Amidst Crimson Kisses

Chapter Twenty Five: The Kiss Of Death

Margo's POV

I'm going insane inside the halls of Goulding Manor as Asher's location lies adjacent to my stature. I face the brilliance of collective tiles, gleaming before me in dried specks of blood. I close my eyelids, pondering the events unfolding on the other side of the door as moments ago, a desperate Andre pulled his unconscious friend on the opposite side. My mind was racing the second he crossed the threshold while Asher slowly slipped out of consciousness as his words slithered on his tongue in a whisper. I tried to decipher the connections roaming in Asher's brain when he uttered those three words, but his world lies ahead of me scrambled within the blank pages of our history. Then I wonder how I can be enamored with someone when I barely know the storms they had to face to exist a second longer?

I think harder about the words Asher spoke to me before he collapsed, and my heart withered each second he muttered: it's all connected. Although, maybe I shed a tear when he whispered Juliet's name as if she greeted him in his slumber, and captivated his attention in the last fortress she could occupy. His mind must've been a desert the way he wandered day and night through the sands of his tribulation until Asher constructed a mirage. Then again, what if Juliet never left his side and she roams on the edge of that desert, frightened as she faces a whirlwind of dust sweeping over the distance in a gust of wind. I imagine them uniting somewhere in a wasteland outside of time, but the demise of my soul would be great because if even an ounce of Juliet lived inside of Asher I couldn't compete against her.

"What if Asher never acknowledges my admiration for him," I hesitate, allowing the words to fall out of my mouth as I hold my legs to my chest. "How can I even compete with a ghost when I could never measure up to the girl she once possessed? How could I compare to a memory born of perfection and beauty when Asher looks at me in disgust?"

"He looks at you in looks because you were the one that drove her over the edge," my alter ego sneers as she breaks out of her cage, gaining control. "and now you're praising your lies as if they mean a damn thing. As far as I'm concerned, your one more name at the bottom of my list of everyone who will fall to their knees, and we're not above any of them. So either get out of my way or be decimated because one way or another, they will fall."

"Are you even real anymore?" I question as she forces me to look beyond the chamber door. "How do I know I'm not just losing my mind, and your not a figment of my psyche. What if I forget everything tomorrow, and the universe rewinds over again?"

"The question isn't if I'm real," she advertises. "The question is what's on the other side of oblivion because it's sure as hell isn't a hospital. Why did Andre carry Asher inside the room instead of going to the hospital? If you think about the architectural design, it makes this floor the perfect place to die, or slowly bleed to death as blood swims in your lungs until you gasp for an ounce of air. It's poetic; actually, Juliet dies in an ocean while her boyfriend drowns in a pool of blood."

Her words sink in my mind as I raise off the floor, deciding to disobey Andre's strict instructions. I open the door, watching Andre tower above his father in arrogance. Elijah sits before him, bound to a chair with shackles mounted up to his chest, and his wrest extends before his son as his eyes hold one last act of redemption. My vision wanders until I catch Asher on the floor with blood dripping from his head, and seconds turn into minutes as Andre faces his last resort. Andre takes a deep breath as he steps closer to his father, holding the key to his freedom in his fingertips. He places the silver key in the metal, turning it slowly almost like he can see Elijah snapping Asher's neck in one fatal twist, knowing it would cause him an unimaginable pain.

"You got what you wanted," Andre exhales, stepping back as Elijah rises from his seat. "Now do whatever it takes to save him, but don't call the ambulance. Asher can't afford to lay unconscious in a hospital bed, waiting for David to walk through the front door. He barely made it out alive last time, and I need him alive. He's the only family I got left, so save him first. Then I'll follow you without resisting, and I'll join The Forsaken only if you promise to leave Asher and Charlie out of this. Either their untouchable or you can kill me right now because I'll never follow you if anything happens to them."