“You're not fucking dying, Noir!”
“No, I didn’t mean…”
I lift my head to see a dead end, a cliff edge coming up.
“Noir, squeeze the right break,” I order because my gun is still in my hand. She does as I ask, and we come to an abrupt stop, jolting forward. I hear Soul's and Wrath's bikes close by somewhere in the woods.
“I can take these fuckers out,” I state as I look back to see them closing in, readying myself with my gun aimed, until I feel Noir's hand reach back, her touch finding my cheek. With her head tilted, I gaze down at her. As I scan her pretty, wet features, I release the left handle, bringing my palm to the side of her neck, my thumb gliding down her jaw.
“I know we don't express any fluffy feelings or speak the words boring couples would use to bare their souls. But I want you to know that I have always liked it our way, on our terms. I need you to know I'm obsessed with you too, Hell,” she murmurs. Despite the danger coming up behind us, I can’t help but listen because of the sincerity in her blue gaze. “We might not be normal, but our broken pieces fit. Every injury, every stain, everychase, and every frightening whispered word in the night has brought us together. You taught me to accept my flaws, to see them not as imperfections but as parts of my story that you have always cherished. And I can’t thank you enough for all you have done for me. For how you’ve made me feel.”
I search her eyes which are filled with tears, “Promise me something?” She croaks and my brows knit with confusion, but I give a slight nod. “Promise me you’ll take every single last one of them out and make them pay for what they have done.”
“Dolly…” I whisper, about to shove my tongue down her throat until a gunshot goes off, whizzing past my head and I look back sharply, anger spiking in me.
The bike suddenly darts forward, and I glance down at Noir quickly. “What the fuck are you doing??” I yell.
She stays completely silent, determination in her eyes.
“Noir! No!”
She aims straight for the cliff’s edge, and I feel a rise of anxiety. I drop my gun as she full-throttles it, and I reach for the front brake. As soon as I squeeze it, we’re already at the cliff’s edge, both of us flung over the handlebars and we descend from the cliff, my bike following.
I hear Noir’s scream until I submerge into the black, stormy sea below. The current smashes over me, filling my lungs with water as I try to swim to the surface, desperately wanting to find Noir, but it’s near impossible with one eye. When I finally push my body upward to the surface, I take a huge gasp of air. I frantically look around, scanning the turbulent waves that continue to crash over me.
“NOIR?!” I roar, my voice hoarse with panic.
I can’t see or hear anything as I float. The water is a dark, churning abyss, swallowing every sound, every sign of life. Thecurrents toss me around like a fucking ragdoll, and my heart pounds in my chest. I start swimming around, desperate to find her, dipping my head underwater to see if I can spot her silhouette in the murky depths.
“DOLLY!” I continue to shout, the saltwater burning my throat and eyes. The worry in my voice echoes back at me and my muscles ache from the force of fighting the relentless sea, but I refuse to stop. I can't stop.
Each second feels like an eternity, her slipping away from me with each passing minute and the cold seeps into my bones, but the adrenaline keeps me going. I push through the discomfort, the exhaustion, the dread. I hear Kyro’s men far above on the cliff edge, and they shine torches down, but my mind races with thoughts of her, of losing her, of the emptiness her absence would create in my life.
I sit on the edge of the cliff, staring into the darkness below. The air is still, the stars twinkle brightly, beautiful and calm, the complete opposite to the tornado that rages within me. I gaze down at her mini-dolly in my palms, a tiny thing that feels like a cruel reminder of what I've lost. It’s been a week since we rode off this cliff, and there is still no sign of my Little Dolly’s existence. The dull ache inside me is almost un-fucking-bearable, her last words haunting me every moment of the day, tormenting me.
“Promise me you’ll take every single last one of them out.”
I will do it. I have to. I fucking want to. I have already found where Kyro is, and it’s only a matter of time before I get my hands on him. I’m just waiting for the perfect opportunity. He thinks Dolly is dead, so he’s living his fucking life as if there are no repercussions for what he has done, as if he is untouchable, as if this is now over, but he is so fucking wrong.
His focus has slipped, but if he thinks I am not going to make him pay for this, he is gravely mistaken. He clearly does not havea fucking clue how much Dolly meant to me. How obsessed I was with her. I just wish she had trusted me; trusted in the words and actions I showed to her. I wish she didn’t do something so fucking stupid. Now it feels like it was all for nothing. I’m hoping, somewhere, she is still here, and she actually survived. I’m hoping she is lying low, but I can’t keep my hopes up for much longer; it’s fucking killing me.
The waves crash against the rocks below, a constant memory of that fateful night and I clench my fists, the mini dolly digging into my palms. I have to channel this pain, this fucking rage, into something meaningful. I have to make Kyro pay for everything he’s done. For every scar he left on her body and soul. For every moment of fear and torture she suffered. For stealing the future we could have had together.
I close my eyes, the memory of her voice, her touch, her smell, her smile temporarily filling the void within me, but it’s not enough. It will never be e-fucking-nough. I won't let her sacrifice be in vain. I’ll take every single last one of them out and when I finally stand over Kyro’s bloodied body, he’ll know the true meaning of vengeance.
When my phone vibrates in my pocket, I pull it out and gaze down at the lit-up screen to see it’s a private caller. I answer and stay silent, pressing it to my ear.
“Hell, we have made a decision and before we go ahead, we would like to offer you the opportunity first,” a voice says, calm and confident.
I lie back on the cold grass, staring up at the stars. “What?”
“Since Kyro gave the go-ahead to rain terror on Oddity when it was open to the public, we have made the decision to put a hit on his head. As you know, having even our own associates goagainst us or wreak havoc on our grounds is not something we can tolerate or take lightly.”
I sit up quickly, listening carefully as he continues. “Oddity is one of the best cleaners we have in the society, and he could have uncovered us by being so fucking reckless. He must be killed before he exposes Oddity for what it is.”
“I agree,” I say, gazing over at the sea.
“We’re giving you the chance to carry out the hit, or we can hand it to someone else,” he offers.
