Page 103 of Our Little Monster
The thought of being too late, of losing her, was a void threatening to swallow me whole.
Her chest barely rose, each breath a whisper against the destruction that surrounded us. Were we too late?
I reached out, my fingers brushing her cheek, smearing the ash that clung to her skin. It was then that her eyelids fluttered, revealing those eyes that had captivated us since the beginning.
And she smiled. She fucking smiled. Her teeth stained pink with her own blood.
That small, pained curve of her lips was a balm to the searing wound in my heart. Her resilience, even now, was the fiercest thing I'd ever known.
“Am I still alive, or is this some fucked-up version of heaven?” she wheezed, the metallic tang of blood on her breath.
“Serina, listen to me,” I urged, pressing my hand against hers, trying to will some of my strength into her. “You're going to be fine. This is real, we’re here, and you're going to be okay.”
My voice broke on the last word, the lie bitter on my tongue.
Nox and Thorne didn't utter a word, but their eyes met mine, heavy with the weight of an unspoken truth. If we lost Serina, it would rip us apart. Without her, there'd be nothing left but shadows where our hearts used to be.
I cradled her in my arms, her body far too light, as though her soul was already starting to slip away.
“We need to move. Now,” I ordered, rising with her against my chest.
“Sam,” she coughed, concern for her cousin overpowering her own pain.
“Shit,” Nox hissed, and Thorne was already moving, sweeping her unconscious body into his arms with ease.
We bolted then, the fire's heat on our backs nothing compared to the fear in our veins.
The cool breeze outside hit us like a grim splash of reality. We were out, but not safe. Not yet. The woods embraced us, the edge of the trees standing and watching with foreboding as the warehouse continued to burn into ash.
I laid Serina down gently. Her life was ebbing away right in front of us, slipping through our fingers like grains of sand in a too-fast hourglass.
“Stay with us,love,” I whispered, pressing my forehead against hers, inhaling the scent of her hair, committing every moment to memory. Because if these were our last moments, I'd chain them to my soul forever.
I tore through the fabric of my shirt before pressing it against Serina's wound with hands that trembled despite their immortal strength. Thorne was on her other side, having left Sam lying next to us. His own makeshift bandage was clutched in desperate fingers against her wound, while Nox hovered over us both. He held her hand, his eyes wide with a fear we hadn't known before now.
“Stop,” Serina breathed, her voice a ghost of its usual fire. “Stop, it's okay.”
“Like hell it is,” I growled, but she caught my hand, her grip weak but insistent. Only serving to break me further.
“Listen to me,” she said, and I couldn't help but obey.
Those eyes, shining with unshed tears, held me captive, and I could feel Thorne and Nox leaning in, the world narrowing down to this one point, this single moment.
“I know about Victor,” she confessed, and the words hit like a punch to the gut. “I know what he did, the power he held over you. What he made you do.” A tear escaped, tracing a path down her cheek. “And I don't blame you for what happened.”
“Serina—” Nox started, his eyes glossy with unshed tears, but she cut him off.
“Despite everything,” she continued, her smile a shard of glass in my heart. “I don’t regret anything. I love you… all of you… I love you,” she repeated. Her lip trembled, and it severed any strength I had left. “And I’m sorry… I fought my demons too long and now… I think they won…”
Those words, so light and broken off her lips yet as heavy as the world, hung between us. A sob wrenched itself from Thorne's chest, and Nox's face crumpled with the weight of emotions he usually kept tucked away.
As for me, I was shattering silently, piece by piece, my smooth demeanor succumbing to the relentless sea.
“I love you too, baby, just hold on a little longer. The ambulance will be here soon, just hold on,” Nox pleaded, his voice shaking with fear.
He ran a hand over her damp forehead and hair while Thorne continued to try to stop her bleeding to no avail.
The sirens weren’t far now. Her eyes began fluttering.
