Page 31 of Stranger Session

“You didn’t need to blind me!” Sam yells.

“I didn’t want your eyes on what’s mine. I tried to stop you before it came to this, but here we are. I should have put your ass in prison with some pictures implanted on your laptop.”

“Nothing will keep me from her. Don’t you realize that? Even if you send me to prison, they can’t keep me forever. They never do. I’ll just find her once I get out.”

“Then I’ll fucking kill you.”

Del sits up and climbs off Sam. He throws me a look, but it’s hard to see beneath the blood draining from his face. Behind him, Sam goes for a metal-handled broom sitting in the corner. Del looks around, his eyes furiously scanning for something that can be used as a weapon. He grabs a utility knife half-buried beneath a stack of pictures.

They clash again. The blade of the knife slips along the handle of the broom, sending sparks shooting. Arms and legs flail as they fight. Finally, there’s a squelching sound, and I think the battle is over. That Del won.

But Del falls backward with the knife in his lower abdomen.

“No!” I scream, rattling the chair as I strain forward.

Del looks at me before falling to his knees. His hands clutch the blade as he stares at it with a look of disbelief. Sam struts over to taunt him.

“How does that feel? Not the lucky one now, huh?”

“Fuck you,” Del hisses.

Sam pushes him, and Del falls onto his back. I’m almost certain I know what Sam plans to do now, and I can’t watch Del die. The man I’ve come to care for. The man who accepted my fantasies and made them a reality.

I slam my eyes shut.

More squelching sounds come from the space in front of me. My stomach recoils and I gag. I’m listening to Del’s murder.

I open my eyes.

Blood pours from Del’s abdomen, but I don’t see any other wounds. Then I see Sam. He’s bent over, stumbling around with the knife lodged in his chest. Del must have pulled the knife from his gut and taken the opportunity to stab Sam while he was gloating.

His hand goes over his abdomen, and he holds pressure on the gushing wound as best he can. Sam falls forward and lies still, but the threat hasn’t passed. If Del bleeds out, this was all for nothing.

I have to get to Del.

I use all the strength I can to rip one of the restraints off my arms. The skin feels like it’s ripping from my bones, and I scream out as I break free. I don’t care how much it hurts. I have to save him. Once one arm is free, I lean over and undo the other before unfastening my legs. Now that I’m completely free, I rip off my shirt and hold it to his wound. He smiles at me.

“Venti,” he whispers. He’s lost all the color in his face, and his clammy skin only assures me that we don’t have a lot of time left together.

“You aren’t allowed to die on me,” I say as the blood spreads around my shirt and soaks my hands.

He licks his lips. “If I live, will you marry me?”

“Whenyou live, I’ll marry you. I promise.”

Del inhales deeply, and I worry he’s taken his last breath in front of me.

But it can’t be his final breath. It can’t.

Epilogue

One Year Later

Mariah

Ishift my weight from one leg to the other. I’m so nervous to see what’s outside of my blindfold. Del became such an important thing in my life. My hero. That night in the photo lab was a changing point for me, and now I’m back at a photo shoot again. After everything that happened, I’m back at the start of it all with a blindfold on. This time is a little different, though. I’m ready to see the person behind me.

“Are you ready to meet your blind date?” the photographer says.

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