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A tear slips.
A single tear trickles down my cheek, filled with so much regret that I’m not sure what hurts more—my pulverized insides, or my heart.
My shattered legs, or the heavy burden of grief resting on my shoulders.
And hell, maybe it’s the Pale Horse galloping up beside me, or maybe truth shines a little brighter in the floodlights of mortality, but…fuck, I get it now.
I know.
I think I’ve always known.
A weighty sigh falls out of me as I blink through the film over my vision. And when I rest my cheek atop the hood of the car…I think I see her. Golden-blond curls bouncing behind her as she floats over to me, a picture of sweetness weaving through the chaos.
It’s little June, small and young.
She’s moving closer to me as my tension drains, my body going limp, and a smile lifts through the pain.
She looks like an angel, like the little princess I’ve always tried to save.
But not today.
Today, I think she’s here to save me.
“Peach.”
I know it’s not her. I know she can’t really be here, fifteen years younger. Everything is shutting down, and I’m hallucinating. Going into shock.
It’s just a trick.
“Pretty as a peach, you are. You’ll keep dancing, right?” Little June does a twirl, the pink skirt of her princess dress fluttering as her laughter tickles my ears. “You gotta…keep dancing.”
Another face materializes in the crowd; a medic, I think, rushing toward me. Nothing more than a fuzzy shadow, saying things I can’t understand.
He looks frantic. Trying to reach me. Desperate to help me.
But there’s only one thing I need help with.
A message.
This paramedic is my only messenger.
“Tell Brant…” I inhale a slow, shuddering breath. My teeth are still chattering as I force out words. “Tell him…it’s okay.”
Darkness whispers down my neck, eager to swallow me whole, but I force it away. I fight it. I drown it out before it drowns me because I need to purge before I plummet.
“You have to tell him…June…it’s okay.”
I don’t know if I’m making any sense.
Colors and noise swirl around me, and I think he’s speaking to me.
Telling me not to worry.
It’s not me I’m worried about.
“Please, tell him. Tell Luigi…” I shiver. I exhale. I use the last of my strength to give Brant strength.
To give him peace.
