Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━...‥・
"malachi."
cassie fell to her knees carelessly in front of the milkovich's tombstone, the tears nonexistent as she stared blankly at the engravings. her hand skimmed the words, shaking ever so slightly as she did so.
"i'm so tired of being sad." cassie let out a dramatic sigh, a humorless laugh tumbling from her lips next. "it's always been here. sitting on my chest making even breathing a fucking chore. but you, mal. you made it better. a ray of sunshine, even on the darkest days despite how fucking cliche that sounds."
"cass."
cassie felt the air escape her lungs at the familar sound of the voice she thought she'd never hear again outside of the dreams and nightmares she'd have. "you're not real."
"look at me." the illusion of malachi milkovich sat beside the manic gallagher. "i'm here."
"i'm insane." cassie refused to meet the eyes of a ghost from her past, yet when she felt his hand cover hers, it felt too real to be an illusion.
"nothing we didn't already know, cass." the gentle sound of his teasing laugh caused her heartstrings to tug harshly. "but it makes me love you more. look at me."
cassie felt the air escape her lungs once more when the boy's hands seemingly forced the blonde to meet his eyes. it was the act that forced the tears to build in her eyes.
"your skin is still as soft as i remember." malachi's thumb caressed the skin of cassie's cheek, his facade falling for only a moment as the despair seeped through until it was covered with a false sense of joy. "i love you. i'm in love with you. i can't find peace until you do."
"and i'll never find peace in a world you're not in. take me with you." cassie's hands covered malachi's, desperation coating her voice. "please, mal. take me with you."
"no." malachi tightened his hold on the sides of her face. "he needs you."
"and i need you."
malachi dropped his hold on cassie's face abruptly. he didn't get a chance to utter a response when the feeling of blood dripping from his nose was felt. cassie felt deja vu hit her at full force as the images of blood coating his dying body found their way to the front of her mind.
"listen to me," malachi took a hold on cassie's face once again, the blonde's hand coming up to smear the blood falling carelessly from his nose. "everything will be okay. i need you to know that one day, it won't hurt anymore. you have to stay, baby. you have to live. if not for yourself or your siblings, you live for eli. he can't lose you too."
