Page 124 of The Kiss Of Death
I grabbed him by the collar and held him precariously close to the edge of the roof. His feet teetered on the balcony, my muscles straining against the effort. My other arm circled the balcony railing and the gargoyle, hoping it wouldn’t break.
His gaze fixed on the ground below, a flicker of fear in his eyes, and regret was evident in his hands clutching my arm. “No, I don’t want to!”
I raised a brow, all my muscles on the verge of breaking. “I thought this is what you wanted?”
“No, please,” he pleaded, shutting his eyes tightly. “I don’t want to die. I don’t!”
I pulled him back onto the safety of the roof, and I climbed the barrier after him with what felt like a broken arm from overestimating my strength earlier. Miguel curved into a ball, still in shock.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I wasn’t thinking, I felt powerless, and I—” he whimpered, tears streaming down his face. “What have I done?”
I sank to the cold ground beside him and lay on my back, adrenaline coursing through my veins.
“It’s okay.” I felt the metallic tang of blood in my mouth. “But if you ever feel like that again, come to me next time. I’m not looking forward to doing this ever again.”
“I’m sure your mom regretted it the moment she did it,” he mused.
My jaw clenched at the mention of my mother.She regretted leaving me?“No, no. It’s my fault, and I—” I bit back the words, my lips thinning. “She hated my guts.”
His chin shook as he cleared the tears from his eyes. “We think ending our life would help the people we love because we hate who we are… She hated herself, not you. Thank you for stopping me.”
“Whatever,” I replied dismissively, pushing myself upright and ignoring the tightness in my heart. “Now tell me about those guys. It’s the Pioneers from last time?”
He shook his head. “If he hears I talked, he’ll—”
So it’s a he.
I’ll deal with that Pioneer later.
“I promise I’m going to solve this when I get back.” I locked my eyes on him and extended my hand. “But I have some stuff to take care of during the holidays. I trust you won’t do anything stupid?”
“No,” he muttered.
Not that I trusted him. I’d send a message to his parents about it so he could get the help my mother refused to accept.
“Now, are you going to grab my damn hand, or do you want to stay here?”
He hesitated but ultimately grasped my hand.
If I had arrived on time to extend a hand to my mother, would she have seized it too?
When I stood on that roof for the first time three years ago, I felt someone reaching out to me as well, an invisible pull. Dalia had always been that glimmer of hope, the one holding me back so I wouldn’t jump from the roof.
Maybe her Kiss of Death was the afterlife I was seeking after all.
Because death no longer interested me.
I made sure Miguel (though I was still going to call him Michel until he spoke up for himself) was kept busy with Cillian at our chess club. I instructed Cillian to keep a close eye on him, just in case, while I indulged in my favorite pastime, not by pleasure, but necessity. Dealing with that kid had resurrected my mother’s ghost and all the ugliness I’d buried inside me.
I needed a remedy for my feelings.
I needed her.
My glimmer of hope.
In the darkness of the music room, I lingered in the shadows, silently absorbing the melancholic melody emanating from my broken doll’s violin. She wore her Unifier uniform, the moonlight illuminating her like she was on stage, and I was her unseen observer. I wouldn’t dare to disturb her performance by making my presence known.
The ribbons in her white hair fluttered with the wind of the half-opened window. Her melody was new, and tragic, like the most heartbreaking of endings. A pang stirred in the depths of my heart, an unsettling sensation that I couldn’t quite shake off.
