Page 71 of Heart Sick

The fear.

The pain.

His heart lurches in my chest, and I have to pull over for fear of throwing up. Luna stirs, her eyes slowly opening. The daylight highlights her injuries which just fuels the anger within.

“What’s wrong?” she asks when she sees me white-knuckling the steering wheel, attempting to steady my breathing.

“I don’t know,” I reply honestly. “Keep talking.”

What I do know is that hearing her voice calms me.

“It’s going to be all right, and you know how I know?”

I close my eyes and focus on her voice and only her voice.

“Because we’ve lived through worse. Well, I think we have. Being here…I feel so…sad.”

I hear her seat belt click and when I feel her settle on my lap, I wrap my arms around her waist. She caresses my face, her fingers openly exploring every inch of me, and I allow it because I need it. I need her.

Soon, my breathing settles, and I open my eyes. Luna doesn’t get off my lap, however. She wraps her fingers around the back of my neck and the way she is pressed against me, my dick grows hard. She gasps when she feels my erection, but still, she doesn’t move.

“Have we had sex before?”

“No.”

“Have we kissed?”

I shake my head.

She wets her lips which does nothing to help my current predicament.

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. Being locked up in an asylum is hardly the place to romance a girl.”

Her lips twitch. “I suppose you’re right. But we’re not now.”

That’s true, but as I look past her and out the windshield, kissing her here for the first time feels so wrong. She reads my hesitation and instantly, I can see she’s hurt, taking it as a rejection.

“Luna—” But it’s too late. She’s out the door, apparently needing some space.

This place just gets worse.

I give her some time and grip the steering wheel, peering out at the road in front of me. A hollowed scream thumps at my temples and I taste blood.

Jack’s blood.

Sadness soon overcame me because he didn’t want to die. I guess most people don’t. But he really wanted to live. His fight for life lingers on my tongue.

Opening the door, I go with my gut and walk to the middle of the desolate road. I don’t even know why; I just know that I need to keep walking. Day soon gives way to night, and the road is slick with rain. My boots grow heavier with each step I take until I am hit with what feels like an elbow to the stomach.

I’m suddenly winded.

My legs give out and I collapse where I stand—the spot I suspect is where Jack died.

“Dutch!” Luna’s cries feel wrong because she calls out for the wrong man.

I spread my arms out wide and peer into the blackened skies. The air rattles in my lungs as I attempt to cling to this last memory of my days on earth. The full moon comes out of hiding, lighting up the universe and welcoming me home.

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