Page 28 of A Whisper of Cinders

The face of the girl looks serene, but her skin tone is too pale, little drops of sweat cover her brow and upper lip. But that’s not what makes my heart beat faster. It’s who is actually wounded.

“Ami?” I whisper, my voice barely noticeable.

Her eyes open only a sliver, the normally so vivid blue has dimmed, the spark that is normally always there nowhere to be seen.

“Hi babes,” she coughs, blood oozing from the wound underneath my hands, the towel unable to absorb it all. “What are you…doing here?”

I throw the soaked towel away, taking the opportunity to look at the wound. A deep gash between the ribs, maybe four inches long. There isn’t much leaking out of the wound anymore, which could be good, if not for all the blood that is surrounding her. Us. I hastily grab another towel, applying pressure to the wound once more.

“What happened?”

I try to remain calm, panic won’t help me right now, but she’s running out of time. We both know that.

“I fell…on to a…knife…duh.”

My eyes are full of unshed tears. I blink them back, I can’t let my emotions overrule my rational thinking. “Now is not the time for jokes.”

She blinks slowly, her eyes remaining shut for a second too long. “There is always…time for…a joke,” she coughs again, longer this time, blood trickling out her mouth, her body twisting around itself. “Besides…I am…fine.”

She exhales, eyes fluttering shut. She isn’t fine, she is quite the opposite actually. My fingers tighten on the towel, but the blood keeps coming. There’s too much. Too damn much.

Her breath becomes more labored as the seconds tick by. “You’re fine, Ami, you can get through this, you are so strong.”

Her eyes open once more, there’s something in them that wasn’t there before. A hand covered in blood reaches out to cup my cheek. “No, my sweet Maily, you are strong.”

The tears I tried to hold back fall from my eyes and I cover her hand with my own, holding her as close as I can.

She takes a slow and deep breath in, followed by a labored breath out.

Then, nothing.

Her chest doesn’t move up again.

No.

No, no, no.

“Ami?” I whisper.

Her eyes look at me, a soft smile tilts the corners of her mouth up, but she is gone. With trembling hands, I pull her close to me, clutching her tight against my chest. “I am so sorry I wasn’t there to save you. I am sorry I was too late,” my voice cracks, but I need to voice these words. “I am sorry that I failed you. I…I promise I’ll do better, be better for you. Thank you for giving me a reason to live, for bringing me joy when I could not see the light. Thank you for being…you.” I press my forehead against hers, rocking her gently. “I love you, Ami.”

A breath shudders out of me, something cracking inside, something that will never be fixed, no matter how many years shall pass.

Tears spill freely down my cheeks as I tighten my arms around her. I hold on, even as the weight of reality settles in.

She’s gone.

A part of me—maybe the best part—is gone with her.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Iknow my heart still beats, I feel it hammering inside of my chest. Yet, I feel dead inside. Time passes by. It might be minutes, it could be hours. Not that it really matters right now.

In the distance, a door slams shut, startling me. I look down at the only friend I ever had, peacefully resting in my embrace. All the warmth has seeped out of her, her skin lacking any colour.

I look around me, noticing the blood in which I am sitting, staining my clothes, changing the colour to an even darker blue. Something on the left of us catches my eye, it takes a minute for my brain to register what lies there.

A knife.