Her Last Breath

it'll never be enough// Chapter 2

The knock at the door repeated itself before the visitor let himself in. Valentin Chmerkovskiy walked into her apartment at 11:07, just 4 minutes after she took that breath in the bathtub. He walked through her apartment to her room where he knocked on the closed door. Val came in and saw no one, but followed through to the bathroom. Water seeped from under the door and he tried to open it. After several failed attempts, he pulled out a pin from his pocket and picked the lock. The smile on his face quickly turned into messy tears when he opened the door.

What he saw was her lifeless body floating limply in blood stained water.

Her eyes were simply more bloodshot than anything he'd ever seen. He saw the pain in them. His knees buckled below him and he fell hard beside her. He clutched her slightly blue hand in his and squeezed as if she'd wake up. He felt no pulse. No spark in her veins. He saw no fierce smile. No dazzle in her eyes. No twitch of an eyebrow at his ugly laugh as he choked out confused chuckles between his sobs. He was confused. His mind was confused. It felt like an alternate reality.

She was gone.

He tried to blink away the tears. But he couldn't take away the stabbing pain in his chest. He looked around as best as he could and his heart stopped at the sight of a broken whiskey bottle and pills scattered in the mess. The blood rolled from her nose and a gash on her cheek held a shard of glass. With all of his will, he reached down to lift her out of the water. He repeatedly whispered in her ear.

You're not gone.

But she was. There was no saving her. She had passed, and he knew it. Maybe a part of him wanted closure. Maybe a part of him didn't believe it. Maybe the part of him that needed her so badly and dreamed of a future with her-

No. He wouldn't go there. He couldn't.