Page 117 of Blades of Obsession

My eyes widen and my mind goes into overdrive as I cover my mouth with my hands. Am I reading this wrong? Or did Blade just tell that guard to… tokill them? His own mother?

“Fuck,” Blade mutters, striding towards the fallen bodies. But as soon as he gets close, the guard turns his weapon on him and fires. The shot echoes in the room, amplifying my pulse beating in my ears as the bullet strikes Blade and sends him staggering back.

“No!” I scream, my heart feeling like it’s been ripped out of my chest and stomped on the curb.

A flood of memories crashes through me—our moments together, every stolen kiss, every touch, every sweet word. A painful sensation twists in my chest and my legs turn to jelly, barely able to keep me upright anymore. “No, no, no,” I whisper, the words slipping out in a broken, trembling voice that’s thick with pain. In the blink of an eye, I’m beside him, collapsing to my knees as hot tears spill down my cheeks.

“Please, please. I love you. I’ve never said it out loud before, but I love you,” I sob. My words are barely coherent.

He has a smile on his face. He just got shot yet he has the nerve to have a smile on his stupidly beautiful face. “Say it again.”

“I love you.”

“I love—” Before he can get the words out, his eyes get heavy and slowly close. A cold dread settles over me.

“No. No. No.”

Cindy has been wailing uncontrollably, her cries filled with raw anguish. Between sobs, she stammers, “I-I’ll go get help! There’s an at-home doctor who lives here, I’ll call an ambulance too.” She books it out of the room. As she disappears, I glance around and realize the guard who shot everyone is nowhere to be seen.

I place my head on Blade’s chest, listening to the faint rhythm of his heartbeat as I sob. I take his hand and place it over my torso, curling beside him just like he’s holding me. It’s the only thing stopping me from breaking down completely.

Chapter 44

AMELIA

I burst through the hospital doors, clutching Blade’s hand as the paramedics wheel him in on a stretcher. My vision blurs with tears, the sterile white walls of the hospital blending into a haze. Blade’s face, pale and clammy, haunts my thoughts. Each shallow breath he takes feels like a ticking clock, counting down to the unknown.

As the doors to the emergency room close, a nurse gently steers me towards the waiting room. I collapse into a plastic chair, my body trembling. My foot taps uncontrollably against the floor as my leg shakes, a desperate attempt to anchor myself in the present.

Oh God, I don’t know how I’ll be able to move on if something happens to him.

Minutes stretch into hours, everything around me becoming a blur. I don’t even notice anything in my surroundings because I’m lost in my own head, numb to the world.

Then, I hear a familiar voice calling my name. “Amelia!”

My head snaps up to see my mom rushing through the door, her face tight with worry. I blink in surprise. What? “Mom? What are you doing here?”

She sits down in the chair beside me, wrapping me in a tight hug. It feels real. Genuine. Like she’s my mom again. “Youdialed your dad’s number, and I heard screaming and crying. Something about a hospital. So, I called around and found you.”

I must’ve butt-dialed him in all the commotion.

I sniffle, burying my face into her shoulder. “How did you—does dad know you’re here?” Mom sighs, shaking her head. “I-if you don’t want to talk about him, it’s okay.”

“Let’s talk about you first. What happened? How are you holding up? You look like you’ve been through hell.”

A fresh wave of tears spill down my cheeks. “Blade got shot in the shoulder. He passed out twice in the ambulance, and he was barely conscious when we got here.”

She reaches out to touch my arm, in a soothing rub with her thumb. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. He’s strong. I’m sure he’ll pull through.”

“I don’t know what I’ll do if…” My voice breaks, the weight of my fears too heavy to voice.

She stands, giving my leg a soft pat. “Let me go get you a snack and drink from the vending machine. You need to keep your strength up. All the crying will make you dehydrated.”

While she’s gone, a nurse steps into the waiting room, scanning the space. When she spots me, she walks over. “We’re letting family in now. Is any family here?”

I feel a pang of sadness in my heart knowing that one, Blade doesn’t have any family to be here, and two, I’m not considered family.

My mom returns with some snacks and water in her hand. “What’s going on?” she asks.

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