Beautiful Crime ※ DogNut

twenty eight

It had been two days since Adelaide had killed David and anarchy had reigned over the camp. The leaders of the other groups wanted South London Crew out but Jordan didn't want it to happen due to their numbers and ability to fight but the only thing South London Crew seemed to do for the last two days was get drunk and celebrate that now Adelaide was somewhat in charge now.

Admittedly, Adelaide had been drinking more than she should've as she walked through the camp – although she was more stumbling by that point. She was giggling and laughing her way through the camp until she felt a sharp pain shoot through her lower stomach.

Cringing from the pain, she grabbed her stomach. Her breathing became laboured as tears began to fill her eyes. She looked down at her hands. They were stained a crimson red  with blood.

It's dying... my baby's dying.

Adelaide had known she was pregnant for a while now but had kept it a secret out of fear that she would've had to leave her duties as commander. She had to keep fighting, she had to do it for DogNut and herself and now their unborn child.

She fell to her knees, her sight becoming blurred. She wanted to scream and cry but she didn't want to let anyone see how much pain she was truly in. Slowly crawling across the camp, she noticed her second coming towards her. "Hannah! HANNAH! GET JORDAN!"

Adelaide watched Hannah nod her head before sprinting away to get Jordan, and then Adelaide blacked out before anything else could've been done.

When Adelaide opened her eyes, she could tell that something was different. For one, she was in her tent and resting on her bed. And two, she knew that she wasn't exactly awake. She didn't know how she knew, she just did.

Sliding off her bed, she saw DogNut in the corner of the tent and she felt her heart swell inside her chest. She almost ran towards him with tears in her eyes until she stood before him, hesitant to touch him. Adelaide held DogNut's face in her hands, her fingers tracing his cheeks as her forehead rested against his. He was here, after so long. He'd come back to her. Almost on the verge of tears, Adelaide grasped onto DogNut as tightly as she possibly could, not willing to let him go at any costs – she'd been without him for far too long.

"Come back to me, please come back. I can't do this without you," she whispered, trying to not let her tears fall.

DogNut wrapped his arms tightly around Adelaide, his chin resting on top of Adelaide's head. "I never left you, Addie."

Adelaide shook her head, separating from DogNut. "You did! You had to die on me when I needed you the most," she shook her head, allowing a tear to fall down her cheek. "I could've saved you... if I'd been a little faster and stayed by your side, I could've saved you."

DogNut shook his head, pressing a kiss to Adelaide's forehead. "Stop blaming yourself, this wasn't your fault."

Adelaide closed her eyes, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. "That's not the worst of it; You were gonna be a dad-"

"There wasn't someone else? Before or after me?"

Adelaide shook her head, her voice shaking. "No. There was no-one else, there was only you."

She decided to leave Clara and Hayley out of the conversation – she didn't want to waste her time with DogNut by arguing about other relationships. She didn't know how much time she would have with him and she wanted to cherish every second.

"So, that little being growing in your stomach is my son?"

"Or daughter... but yes, it's yours."

DogNut looked as if he was almost about to cry as his hand found its way to her stomach, he slowly kneeled down and smiled softly. "Listen, kiddo, it's your daddy here. Don't be too harsh on your mother – she'll have it hard enough dealing with sickos and have to keep you safe too so take it easy on her. When you're old enough, look after her for me. She might not appreciate it now but one day, she might do. I just learned of your existence, but I already love you and I wish I could meet you, but shit happens."

Adelaide playfully hit DogNut's arm. "No swearing in front of the baby, do you want our kid's first words to be a swear word?"

DogNut raised his eyebrow at Adelaide, standing up straight. "You should watch what you say, too, princess. You swear like a sailor."

Adelaide shrugged her shoulders, pressing a gentle kiss to DogNut's lips. "True, but I'm not as bad as someone else I know."

"Just one of the many things I love about you."

Adelaide rested her forehead against DogNut's, her eyes closing as she tightly embraced him. She felt DogNut slowly slip away from him, but she strangely didn't react and let him go; it wasn't a goodbye on her part, it was a 'I'll see you soon' type gesture. "I'll see you when I fall asleep, Jacob," she heard herself whisper but she wasn't sure if she actually said it or simply said it inside her head.

But that didn't stop her from crying when her eyes finally opened, and she was back in reality once more. A DogNut-less reality, though. And even if his memory continued to live on in their child and through the people he met, it still didn't change the fact that she would miss him until the day she died – that was one thing that wasn't going to change any time soon.

Note

DogNut returns! Sorry this is so short and kind of a filler chapter but I kind of want to get these short chapters out of the way, so we can get into the final battle soon and then we can wrap up the story and I can move onto other projects because as much as I love writing Beautiful Crime; I do want to finish it and write other stories.