Page 36 of Victorious: Part I

She smiles up at him, her bottom lip quivering, but her breathing is slowly getting better. “You did save me, Lock… you did.”

My eyes shift quickly to Alpha, expecting that to be a gut punch, but instead, a bright smile crosses his face as Lock leans down, pressing his lips gently to Livvy’s. Alpha lowers his eyes to Poppy, a look of genuine gratitude flowing through him, and in this moment, I know Alpha is going to be okay.

Suddenly, Lock pulls back, a confused look crossing his face. “Why do you taste like tequila?” he asks.

I can’t hold back my chuckle. “Oh, my bad. In my defense, though, it did make her feel more relaxed.”

Lock glances back at Livvy, pulling up a seat next to her. “You know what, at this point in time, it doesn’t even matter. Whatever makes her comfortable.”

I throw my arms in the air. “That’s whatIsaid!”

Alpha rolls his eyes as Livvy softly whimpers, her fingers stretching out toward Poppy. “My baby girl,” she whispers.

Poppy hesitantly steps up to the side of Livvy’s bed, taking Livvy’s hand. Dr. Nettle quietly steps into the room, bobbing his head to Lock in acknowledgment.

Livvy clears her husky throat, her eyes barely open anymore. “Poppy… you were the single… greatest achievement… I ever accomplished.” Poppy weakly smiles, glancing back at me. I wink at her, then gesture for her to look back at her mom. “I know Haven… is going to take… such good care… of you… she’s going to… be able to… protect you… better than I… ever could.”

Poppy’s eyes well up. She’s fighting hard not to cry, but I know they’re going to overflow any given second.

“But while Haven is here… fighting for you… I’ll always be with you…” Livvy sniffs back, her strength clearly waning, “… protecting you… guiding you… watching over you. Maybe this time… I’ll be the hummingbird.”

Poppy bursts into tears, my heart instantly pounding as Poppy clings to her mother. “I love you, Mama. I don’t want you to go.”

Livvy runs her fingers through Poppy’s hair so slowly as Alpha moves in behind Poppy to comfort her. “I know… I don’t want to go, baby…” Livvy’s eyes shift to Alpha as they stare at each other. “But sometimes… life doesn’t go as planned… but we have to make every day we have count… do you understand me?” Livvy asks Poppy, but her eyes are still on Alpha.

His nostrils flare, his jaw wracks from side to side, and he gently nods at the same time Poppy replies, “I think so, Mama.”

Livvy’s eyes drop back down to Poppy, her eyelids blinking slowly. “I love you… all of you,” she whispers so quietly, her breathing coming shorter now, the machine to the side beginning to beep an ominous warning as Lock and Dr. Nettle both glance at it. Lock clenches his eyes shut, his grip on Livvy’s hand tightening while Dr. Nettle turns off the beeping noise.

My heart is racing faster, my eyes watering as I step up to her bed. “Livvy, thank you. Thank you for trusting me with your family.I swear to youthat I’ll protect them. Both of them. And love them witheverythingI have.”

A simple smile crosses her face, her eyes remaining closed, but she doesn’t say anything in response, her breathing becoming shallower and shallower. Her body is now too weak to talk anymore.

Lock’s fingers gently caress her hair, tears streaming down his cheeks as Poppy’s eyes dart around the room like she doesn’t understand what’s happening.

“Mom? Mom?Mommy!”Poppy urges, gently nudging her.

Biting down on my bottom lip, I glance at Alpha, and he gently pulls Poppy back a little from Livvy’s bed. She spins to face her father, her expression completely confused. “Daddy?” she whimpers, and he doesn’t hesitate. He lifts her into his arms, wrapping himself around her in a bear hug, needing his comfort.

“It’s okay, Princess. Daddy’s got you.”

Livvy lets out a loud exhale, catching all our attention.

Everyone stops.

It’s like the room is a vortex leading us all to Livvy. There’s no air to breathe. I can’t find a way to force myself to inhale because I am waiting for Livvy to draw in her next breath with me.

But she doesn’t.

She’s just lying there.

Pale.

And all of us continue to stare like the entire world has stopped revolving while we wait for her to breathe.

But she won’t breathe!

Suddenly, the loud, continual hum of her heart monitor announcing her flatline breaks everyone out of the daze we’re in. My head snaps to the machine as Dr. Nettle stands by it, a solemn look crossing his face, his hand resting gently on Lock’s shoulder for support. Then, quietly, Dr. Nettle turns off the machine. I see his lips moving, but I can’t hear a single word he says. My ears feel like they’re blocked, as if there’s a hum in my brain blocking everything before he slowly walks out of the room.

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