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I tugged on the knots and the rope untied. When I moved him to the ground, I took his flannel shirt off, slipped it underneath him, and tied it over the wound. I pushed my weight into the dampening fabric.
“Hey, baby.” I spoke as calmly as I could. His face had a sheen of sweat. “It’s gonna be okay, you hear me? I’m here. It’s going to be fine.”
“Bex.” He coughed, and blood started to trickle out in larger amounts than just a split lip. He grabbed my arm. “I love you.” He coughed more, and I pushed harder. His eyes watered. “Gods, I love you so much, baby. You have no idea how crazy you made me every day.”
“That sounds like goodbye, Jaiden.” Tears were streaming from my face.
“It is,” he started. He was hardly able to take a full breath. “And it isn’t.”
I heard the faintest siren in the distance. I thought it was a cruel joke. Tears fell down the side of his face. His other hand dripped blood, but he raised it anyway and stroked my face. He made a bloody mess of my cheek, jaw, and lips.
“But for now, it is. I’m so happy you’re mine—” He was cut off by another cough. His fatigued arm fell back to the ground. “You’re my world. Thank you, it was worth a lifetime.” Tears dropped from his eyes. Those beautiful jade-green eyes that told me he loved every time he saw me.
“Hold on, Jaiden. Please, I can’t do this without you,” I begged, pressing as much weight as I could into his chest. His other arm hit the ground. His face turned pale, and his eyes were tired and heavy. “I love you, too. You know that, right?”
“Baby, I knew your love before your heart did. I felt it before you could speak it.” He took a ragged breath and his eyes closed again.
“You can’t leave me!” I screamed as sirens wailed on the property. “You have to stay. There’s no one after you,” I begged.
“Never.” He gasped as he tapped his ring against mine with weak pats. “Never leave my baby.” He gasped again, but he stopped moving.
“JAIDEN!” I screeched. I heard people yelling and moving through the rooms to get to us. My cries hurt my ears. “Come back to me, Jaiden!”
I grabbed his face, but his eyes didn’t refocus on me as they closed.
My bloody handprints stained his beautiful face.
“No, no, no, please!”
Sirens wailed louder outside.
“Eyes open, baby.” I bent down and kissed everywhere I could.
In fairy tales, true love’s kiss was magic. Here, true love’s kiss was bloody, and death was permanent.
Blood was still soaking my shirt when arms wrapped around me and pulled me away from his body. Officers moved through the room with their weapons drawn. Standing over Jai’s and Brent’s bodies, they called over the paramedics.
“Jai!” I kicked, reaching for him as paramedics crowded around him. The man carried me through the house, and we hit a bright sunrise. I was still screaming as we approached the car. My throat was raw and burning. Before he could open the car door, the paramedics rushed out with a gurney covered in blood. They had a mask over him, a bag attached, the paramedic squeezing it as he ran beside Jai, and they loaded him onto the ambulance.
“Jai, come home! Please!” It was all I could yell before they closed the doors and sped away with lights and sirens.
Detective Bishop
“Bexley!” I shouted, grabbing her shoulders. I shook her until she looked at me. Her face was covered in blood, and her hands were sticky with it too. “Are you hurt, Bexley? Do they need to look at you, too?”
“No, no, I’m okay. Bishop, we have to go!” she screamed, trying to dart out of my grasp.
“Bexley, they’re gone.” I pulled her back to me. “They left, and they have him. They’re going to do everything they can.” She looked up at me, and her bright eyes were dull, wide, and tears were streaking through the smears. “Kid, what the hell happened?”
“It was Brent,” she choked out. “He killed those girls, he drugged Jaiden, and he drugged me.” She gripped my suit jacket and sobbed. “It was him, taking pictures and breaking in. Why, Bishop?” she wailed.
I pulled her into a hug. “I don’t know. Let’s go to back to the station and get—”
“No!” She pushed back and looked where the ambulance was parked moments ago. “We have to go. I can’t leave him alone.”
“Kid, it’s a hospital. I can’t—”
“He didn’t leave me alone! His drink was spiked, and it took me down immediately. He didn’t leave me, Bishop. Jaiden stayed and covered me. There was nothing he could do, but he gave me comfort.” She wiped her face with the back of her hand. “I can’t do anything, but I can offer comfort.” She looked down at her hand. A new ring sat on her finger; the bright metal tarnished with blood.
