Page 57 of Once I Find You

I try to kick him in the balls, but he grabs my leg. “You’re going to regret this. I don’t mind doing this the hard way.” He grips my hip, and I yelp as his nails dig into the skin. I keep reaching around, panicking as I beg the universe to let me feel the knife.

Please, let me feel it.

I can feel his hot breath on my face as he comes close to me, and I wince as I suddenly feel the blade cut the tip of my finger. Yes!

“I’ve been watching you all week. And let me tell you honey, I⁠—”

I bite through the pain as I grasp the sharp edge of the blade, turning it over in my hand and holding tight. I’m trying to be careful, because I’m only going to have one chance to do this. If he knows I have a knife, I’m done.

“—I like what I see.” He goes on, but I’m not even listening to what he’s saying.

I’m trying to focus on his silhouette, because I can’t really make it out in the dark. Shit. I can’t just…wave a knife around trying to stab him in the right place!

I can see part of his head, or at least the outline of it. Maybe if I just go for the side of his head, it’ll work? Like in slasher movies?

Okay, Layla. Hold it tight. Summon the “final girl” energy.

I swiftly lift my arm, and I whip my hand straight up toward where I think his head is as hard as I possibly can.

Wait…did I do it?

I hear choking noises, and suddenly his grip loosens, and I wiggle out from underneath him. I jump up and feel all over the walls until I finally run into the breaker box, and fumble as I try to get it open, flicking all the switches to the right again.

The lights immediately return, and when I turn around, I scream.

Like, actually scream as if I’m in a scary movie.

My whole body is shivering from the anxiety, and I try to regulate my breathing as I see his dead body bleeding out on the floor of my boss’s office, with the knife sticking right out of his neck.

Shit. Shit! I killed someone! I—okay. Breathe. It was him or you, Layla. You had to do it, or he’d have hurt you. Right? I shake my hands at my sides, trying not to freak out. What do you do when you kill someone? Do I have to hide the body? Oh crap, I have to hide it, don’t I? I lay back against the wall and let myself slide down until I’m sitting with my knees up against my chest.

I don’t know what to do. My hands and clothes are covered in blood. I’m a murderer now, aren't I? I’m going to jail?

I don’t know how long I sit there for until I hear the office door being busted down, and I finally see him. “Kane?” I ask quietly, tears in my eyes.

“Layla,” he replies, rushing over to me, and completely ignoring the corpse in the room. “Fuck, sweetheart, please tell me you’re okay.”

“I-I’m fine. It isn’t my blood.”

“Not your blood? Look at your hand.” He lifts up my right hand, and I remember that I had grabbed the blade with it. Why don’t I feel pain, then? “Shit, Layla. You could’ve lost a lot of blood. You didn’t know?” I don’t answer, and he pulls the cloth handkerchief from his pocket and wraps it around my hand like a tourniquet.

“I killed him.”

“Yeah, good riddance.”

“No, Kane. I killed him. Like, I actually murdered someone.”

“And?” He looks at me as if I have two heads.

“And…that’s bad. I mean, what are we gonna do?”

“Sweetheart, do you know who you’re talking to right now?” I guess…he’s right. But this isn’t normal. And I most definitely don’t think my boss can ignore a giant blood stain. “Look at me. You did so good, Layla, my brave girl. You did the right thing. There’s one less bad guy on the streets now. That’s because of you. I—” he pauses, taking a breath as he pets my head. “It doesn’t matter what I thought. You’re here, and that’s all that matters. I will fix everything else. I promised, didn’t I?”

I nod, and the tears spill down without a second thought. “I love you. I was so scared I’d never be able to tell you that.”

“I love you. I was too,” he says with a sigh, putting our heads together. “I don’t know how to be the perfect guy for you. I might fuck this up a million more times, but I will never in my life let you out of my sight again, do you hear me?” I nod, and I feel terrible that he’s blaming himself for what happened. “Come on, baby. I have a mess to clean up.”

He helps me up and reaches down to take the knife out of Peter’s neck. “I was looking for this.” A small, breathy laugh escapes me, and he follows suit. “Well, Mason’s already on the way. Couldn’t reach him for hours, but I got him right before I pulled up. We’re gonna handle this, and I’m gonna take you home.”