Page 46 of Come Out, Come Out

“Shh, little wraith,” he pushes the wet, clumped hair away from my face, “don’t forfeit just yet.”

“I’m not forfeiting,” I cough and it’s thicker than it should be. “I won; you’re the only prize I ever needed.”

Aiden

May 13th, 2022 – 11:45 PM

I’m dead and she’s always had one foot out the door, what chance did we ever stand at a happily ever after?

It was unwise of me to hope that I could convince her to stay. Maybe it was even unfair. The last few years play through my mind as I stroke the side of her face.

“Aiden,” her voice is so quiet.

“Yes?”

“It’s all over.” She laughs and gives me a content smile.

“I’m so sorry.” I bring her hand to my lips and kiss it.

“Don’t be. I’m ready. I promise.” She holds my gaze and I take in the soft relief in her features. The peace in her voice is pattering rain on the tin roof of my guilty conscience. The cool relief of it sweeps through me, but the lump in my throat is keeping me from speaking.

“I have one more thing to ask of you.” She squeezes my hand with the little remaining strength she has. “I want to feel you inside me like this one more time.” Each word is a monumental effort.

“Skye,” I start to protest.

“Please, Aiden.” Her voice is fading quickly.

I stare in disbelief as I try to wrap my mind around her request. Is it worse to deny her dying wish or to fuck the woman I love while she dies?

“Please,” she repeats. The need in her voice is something I can’t deny. I want her to have the peace she’s seeking as she slowly slips away.

Gently, I pull down her fishnets then panties and I can’t miss how soaked they are. It’s the confirmation I need that this is the right choice. Freeing my cock, I lay myself over her, careful not to rest my weight on her. Slowly, I thrust into her inch by inch then drag myself out. I repeat the motion, trying not to jostle her too much. She presses her thighs around my waist urging me to go harder. There’s barely any pressure, but I comply, pumping into her with slightly more fervor. One of her hands grips the hair at the back of my head and her lips claim mine possessively. The jagged glass scrapes against my own throat, but all I can think about is how this is the last time her lips will ever be warm on mine again. I cling to that fleeting feeling like one would watch their last sunset.

The room fills with the sounds of our hushed panting, the light slapping of our skin, and our lips colliding in desperate kissing. Skye’s shaky cries join, “Yes, Aiden, right there, baby.” The words slip across my skin like the finest silk, causing chills to erupt following their caress. “This is perfect. You’re giving me everything I need.” Her words are muffled by gurgling now.

When her shaking legs slip from around me, no longer able to clench, her fingertips flutter in my hair and I take that as a sign and guide my ear down to her lips. “Aiden, I love you.” The proclamation is punctuated by a grotesque sinking sound and her gasp. Every muscle in my body freezes and I drag my reluctant gaze to look at Skye as she stutters her last breath.

Her vacant expression is punctuated by a slight curl of her lips. Adrenaline pulses through me and I force myself to sit up and slide out of her. My stomach tumbles as I take in the knife she plunged into her side–we now have matching wounds–but I can’t tear my eyes away from her.

“Skye,” I cry out. “Skye, please, no.” I pull her body against mine and sob into her already cooling skin. I hold onto my girl with every ounce of strength I have, but I quickly realize it’s just a body, just empty flesh. It doesn’t feel like her, it’s missing the most important part.Skye’s not in there anymore.Her blood soaks through my clothes, chilling me to the bone. I lay her down carefully and brush the shaggy bangs away as I close her eyes.

Binx is meowing his fucking face off, his distress matching my own, and I reach a hand out in an attempt to comfort him. He ducks under it and begins rubbing his head on Skye’s. His cries grow louder in protest of the truth we both know.She’s gone.

Tears pour down my face and even my nose is leaking as I continue to unravel as I stare at the culmination of the ending I’d always known was coming but couldn’t accept. There was no other way this ever would have gone, just like Skye tried to tell me. I should have prepared better for this outcome, but it feels like the world has been ripped from beneath my feet and I’m being swallowed up whole by my worst nightmare.

“Please, please, please, please,” I chant, pressing my eyes closed. “Not again. I can’t do this again.” I choke on the words, coughing and sputtering; I’m drowning in my fear of what comes next. I don’t know what will happen to me if she’s not there waiting for me on the other side.

Skye

May 14th, 2022 - A Few Minutes After Midnight

For several minutes, it’s as if my soul is being torn in half. On one side there is so much pain it’s like fire is shooting through my veins and melting me from the inside. But now that I’m on the other side, all I know is the exquisite pleasure of peace. I’m weightless in a way I never could’ve imagined. For the first time in my life, everything is quiet.

Slowly, I become aware of Aiden and every point where his body presses tightly against mine. Awe strikes me as I take in his appearance, he looks completely normal to me. Almost everything does, I don’t know what I expected. A dull, gray landscape, perhaps? The house feels a bit dimmer, my senses dulled to the world around me, except for what matters most, Aiden. He feels whole and sturdy in my arms. Our bodies are bound here by whatever fate brought us together in the first place.

“I thought I lost you.” His red-rimmed eyes are wide with grief that would destroy me if I didn’t know that everything was okay.

“Never.” The weight of the commitment I’ve made to him sinks in. It feels like I’m finally home. I take his hand and hold it tightly, giving him a squeeze of reassurance that I’m right here with him and I’m not going anywhere. “Everything is how it was always meant to be. It’s just me and you now.” I press my fingertips beneath his chin and force him to meet my gaze.

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