Page 18 of Fatally Yours
“Don’t worry, baby, I’ll bring you back,” he said. “Dying isn’t so bad, not when you’re in the arms of someone who loves you.” I let out a cry as I raised my hands in defense, hoping that this was all a dream and I would wake up.
After this beautiful reunion, he was going to fucking kill me.
I pressed my hands against his stone-cold chest and attempted to push him away. My legs were squirming, trying anything to get him out and away from me. This was my worst nightmare. I thought having to relive his death was terrible—this was a million times worse. I watched as the man I wanted to marry, have children with, and die with raised a knife to murder me.
“August, don’t, please!” My pleas went unheard. His eyes were as cold and dead as his body, remorseless as he lowered his lips to my ear, pinning me beneath him. Even with him being a corpse, I was no match for his strength.
“Now you’ll be mine forever,” he breathed as he lifted off of me. Small whimpers were slipping from my lips until he plunged the blade deep into my stomach without remorse. Another scream ripped from my throat, louder than anything I could muster. Over and over, he wrenched it from my soft, warm body, splattering scarlet against the ceiling before stabbing it back into my torso.
I could feel my stomach acid leaking out and eating away at my delicate organs. They were dissolving beneath the aggression of my insides. The pain was burning, and I swore I was going to liquefy before I perished. Hot blood was spurting from my wounds, spraying all over August’s bare chest, covering those treads that haunted me every time I closed my eyes. That wasmyblood coating his face. The thing that kept me alive was now showering my dead boyfriend.
Once again, he brought the knife down, piercing my lungs and making me cough up blood. A mist of crimson covered my lips as my breathing began to slow. My head grew light as I felt the heat of death begin to wash over me until it fizzled out and grew cold.
A shiver worked its way through my body as he tossed the blade to the side, bringing his lips to my ear as my vision began to darken. The last thing I saw was his face splattered in my blood, while he was muttering something about how much he loved me.
VIII
A loud noise awoke me from the state I was in. I attempted to take in a breath, but my body resisted. After that failure, I tried to move, but I was stiff. My mind was uncooperative with my demands, and my vision was cloudy, but I could still see and hear everything. The birds chirping, the sun shining, highlighting the particles in the air—I could sense it all.
Someone was aggressively knocking on my door. I wished my head would turn, or at least my eyes, so I could see what was happening, but nothing worked as it should. Even if I begged and pleaded, my body would not move.
Is this hell?
August was gone, and I was propped up against the bed. Even through thehaze, I could see that I was still nude. My pale skin was splattered with deep red blood, and I could feel it drying like a membrane. The urge to scrape it off was overwhelming. Adding to my annoyance and confusion, the noise continued. All I wanted was for it to stop so I could get some rest, but my mouth was still like the rest of me. Not a single utterance left my lips.
Surely, this is hell.
The sun’s glow illuminated my flesh, and the remains of my lifeblood dried along my legs and pooled around me. It would’ve been serene if I hadn’t sworn August stabbed me to death the previous evening. Or the evening before that. I wasn’t sure how long it had been since his return or if it was him at all.
Perhaps I dreamed it all during a nervous breakdown, or someone broke into my home and brutalized me enough to cause paralysis. Even if it felt so real. I swore I could still feel the phantom of his touch on me, but I felt no agony. Either way, something was not right, and I needed help quickly.
Finally, the knocking stopped as the front door burst open. There was a flurry of footsteps and voices, but I recognized that creaking anywhere. People were in my home, and they were going to find me nude and bloody on the ground, surely traumatizing themselves like I had when I held August that momentous day he passed.
The intruders got closer, and I could finally make out the voices. My heart did not skip for whatever reason, making me wonder exactly what was happening. I must have been seriously hurt if I wasn’t feeling anxious about this strange situation.
“Natasha?” I was intimately familiar with that voice. It was Mandy. I hoped my eyes would widen, and I could get up and cover myself, but no matter how hard I tried, my body would not respond to my impulses. It just wasn’t fair that she would find me in this state.
“Tash, are you in here?” I heard Scott say.
“I tried calling her yesterday, but she wouldn’t answer.” If I could move, my teeth would press together with that sound.
Devin.
I didn’t want to speak to him ever again after what he said. Even if Augustreturned—though I wasn’t sure that wasn’t just a hallucination—I didn’t want anything to do with him. He didn’t deserve me after that wicked comment he said. That was not including everything else.
“Probably because you pissed her off,” Mandy retorted. There was a stumbling noise, and I imagined her nudging Devin for his rotten treatment of me.
“You know she’s been emotional recently,” he said. “Ever since August fucking died, she hasn’t stopped moping.” Their movements continued as they searched our home. The doors squealed on their hinges as I pictured their heads poking in and out of each room.
“Yeah, because you’re a dick,” Mandy snapped.
“It doesn’t give her a right to be such a bitch to me.”
“Don’t call her a bitch!”
I wanted to pinch my eyes shut. I didn’t want my friends to argue about me, even if I was infuriated with Devin. The desire to raise my hands and place my palms over my ears was overwhelming, but something refused to listen.
It was a strange feeling, knowing your body was frozen in place so that you couldn’t even blink. I wondered if Mandy knew about some horrific medical condition that caused that. With all her morbid interests, it wouldn’t shock me.
