady breathing, before I fall asleep.