His eyes fluttered.Struggling, fighting to hold on.And I saw it—the moment the fight started to slip.
“No!”I sobbed, leaning closer, my forehead touching his as I tried to keep him with me.“Stay with me—Archie—please?—”
My voice cracked.Broken.
“Archieeeee—!”
The sound tore out of me, raw and ruined, echoing across the airstrip like it was dying.Because it was.Hewas.
My hands tangled in his shirt, pulling him closer, refusing to let him go, my body curling over his like I could shield him from what was happening.
“No,” I whispered, over and over, my voice shaking, unraveling.“No, no—don’t do this.Don’t youdothis?—”
His breath hitched.Weak.Fading.
I pressed my cheek against his, my tears spilling onto his skin, my voice breaking into fragments.
“Stay,” I begged.“Please stay.Please—don’t leave me, Archie?—”
My hand slipped to my stomach, instinctive, desperate.
“You don’t want to miss this,” I choked out, my words tumbling over each other.“You don’t—you don’t want to miss your son—your daughter—you don’t?—”
My voice collapsed completely.
“Please,” I whispered.“Please, Archie—don’t you want to be here?”
For a second—just a second—his eyes focused on me.And I saw it.Everything we hadn’t said.Everything we hadn’t had time to become.All the things that we would miss.
My chest caved in.
“Stay,” I whispered again, softer now, broken.“Stay with me…”
His breath left him, slow and final.And then there was nothing.
No inhale.No fight.The light in his eyes was gone.Just like that.
I froze.Completely.My hands still pressed against him, still holding on, still refusing to accept what my brain already knew.
“No…,” I gasped, disbelieving.
I shook him gently, like that might wake him, like this was something he could come back from.
“Archie…”
There was no response.
My vision blurred, tears falling faster now, my chest heaving as something inside me exploded.
I pulled him closer, cradling him against me, my head dropping beside his as I clung to him, shaking.
“Archie…” I whispered, over and over, like saying his name might bring him back.“Archie…”
But he didn’t move.His breath was gone.And I felt it—the exact moment his breath slipped through my fingers.
Gone forever.Lost.
33
