Page 52 of Red Dreams

And then he moves.

Kaden looms over Ethan, who stares up at him with resignation. He knows there's no escape. No mercy to be found.

“To think I thought we could be friends one day,” Ethan says to Kaden with a lopsided, weary smile on his lips.

“I'm sorry,” Kaden says quietly. And then his hands are around Ethan's throat.

Ethan's eyes bulge. His mouth opens in a silent scream as Kaden squeezes, cutting off his air. His feet kick weakly against the carpeting.

A scream builds in my throat, tearing, clawing its way out. An inhuman sound of grief and rage.

No.No, no, no!

I thrash against Cassie's hold, desperate to get to them, as Cassie’s laughter dances against the roaring in my ears.

Ethan's struggles grow weaker, his face turning a sickly shade of purple. And still, Kaden doesn't let go.

Ethan's eyes roll back, his body going slack under Kaden's merciless grip. I scream until my voice gives out, tears soaking my face as I watch the light fade from my best friend's face.

Kaden holds on a few seconds longer, ensuring there's no flicker of life left. Then he releases Ethan and steps back, letting his lifeless form crumple to the ground.

I fall to my knees, Cassie's hold on me loosening as she stares at her father with a mixture of awe and satisfaction.

“You did it,” she breathes. “You really did it.”

Kaden doesn't respond. He just looks down at Ethan's body.

I crawl forward, moving between the men’s legs and ignoring their jeers about my ass and how it would be nice to ram me from behind, and reach for Ethan with shaking hands. His skin is still warm, but his chest isn’t moving.

He’s gone.

A wail builds in my throat, tearing free in a raw, animalistic keen of grief. I gather Ethan into my arms, cradling his head against my chest as I rock him back and forth.

“No, no, please no,” I sob brokenly. “Come back. Please come back.”

But there's no answer. No miraculous resurrection. Just my friend's heavy, empty shell growing cold in my embrace.

I lost him. I couldn't save him.

Tears drip off my chin, soaking into Ethan's blood-matted hair as I clutch him tighter. As if I can somehow pour my own life force into him or bring him back through sheer force of will.

But I can't. I'm powerless. Helpless.

Just like I was when my father left. When my mother chose her revolving door of boyfriends over me.

Everyone leaves me in the end. I'm never enough to make them stay. I wasn’t enough to get Kaden to change. To choose me.

Kaden's words echo in my head, taunting me. My deepest fear laid bare.Abandonment.

I feel Kaden's gaze, heavy and assessing. Watching me shatter. Watching me drown in a despair of his making.

“Look at me.”

His voice cuts through my sobs, unfeeling and commanding.

Slowly, I raise my head.

He stares back at me, his expression devoid of warmth. But then, just for a moment, he lets me in. A brief flash of ... regret? Apology? I can't be sure. It's gone before I can decipher it.

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