Chapter 10

10

LaLion - Devil Himself

I’m frozen, my world shattering into a million pieces as Tatum’s body slumps against mine. The knife is still buried in her chest, her blood soaking through my hands, warm and sticky. It feels like time has stopped, the universe pausing in this one horrific moment where everything I’ve ever loved is being ripped away from me.

“No… no, no, no, no,” I mutter, my voice trembling, breaking as I pull her closer, her lifeless body limp against my chest. I can’t breathe, can’t think, the weight of what she’s done crushing me. “Tatum, baby, wake up. Please, just wake up.”

But she doesn’t. Her eyes are closed, her face peaceful in a way that tears at my soul, a mockery of the chaos that just unfolded. There’s no more pain in her expression, no more fear, just… nothing. She’s gone. The realization hits me like a freight train, a cold, brutal truth that leaves me gasping, tears burning in my eyes.

“You can’t do this to me,” I whisper, my voice hoarse, desperate. I cradle her head in my hand, my fingers brushing through her hair the way I used to when she’d fall asleep beside me, her breath warm and steady against my skin. But now, there’s nothing. No breath, no life, just the chilling silence of death. “You can’t just leave me, Tatum. Not now. Not ever.”

I feel like I’m drowning, every breath a struggle as I cling to her, rocking back and forth, as if I can somehow will her back to life, as if I can undo what’s been done. But I know I can’t. I can’t bring her back. I can’t fix this.

“Wherever you go, I’ll follow,” I murmur, my voice cracking under the weight of my grief. “You can’t run from me, little lunatic. Not even in death. You hear me? I won’t let you go.”

I can’t let her go. I won’t. The thought of living in a world without her, a world where she’s gone, is unbearable. There’s no point in it, no reason to keep breathing when she’s not here to share the air with me. The darkness is creeping in, the void that’s always been a part of me now gaping wide open, swallowing me whole.

My hand shakes as I reach for the knife, the same knife that ended her life, the blade still slick with her blood. I can’t let her face the darkness alone. She’s mine, and I’m hers. We’re bound together, through life, through death, through every twisted, fucked-up thing that brought us to this moment. I won’t let her go. Not now. Not ever.

“I’m coming, Tatum,” I whisper, my voice trembling as I press the blade against my own chest, just above my heart. The pain is nothing compared to the agony of losing her. Nothing could ever compare to the emptiness that’s tearing me apart right now. “I’m coming to find you.”

I push the knife into my flesh, gasping as the sharp pain blossoms through my chest. The warmth of my own blood mingles with hers as the blade sinks deeper. It’s almost a relief. The pain is a reminder that I’m still alive, that I’m still here, even if it’s just for a few moments more.

But not for long.

I pull the knife out and hold her firmly up against the wound, letting our blood mix and our lives intertwine one last time. My vision blurs as the world fades around the edges. The blood pours from me, pooling on to the bed and staining the sheets, the floor, everything.

“I’ll follow you anywhere,” I murmur, my voice growing weaker and softer as the darkness pulls me under. “Even into the abyss. Especially into the abyss.”

I hold her tighter. My grip is desperate, as if I can keep her with me as if I can hold onto this one last piece of her before everything goes black. Her body is cold against mine, her blood a sticky reminder of everything we’ve done, everything we’ve lost. But I don’t care. All that matters is that we’re together, that we’ll always be together, even in death.

The darkness is closing in, the world slipping away, and the last thing I feel is the warmth of her body against mine, the steady thud of her heart echoing in my mind, a memory, a ghost of what once was.

“I’ll see you soon, my little lunatic,” I whisper, my voice barely audible. I brush her thick, dark hair from her face, taking in its beauty one last time as the world fades to black and the pain disappears. The silence takes over.

And then there’s nothing.

Just darkness.

Just peace.

Just us.

THE END