Eye for an Eye

Chapter 45: Loss

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

"Don't you dare die on me," I begged, my voice hoarse, barely above a whisper.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

"Why did you do that? Why did you come? Why did West tell you?" My sobs broke through, raw and desperate, the gunshots and screams around me fading into nothing. It was just him, just the weight of his blood soaking into my hands, soaking into the ground beneath us.

His blood wouldn't stop. It kept pouring out, no matter how hard I pressed, no matter how hard I tried. It stained everything—his clothes, my hands, the earth beneath us. His lips parted, more blood trickling from his mouth, and his eyes... His green eyes burned into mine with so much intensity, so much pain, but still, they held something—something I couldn't name.

I felt hands on my shoulders, pulling at me, urging me to move, but I couldn't—wouldn't. I refused to let go of him. If they were going to kill me here, then so be it. I couldn't leave him like this. Not like this.

"Hermosa," his voice was barely audible, but I heard him, every broken syllable piercing through me like a dagger. "Vive una vida feliz mi mejor amiga."

The words wrapped around me, pulling at the edges of my soul. "I can't without you," I whispered, tears streaming down my face. "I still haven't learned all the bad Spanish words."

A faint, almost imperceptible chuckle escaped his lips. He reached up with trembling fingers, brushing a strand of hair away from my face, his touch so gentle, so familiar like he was trying to hold onto me even as he was slipping away.

"Please... look out for my family," he whispered, his voice weakening. And just like that, his breath faltered.

His green eyes began to lose their light, fading slowly, and it felt like the world itself was sinking into darkness.

And then, nothing.

His body went still. His eyes, once so full of life and fire, became lifeless.

I didn't know when Callum grabbed me when he pulled me behind the car, his arms around me, but I couldn't focus on anything except the fact that he was gone. His warmth, his presence, the sound of his heartbeat—gone.

Around us, chaos erupted. The air was thick with violence and fear. Bones cracked, bodies hit the ground with sickening thuds, and screams of agony filled the air. But none of it mattered.

Because he was gone.

And I was left here, in the middle of it all, carrying his last words in my heart, and the weight of his death in my soul.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to drown out the chaos around me. I thought back to simpler days, to when I was a little girl, running around with Miles or handing tools to my dad while he fixed cars. Those memories felt like they belonged to someone else now like they were from a lifetime ago.

"Freckles... open your eyes," Callum's voice broke through the fog, his hands gently holding my arms, keeping me from retreating further into myself.

I couldn't.

"He's dead," I whispered, my throat raw. "Jace is dead."

The words felt like they were suffocating me, like they were carving into my chest. I tried to push him away, to escape the crushing reality, but his grip only tightened, pulling me back to him. My body trembled, my resistance useless against the strength of his hold.