Page 135 of Lies Like Love

After he killed her.

Sirens and tires paint the silence of the night with chaos. They wail like the demons that wander these halls. Distant, even when they’re close. Ripping through the windows, yet still, somehow drowned out by the beating of Jude’s heart.

Slow, but steady.

At some point before the sirens arrive, another set of car doors opens and closes, and I wonder if my grandparents are even still downstairs. They did nothing to prevent what happened. Not so much as flinching when my father’s men tried to drag me away. Even if they are still here, they’re gone in every sense that matters.

More doors slam, followed by yelling and banging downstairs. Dusk claims the sky, and it’s splashed in red, white, and blue lights.

Gripping Jude’s side, I seal my eyes shut and beg the universe to let me keep him after all we’ve done. Footsteps near and I yell for them.

Cops flood the room, and it’s no longer the peaceful scene it was when it was just me and Jude lying in a mess of blood.

Paramedics walk in, and only then do I let Jude go.

“Who are you?”

“Do you live here?”

“What happened?”

“How many bodies?”

“Where’s the gun?”

Questions skitter in circles so fast I can’t answer them. I’m not even sure if they’re all directed at me, as I sit on the bed, numb watching the paramedics cut open Jude’s shirt and try to stop the bleeding.

The peacock feather inked on his chest is stained in blood. Nothing more fitting for our love.

“It’s my grandparent’s house,” I finally choke out.

A cop narrows his eyes. “Where are they?”

“I don’t know.”

Nothing is left here, not even them. And for the first time since my mother died, I’m sure once I walk out these doors, I’ll never step through them again.

“We were meeting them for brunch.” I smooth my hands over my blood splattered dress. “And then—” I trail off, looking toward the bathroom. “They came for us.”

The cop continues to ask questions, but I can’t answer them. Every thought is stuck in my head or my throat. I can’t focus on anything but Jude, who hasn’t opened his eyes in a few minutes.

I’m frozen until the paramedics strap him to a gurney and start to wheel him out.

“I need to go with him.”

A cop skims me up and down. His hard features made sharper by the intensity of his frown. He’s likely still deciding if I’m the villain or the victim, and I wish I could make him understand it doesn’t matter because we all lost this battle.

Finally, he waves an arm out in agreement, letting me leave.

I follow Jude down the hall as they wheel him to the staircase, leaving the ghosts behind with every step. We make our way through the cold dark foyer and out into a crisp evening that offers my lungs a fresh breath.

Climbing into the back of the ambulance, I sit beside Jude and lace my fingers through his. And only then, does he finally blink his eyes open.

He squeezes my hand, and I realize I know the answer to his question.

After you die, you’re reborn again.

42

---