Page 45 of The Aftermath

“I love you, Silas. I’ve never loved anyone but you. I need you to know that,” I cry.

“I know, baby. I know you do. I love you too, my little Angel.”

“That’s enough of that! Men!” Matt calls out. I see Hunter and Hoax and a few others in masks come toward us with guns in their hands. I try not to look at them. I try not to see what they’re about to do and Silas can see it.

“Eyes on me, baby. That’s all you have to do. Keep your eyes on me because I’m never leaving you, Angel. Not even in death,” he chokes out the words as we stare into each other’s eyes. I can’t stop the tears from falling, but Silas gives me a small smile just as the guys raise their guns. I gasp, unable to stop myself.

“Angel. Eyes on me, baby,” he says once more. I feel the gun press into the back of my head, and I stare into Silas' soul.

Chapter 23

Silas

There comes a time in all our lives when we have to say goodbye to someone. Some people are meant to stay, while others are just passing by. Not everyone you cross paths with is meant to stay forever. But then there’s the ones they call your soul mates. Even those of us with a black soul have soul mates. And not even death can take them away from you.

I stare into her eyes, knowing she’s exactly that. She’s my goddamn soul mate. She was meant to be with me in this world and the next. Even if I have to wade through the fucking fires of hell and claw my way back to her, I’ll do it. There will never be a time when Angel isn’t mine.

I keep telling her to look into my eyes. Just stare at me; be with me in the moment. Maybe then it won’t hurt so bad.

Everything happens so slowly. The shots fired, Angel falling against me and the two of us hitting the floor. My head bangs off the concrete floor, and my eyes begin to blur. The noise in my head is so fucking loud I can barely stand it. There’s ringing in my ears, and before I know what the hell is happening, I’m being dragged through the room. More shots are fired when I hear Hunter yelling. I can’t make out what he’s saying, and I don’t even try. I just close my eyes and let what happens happen.

Except, nothing happens. The noise is still loud, and the lights are still bright. My head lolls to the side and I see Rylan on the floor next to me, Tamsyn next to him. I try to lift my head to see Angel, but I can’t. My head screams in pain as nausea hits me. I lay back and close my eyes once more, not able to handle the light. It’s so fucking bright.

The next thing I know, I’m being rolled onto my side, and the ties on my wrists are being cut. That doesn’t mean shit considering I can barely fucking move. My arms fall to my sides as I roll onto my back. I can vaguely hear men barking orders when I’m lifted off the ground. I’m dead weight.

They place me on something hard, a table, maybe?My head keeps rolling to the side, and I clench my eyes shut against the lights one more time.

“Can you hear me?” I hear someone say as they rub on my chest. I jerk up in pain only to be pushed back down.

“What the fuck are you doing to me?” I ask, my voice barely loud enough for them to hear.

“Glad to hear you talking, Silas. I’m going to give you something to take away the pain,” he tells me.

“I don’t want to be knocked out,” I argue weakly.

“You need to be assessed, Silas. I need you to be still for that,” he says.

“No medicine!” I yell before I groan.

“Okay. Nothing that will knock you out, but I am giving you something to help.” I try to nod my head, but I can’t fucking do it. I feel so weak. I feel the prick in my arm, and they tell me they’re starting an IV for fluids and meds. I don’t really listen after that. Something cold is placed on my eye, so I keep my eyes closed as tightly as I can.

I can hear people moving around the room and talking to someone else, but I can’t make out who right now. I try to focus on something, anything, but what? Angel. I want to see Angel. And as I keep my eyes pinched shut, I picture her smiling at me. Yelling at me. Anything I can think of but her staring at me about to die. The pain in her eyes, the hurt, the fear. There was nothing I could fucking do. I failed her again. The first time with her brother wasn’t my fault. I didn’t know, but this time? I could have done something. Maybe coming back wasn’t the best idea for us. Maybe we were wrong.

Finally, everything fades away, and I’m swimming in a sea of blackness. I don’t see anything, I don’t hear anything, and I love it. It’s soundless here. No pain. No anger. No rage.

My little reprieve from life doesn’t last long, though. Or at least I didn’t think it did. I pry my eyes open and flinch from the bright lights. What is it with these people and bright lights?

I keep blinking rapidly to try and get my vision to return. It’s all blurry. I try to lift my head, but it feels like it weighs a thousand pounds right now. So, I opt for my hand. I lift it slowly and see the tube running out of it. The IV they started. I let my arm fall back onto the bed next to me and slowly turn my head to the side. I squint and blink when I hear someone laugh. Fuck it’s Rylan.

“What the fuck are you laughing about?” I ask him weakly.

“At the fact neither of us motherfuckers can see with this bright-ass light on,” he grumbles.

“I can turn it off,” I hear Hunter offer before the light goes off. There’s another light on, this one no where near as bright as the first one. I feel the head of the bed being raised so I’m not lying flat anymore, and I groan.

“Nice of you to wake up,” Hunter declares.

“I thought I was dead,” I reply.

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