Page 152 of Property of Necro
“Just try,” Rot pleads. “Put your issues aside, ignore them, beat ‘em down, do whatever you gotta do for a month. Just a month. Be with her. Let her decide what she wants. If you still want to die by then, I’ll kill you myself.”
“No,” Coffin barks, not down with Rot’s offer.
Me? I’m relieved he cares enough to give me this, even though I know it goes against his principles. Rot’s compassion loosens a knot in my chest. To go peacefully with my brothers is the way I want to die.
Their eyes are the last I want to see.
When it’s time to go, I need them to let me.
Hands tucked behind his head, Rot lolls it to the side to look at Coffin. “Yes. Brother. You’re talkin’ about Sola and her freedom of choice and shit. Necro gets the same respect. If he wants to die, we help him. Just like he helps us. We support his decision.”
“I don’t support that.”
Rot’s lips purse together, pissed Coffin isn’t backing him up. “Well, two out of three is two-thirds, so your opinion doesn’t matter.”
“We vote as a club,” Coffin grumbles. “Nobody is gonna agree to that.”
“We vote as a unit. A family. This ain’t the club. This is our future together…” Rot’s gaze cuts to me. “Now. Are you in or not? One month. Take it or leave it. But you have to promise to try.”
And if I wanna go, you won’t stop me,I check to be certain.
“No. I won’t,” Rot promises.
“I will,” Coffin adds.
Rot shoves him in the shoulder. “He won’t.”
Coffin retaliates with a solid punch to the ribs. “Fuck you. We’re supposed to die in bed together. All four of us.”
Wait.
I frown and sign,We are?
“Yeah, fucker. We are.”
To lift our spirits, Rot does what he does best and sits up in bed and claps his hands like a damn child. “Then I guess we make this one helluva a month, so our pretty redhead wants to stay with us forever, sayI do, and our prez doesn’t wanna be turned into worm food.”
“I hate this shit.” Coffin flips us off, and I chuckle, expecting him to put up a bigger fight. Yet, I’m relieved he isn’t.
Putting on the best pathetic, puppy-eyed show, Rot clasps him on the shoulder. “Come on, brother. Please, work with me here.”
Cursing under his breath, Coffin shrugs Rot off. “Fuck… Fine. A month.”
Our dark-haired brother smirks, knowing he’s won, and swings his attention to me. “Do you also agree? One month.”
Closing my eyes, I dip my head in acquiescence.
One month.
For them.
In a month, Sola will be free. Living a full life with my brothers, and I’ll be gone.
One month left to live.
How hard could it be?
For her. For them.
