Page 137 of Delirium
“I hate you,” I told Tristan. “I hate you with all my soul, Tristan,” I gritted out, grinding my teeth. “I hope this was worth it,” I whispered, turning my head to him. “I hope this was all worth it, Tristan.”
His eyes connected with mine, the torment in them as obvious as day, but I couldn’t give a fuck for his torment. He did this. He allowed this to happen.
“You were my friend,” I breathed out, feeling the icy cold seeping into my bones. “You were the person I trusted, the person I loved, and you betrayed me. I hope it was worth it, Tristan.”
“Tris,” Ava called for him. “Come and help me.”
“I need to stitch her up,” the doctor said. “She’s losing too much blood.”
My head lolled to the side, looking at their backs, covering my babies. As much as I wanted to yell and demand to see them, I could feel my life slowly seeping away from me. I could feel myself disappearing.
“Oh no, Doc.” Ava chuckled, looking at him. “She stays like this.”
“What?” he exclaimed. “No. She’s going to die. I need to get her to the hospital. I need to help her.”
Oh you fool, kind man, I wanted to say. Neither one of us would get out of here alive. Not him and not me.
“Then let her die.” Ava cackled like a hyena, her eyes momentarily connecting with mine. “Let her—”
Alarms started blaring around us, the sound too loud for the small room we were in. Ava’s eyes connected with Tristan’s, glaring at him.
“What the fuck is that?”
“I don’t know,” he mumbled, pulling his phone out of his back pocket. “Fuck,” he cursed. “They’re here.”
“What do you mean?”
“Storm, our brothers…” he trailed off, looking at the screen. “They’re all here. We need to go, Ava.”
“You said they’d be going to the other place, Tristan!” she screeched. “You promised!”
“Well, they found a way, Ava! Come on. Pick her up. I’ll take him.”
During their banter, the doctor moved to the other side, taking the needle into his hand and leaning over my body.
“I’ll help you,” he whispered. “Just stay with me, okay? Stay awake.”
“My babies,” I mumbled. “Don’t let them take them.”
“What the fuck are you doing?” Ava yelled out, her eyes firmly plastered on the doctor. “I told you, she dies today.”
“No, I need to help her.”
Ava looked at me, then at him, holding my baby girl close to her chest. “Since you’re so keen on helping her, let me do you a favor. You’ll die with her, together.”
Without flinching, without a second to think about it, she aimed the gun at him and released the bullet that burrowed right into his skull. The doctor fell to the floor with a thud, and all the while she laughed, her eyes twinkling with venom.
“Thank you for my kids, Ophelia,” she murmured, stepping backward.
“No,” I mumbled, trying to pull myself up, ignoring the sharp pain cutting through me like a knife.
My body was mangled, bloodied, destroyed, but they couldn’t take my kids. I wouldn’t let them. I wouldn’t fucking let them!
Tristan took one last look at me, holding my son in his arms, but for all his sorries, he didn’t try to stop her. He didn’t try to stop this insanity. He was as vicious as she was, even though he didn’t want to admit it.
The sound of doors opening and closing echoed around me, feeding into the misery I was feeling. I tried pulling my right hand out of the restraints holding me down, but there was no use. The alarm kept blaring, the sound of the gunshots from the outside keeping me awake, keeping the hope close to my chest.
I had to see Storm. I had to see him one last time. One last time to tell him how much I loved him, to push him to our kids.
