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“But tell me I have a chance, and I’ll stay. I know it will take time, but I’ll work every day to prove you can trust me again. I’m still the man that can make you happy.”
More tears spill, but I remain frozen in indecision. He took my heart with him when he left me, and now he wants to give it back. A large part of me wants to give in. It would be so easy to fall back into his arms. But what we had doesn’t exist anymore. It died the second his taillights disappeared around the corner. Unease settles in my gut, and it roils. Something’s wrong. Something...
“Amber?” Jeremy calls from nearby. Luke faces me with his back to the front entrance, so I look past his arm to find Amber approaching us. Luke drops his hand from my head and turns.
“Jeremy is mine!” Amber snarls. Her enraged eyes meet mine and time slows as she raises a gun, pointing it straight at me, but Luke is in the way. Her finger slides to the trigger as he turns towards her. White hot heat explodes at the base of my spine and I’m moving.
I grab his biceps and spin us, putting myself between Luke and Amber. Luke grabs my elbows on instinct as I push him hard. He falls backwards, taking me with him as an ear-splitting bang echoes around the gym. He cushions our fall, and everything goes quiet, but I know what comes next.
I dive into Luke’s pale blue eyes and experience the life we could have had. Our wedding by the ocean. A dog. A little boy who looks just like Luke. We were so close to happiness. He cups my face, then searing pain burns through my chest.
Chaos erupts around us. Shouts break out. Curses and harsh tones fly around the room. When I open my eyes again, I’m on my back and Luke hovers over me. “No no no no no no. Why did you do that? Liv, please...” His voice is strained, frantic. He chokes out a sob and I try to reach my hand up to comfort him, but I can’t move it. Mark is on my other side. He’s focused and intent as he presses his entire weight onto my chest. It hurts and I want to tell him he’s pushing too hard because I can’t breathe. My lips move, but no words come out.
“Hang in there, Liv,” he says, but his voice is a million miles away.
Blood splatters Luke’s shirt. Did he get hurt? I try to speak again, but I feel like I’m drowning. Warm liquid bubbles out of my mouth.
“Mark!” Luke bellows. Mark moves and Brando is by his side now, handing him something. Brando is just as focused as Mark, but he glances at me, and I see fear. Fear for me.
Luke holds my hand to his mouth and leaves his lips on my knuckles. There’s blood all over our hands and it transfers to his mouth as he kisses them like he did the day we met. Mark says something, and I wince at a sharp pinch on my side. Air fills my lungs as black spots cloud my vision.
I blink hard and try to focus, but agonizing pain filters through and there’s a tranquil black sea calling out to me. It looks so nice and inviting, like a warm blanket. I move towards it, but Luke’s voice stops me.
“Liv! Stay with me baby! Please don’t leave. Please!”
I try to squeeze his hand. It must work because he looks at our joined hands and squeezes back. “That’s it. You fucking fight. You’ve done it before, you can do it again. Fight!”
I try to tell him I will, but the black spots grow bigger. “I love you.” I mouth the words because no sound comes out. “I love you too, baby. So fucking much.” He kisses my knuckles again and the last thing I see are his beautiful eyes before I slip into the black sea. Then, there’s nothing.
