Page 55 of The Forever One
“Kai Briggs, wake the fuck up. Marco, do something. Please…” I can’t finish.
Sobs wrack through my body and I hear a wail from Petal, Everest’s cries just as loud.
“Tesoro.”
“No. We can do something. There has to be something we can do. Marc—” I’m slapping against his chest, shaking him, urging him to help me, but I know… I know it’s too late. Marco sits beside me as I continue to hit him, screaming for help, for justice, anything. Then he grabs my wrists and pulls me into him, tightly wrapping his arms around my body.
I can barely breathe through crying. My cheeks are wet with tears, my throat sore from screaming, my head pounding through the pain, and my heart breaking for my best friend.
It’s too late.
He’s gone.
* * *
Everything happens so quickly and all I can do is watch through blurry, tear-soaked eyes as I remain curled up in Marco’s lap on the ground next to Kai. I can’t leave him.
J arrives with a few of her soldiers, cleaning up the body of the guy responsible for this in silence.
“Marco, we need to call the cops, but you, River, and Lina, can’t be here for the story to work. I need to prep the brother with what to say to the cops a—”
“The brotheris Everest. He has a name.” I hiss the words to Enzo against Marco’s chest, unable to push any kind of softness into my tone. All emotions have fled my body. Except pain. That one’s hanging around and building a city in there.
“I’m sorry, River.” Enzo has the sense to look genuine as he dips his head in apology before continuing his report to Marco. “I need to prep Everest with what to say to the cops. All they need to know is that a random shooter came by and left again. No motive, no reason, no suspicion.”
“Sounds good. Thank you, Enzo. Leave some people behind to keep an eye out, get some security cameras put in aro—”
“No. Petal won’t like cameras everywhere.”
“I don’t give a fuck, Tesoro. Their safety is a priority and that means security cameras.”
Even I can’t argue with that and I sag further into his hold, losing the will to argue. He rubs a palm up and down my back and I take a few stilted breaths every now and then as my body calms from all the tears. Not that I think it will ever calm fully.
A piece of my soul has just been cruelly ripped away, forever.
“Is Lina already in the car? I haven’t seen her.”
“She stayed behind for a little longer with that Freya girl, but I just received word that she’s on her way back, alone. Rough ETA is five minutes.”
“Okay, do what you need to do. Thank you, Enzo.”
“Where are Petal and Ev?” I look up to Marco, my body numb to everything around me, but I have a need to support my brother. Kai was his best friend, too.
“They’re inside, Tesoro.”
I want to go but that means leaving Kai outside on his own, with strangers moving around and cleaning up blood splatters that don’t belong to my family. I can’t leave him alone.
“Okay.”
This might be selfish of me but Ev will understand. He wouldn’t want Kai to be alone either.
As if divine powers are at work here, Petal and Ev slowly walk out through the front door. My brother’s face is swollen from tears but the gash on his head has been stitched up. I heard Enzo tell Marco that part of the story Petal has to give the police is that she was focused on stitching up her husband before calling the police because Kai was already…
I can’t even think it. A lone, fat tear slips down my cheek, its saltiness adding to the dried-up mess that is currently my face.
Marco’s hold on me loosens, like he knows I need to go to my brother, and I do. We hold each other up and let fresh tears fall. Sniffing, I do the best I can to steel my spine and reassure Everest that we can get through this, but I fail miserably. My words are unable to come out without me breaking down.
“We can get through this, Riv.” Ev’s words echo my thoughts as he gently pats my back and I’m so fucking proud of my brother right now. I know he’s breaking inside as much as I am but it seems he’s been taking notes on masking his true feelings to help make others feel better.