REAPING INNOCENCE ◦ STILINSKI [3]

xii.

xii. I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT HIM

○ ○ ○

THE ENTIRETY OF the long hospital hallway had cleared. Bystanders, nurses, and doctors watched in utter sadness as shrill cries and quaking sobs escaped the mouth of one single girl. A brunette girl, no older than seventeen, thrashing in the arms of her older brother. The siblings shared the same dark chocolate locks and similar facial features, but the brother wasn't the one that was slipping into the jaws of grief. Her heart shattering into a million pieces as the fire in her soul dimmed into crackling embers. People watched helplessly as her brother held the brunette back as she continued to kick out and scream.

    "Derek, let me go!" She screeched, digging the tips of her fingernails into the man's forearms in a desperate attempt to get him to let her go. The brother refusing to let her go as she kicked out once more, a pain cry escaping her chest with a chocked sob following after. Her heart felt as though it were pounding in her neck, in her brain, in her feet. "I don't—how can he—? How did—? What happened? Why would—what happened to him!"

    She felt sadness grip her heart. It was unbearable. Every second worse than the last. It hurt so bad that she couldn't breathe, seemed as though the oxygen around her refused to fill her lungs. Her knees shook as a spasm of pain shot through her body. Two moments later, she lost her ability to stand and fell. Her brother held onto her, crumpling down to the ground with her. He held her against his chest as her shattering sobs echoed down the hallway. Heart in her throat as she breathlessly cried. In between each sharp intake of breath, his name fell from her lips. She felt the grief and pain explode through her chest, piercing it—agonizing like the hit of a bullet.

    "What—What happened to him?" The girl cried out, her voice cracking as it became raw with undeniable emotion. "Where were you—how did this happen?"

    She shook her head, moving her body away in an attempt to break free so that she could let out her pain in the form of frustration. He had been one step ahead of her, and held onto her tight, denying her the access. She cried out and he waited. He waited for her to get finished pounding on his chest with her fists. She was soon exhibiting her supernatural strength as she continued to hit him causing the man to wrap his hands around her wrists, keeping her from hitting him any longer.

    Her sadness was becoming so heavy that it surrounded her, clouding her mind, and interfering with her ability to think clearly. She was on overload. Grief was the price she payed for love. An indescribable pain radiated throughout her entire body; making her mind hazy and her fingers numb. She blinked several times, trying to rid the glass hue that waxed over them. Her usually hot skin was now cold to the touch, muscles trembling with her sobs. Nothing could help. It was over. Black spots swam before her eyes; the room tilted and swayed.

    No, she thought. Not him. Not him. Anyone but him.

    "Carter—"

    "No!" She yelled, her chest began to ache as she ripped her wrists out of his grip, holding her stomach and cried out: "No, no, no! I can't—I can't live without him! Why did this happen? He...he lied to me." His hands felt like fire on her cold skin, palms curving to fit her cheeks, fingers beginning to stroke her skin. "He promised me, Derek. He—He—He promised that he wouldn't leave me. I loved him...and...and he left me!"

    She was completely and utterly broken.

    "Hey, hey, hey," Derek soothed, stroking the brunette's hair as he continued to rock her back and forth. "I'm so, so sorry."