"Aiden..." I shake my head, eyes fixed anywhere but the gorgeous man next to me.
His hand grips my chin tightly, just enough to make me avert my eyes to his.
"You know you want this as much as I fucking do. I want you to be mine. I want to be the...
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"You know, you were the first boy to ever give me a rose." The forest in her eyes fused against mine, though the expression of emotion wasn't definite, I knew she was happy. The same eyes are staring back at me now, tears and panic evince that the bliss she felt got ripped away in the most brutal way.
It's better this way. Though, all I did was to exchange places in something neither of us was partaking in. I once promised Ry that I wouldn't let anything happen to her. I meant it.
"I'm fine, baby." I manage to choke out. I've been shot before. But this fucking numbness is one I've never felt before. As though, my entire body is on fire, buzzing with vibrations all over at the same time there's a feeling of nothingness, like this isn't me. Like I'm not the one bleeding out in front of my woman, like I'm not the one currently scarring this fucked up image into her head.
An out of body experience. Her screams of agony feel so much closer, tearing right through my chest. My lungs close up, wheezy noises escaping my throat, automatically trying to keep air in my damaged system.
I remain calm. My eyes following Avery's hands as they disappear in my hair. Her warm tears blend with sweat as the shaped drops trickle on my skin.
"Ry, it's okay, baby." I try to soothe her shaken reaction.
"No it's not okay, A." She cries in hysterics and presses something down on my bullet wounds. I'm causing her all this pain. My eyes burn at her desperation. I never fucking cry. The reminder of Ry possibly being in my place right now if I didn't cover her fast enough but isn't, fills me with relief. This is all worth it. Her brothers will get the fucker.
"I love you." I tell her. Fuck, I don't want it to be the last time. Needles start prickling at the skin of my neck and face.
What the fuck?
"Don't say that." Her voice shatters like glass. "Please, please don't say that." Ry begs. I fucking love when she does that, not this time though. I don't want my Avery to fall apart.
My heart plummets into pieces at her next words, "we're not supposed to end this way!" My girl wails, her voice thin, a fusion of anticipation and terror.
She couldn't be more wrong. "We have endless memories, my love." I hiss with as much honesty as I can pour into my words, "we'll never end." My heavy lids screen the smile she wore in the car earlier, her eyes nearly watering at the sight of roses. She's so precious.
"You know, you were the first boy to ever give me a rose." Ry's previous words ring like a distant echo in my ears, unfolding a ten year old memory.
I'm dressed in a pair of beige trousers and one of these God awful polo shirts. My mom made me wear them, saying an occasion like this requires a pretty boy in fancy clothing. Me. I'm the pretty boy in fancy clothing. Sadly.
