“You can’t die. You can’t. I just need to stop…”
“Sadie,” she says softly.
It feels like the world is falling apart as I move to hold her face between my hands. “I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry, Stacy. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I promise, it’s okay,” she says as she starts coughing, making her wince in pain. “Come lie with me. You’re safe now.”
I nod and move to lie with her. I lay my head on her chest and wrap my arms around her body. I don’t want her to die without comfort. She is stroking my hair, but her movements are weak.
“You can’t leave me,” I whisper. “I can’t lose you.”
“You’re gonna be okay,” she says softly. She turns her head slightly to kiss my head.
“I need you to listen, okay?”
“Stacy, please. Someone will come save us. You just have to…”
“I’m not going to make it, sweetie,” she says as I move up to my elbow to cup her cheek. “You can’t push Todd away. He’s going to need you.”
“He’s going to hate me,” I say.
“No, he loves you. So fucking much,” she says. “You have to help each other. You have to let all of them help you this time. I won’t be there to help, so you have to let them in.”
“I don’t want to lose you,” I cry.
“I’ll always be with you. I will be everywhere you look, Sadie. I promised you I’d be there for you forever, and that hasn’t changed,” she says. She sighs and closes her eyes. She’s using so much energy to comfort me.
“I love you so much, Stacy. Please don’t leave me. Please. I need you,” I say, shaking her.
“I’m so tired,” she says weakly. “You have to live for me. Please. Can you do that?”
“Yeah,” I whimper. The reality of her death is sinking in when her hold on me continues to weaken. I move down to hold her tightly as I sob. “I love you, Stacy.”
“I… I love you, Sadie,” she says softly and slowly. “I just want to sleep. I’m so tired.”
“I’m right here. I won’t leave you,” I say. I am still cupping her face with her body pulled against mine. I gently stroke her cheek, and she smiles softly as she closes her eyes.
“Tell them I love them,” she whispers. “Tell them I tried to fight.
“I promise,” I tell her. I’m trying to calm down so I can help her pass peacefully. When she lays her hand on my face and sighs again, I know she’s close. “I’ll be okay, Stacy. You don’t have to fight anymore. Just rest.”
I keep stroking her cheek and holding her tight, long after her breathing has stopped. She looks peaceful like this. She looks like she’s sleeping with a soft smile still on her lips. I know she’s not, though. I know I killed my best friend. I know they’ll never be able to forgive me. I promised her that I would live for her. I promised her I would be okay. I can’t let her down again. Even if I do it alone, I’ll be okay for her.
I lay my head back on Stacy’s chest and hum Amazing Grace to her. I want to comfort her and myself. I’d like to think she can hear me, even though she has passed on. She has the kindest soul, so I know she is in Heaven now. No matter her beliefs, I know God will welcome her with open arms.
Chapter Twenty One
Todd
I am driving withLance, Dean, and Mason. Billy, Del, Jake, and Ben are in a car behind us. We are breaking every street law to follow the GPS to where it says Sadie and Stacy are. They should have been at the mall, but when they never came home, we knew something was wrong. When we looked at the GPS and saw that they were at the cabin from Sadie’s childhood, where Paul took her to, and where he died, we knew. We all knew they were with Leo.
Their phones were showing they were in the parking garage, but Billy found their purses by Sadie’s car. That only further confirmed that Leo kidnapped them.
The car is dead silent, and no one is commenting on my driving 80 in a 50-mile-an-hour zone. No one knows what to expect from Leo, so we are all on edge.
“Here?” I ask, approaching a dirt road.
“Yes,” Mason says simply as he pulls a pistol from the glove box. “I’m going to kill this bastard, and I don’t care what the consequences are.”
