Page 2 of Bloody Seven

I run to Drew, hoping that by some miracle, he will pull through, even though there is blood everywhere. When I fall to the ground next to him and press my arms against his chest, I don’t feel a heartbeat.

"DREW!" I yell as I shake his body, but he doesn't move.

Tears flood my vision, blurring my eyes and a woman steps next to me, placing her hand on my shoulder. I have no idea who she is, but it sounds like she's on the phone with someone. Everything around me is muffled as my sole focus remains on my fiancé.

"Please don't leave me," I sob, refusing to believe that our perfect night is ending with my worst possible nightmare. "Please," I say with a shaky breath.

He isn't moving, and I can't find a pulse. There's so much blood, and it's on me now too. Finally, after a harsh realization, my brain reconciles the fact that Drew is dead. He isn't going to ever wake up again.

My eyes swirl around the crimson scene before me. Today was supposed to represent love, not loss. Pain and sorrow begin toconsume every cell of my body. It feels like someone’s reaching inside my chest and ripping my heart from it.

I breathe heavily as I slowly stand, covered in my now dead fiancé's blood, and walk out to the street with shaky hands.I can't bring him back. He's gone. That fucking psycho stole our future.

"YOU!" I seethe while trembling violently as the assailant comes into view.

The sick fucker lets out a manic laugh while continuing to mutter bible verses. The bald man watching over him looks down briefly before focusing his attention back on whoever is on the other side of his phone call.

My lip curls up in disgust as my body rapidly cycles through all the stages of grief. Anger. I land on anger again and take a step forward, ready to show this asshole exactly how badly he fucked up. I may be weak, but he stole someone I love from me. He deserves to be punished before the cops haul him away and he ends up with a brief stay in a psych ward before getting released on a technicality. No, he needs to pay.

A sly smile crosses his face like he knows exactly what I'm thinking as he lifts his arms into the air while looking up at the sky.

"God will welcome me in his holy embrace," he says before reaching into his pocket to pull out another knife.

"No!" I scream and lunge in his direction, but it's too late.

The assailant slides the knife across his neck, leaving me to watch in horror as blood pools down the front of his chest. He makes a gurgling sound before his head droops forward and the bald man leans down to check his pulse.

"He's dead," the bald man says, and I'm unsure if he's talking to me or someone else, but my entire body slips into a state of shock.

Drew will never get the vengeance he deserves.

I'm forced to sit here, waiting for the police, while my mind replays his death over and over again. Life is taken as easily as it’s given, and I'll never forget that again.

Chapter 1

Poppy - Present Day

Iwonder whose blood will coat my hands this year.That's the first thought to cross my mind as my eyes blink open and I prepare to start my morning routine. Should that be concerning? Maybe, but I'm past the point of giving a fuck. I'll be out of this city before I know it and back to my day-to-day life in boring 'ol small-town Pennsylvania soon anyway.

After throwing off the covers and immediately gravitating to the coffee machine, I make my way to the hotel's balcony with my cup in hand. With a gentle push, the door slides open, letting me slip through before I take residence in the rickety chair in the corner.

Light inches its way across the landscape, brightening the city inch by inch, as the sun begins to break the darkness of the night. It’s my own little playground full of people who are none the wiser because even in the light, darkness can find you. A sinister grin crosses my face as I take my first sip of the bitter liquid in my cup.

Chills run through my body as the caffeine hits my system, and I tuck a piece of my long, black, wavy hair behind my ear with asmile. There really is nothing better than that first sip of coffee in the morning. It's the only way to determine how the day will go.

Good coffee equals a good day.

Shitty coffee, well, I think that's self-explanatory.

I take a deep breath, letting the cool air fill my lungs. It's loud here, even at seven am, in the city that never sleeps. Shades of yellow and orange brighten the horizon between the buildings, and I watch in awe as a new day begins. No matter how much darkness there is throughout the rest of my life, watching the sunrise is one of my favorite things to do.

It's a fresh start, and tomorrow, I'll be purging the rage that's been building within me for the last year.

Every Valentine's Day, I come here for vengeance on the city that gave me my entire world, only to take it away just a few years later.

Drew and I met at a club in Manhattan on Valentine’s Day eight years ago. I just turned twenty-one and had never been to a bar before. Shocking, I know, but I was the typical good girl who always followed the rules while everyone else partied it up behind their parents’ backs.

My bestie, at the time, had a Valentine’s Day trip planned with her boyfriend in the city and told me I had to tag along. She refused to let me stay home, even though I tried to insist there was no way I was crashing their weekend. It was a useless battle that she won.

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