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Trace.
Trace.
Trace.
Trace was going to watch me die. I didn’t want that for him. There was no hope for me. Air wasn’t reaching my lungs and I knew I had little time left.
Punches were thrown and grunts echoed around the space.
Ace came to my side, licking my sore face, and curling up beside me. It was as if the puppy thought that his presence alone could heal me.
My eyes started to drift closed but someone was shaking me.
Why was Aaron prolonging this? Couldn’t he get it over with already?
But when I opened my eyes, it was Trace’s worried green ones staring down at me. “Olivia?” He sounded like he was talking to me through a tunnel. “Can you hear me, baby? Olivia, please, focus on me. Just look at me, baby. Can you do that?”
I tried so hard to keep my eyes focused on him but they kept drifting to the side and closed.
“Olivia, keep your eyes open. I know you want to go to sleep, but you can’t. Just listen to my voice, okay?” He tried to sound calm but I knew he wasn’t. “Paramedics are on their way. Hang on, baby. Don’t leave me, please don’t leave me,” tears fell from his chin onto my face. “I can’t lose you. Stay with me, Olivia.”
“S-s-s-o t-t-t-i-i-r-r-r-e-e-d,” I stuttered.
“I know, baby. I know you’re tired but you can’t go to sleep. You have to stay awake. I’m so sorry, Olivia,” he sobbed. “I couldn’t protect you. I’m sorry. Please, baby, stay with me,” he pleaded desperately. “I can’t lose another person I love. Don’t do that to me. We stick together, Olivia. You and me, baby, till the end of time.” His hands fluttered above my body, seeking a place to hold me, but my whole body was battered. Taking the end of my chin, gently between his thumb and index finger, he stared down at me fiercely. “You’re going to be okay, Olivia, but I want you to know I love you. I love you more than anything in this world. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I wanted to tell you so many times but the time was never right,” he swallowed thickly. “I wanted it to be perfect when I told you, because even though perfection doesn’t exist, I’m never going to stop searching for it when it comes to you,” he gently brushed my hair away from my forehead. “Please, forgive me baby. Please,” he begged, crying hard now. I had never seen a man cry like this before. Like his whole world was crumbling beneath him.
“I-I-” I tried to speak but everything was fading around me. I was sinking into a deep well of water and I couldn’t see the surface.
“I know you do,” he silenced me. “Don’t talk. Conserve your energy. I’m going to try to stop the bleeding from your head,” he ripped his wife-beater off his body and lifted me slightly so that he could press the fabric to my scalp.
I whimpered in pain.
Trace continued to speak but I only heard faint rumblings as everything faded around me.
My eyes fluttered closed. I couldn’t keep them open any longer.
Blackness cloaked me and peace settled in my soul as all my pain faded away.
c h a p t e r
Thirty Four
I was floating…but I was suspended, at the same time, like a balloon whose string was held by a small child. I was trying to escape the grasp that was holding me, but it was too strong.
Someone was speaking, no, pleading, with me.
I tried to make out their words, but it was like I was underwater, while they were above.
There were so many noises, but I blocked them out, focusing on what the voice was saying. I knew it was important, and that I needed to hear what they had to say, before I floated away forever.
I finally managed to distinguish what the voice was saying, more like screaming, at me.
“Olivia! No! Breathe, baby! Breathe! Come on! You can’t leave me! Let me go!” The last part was addressed to someone else. “Listen to me, Olivia! You can’t leave me like this! I love you! Do you hear me? I love you! We have our whole lives ahead of us, Olivia! Please, don’t leave me!” The voice pleaded desperately. “We’re going to get married one day and have lots of pretty babies that will look just like you, Olivia! You’re going to write that book! But most importantly, you’re going to live, Olivia!”
“We have a heartbeat,” another voice said, just as the blackness swallowed me once more.
???
“Wake up, please, wake up,” a voice begged.
