Maksim
I fuck up.
Again.
I need my medicine. I can barely see straight as I stumble out of the bathroom and down the hall. I hear voices around me and ignore them.
I see Jenna. She’s already here?
More voices shout.
Was that Izzy?
Girls scream, and then a soft body is pressing against me and shoving me into my room.
I smile. She smells good. Izzy came back, right?
“Shit, shit, shit!” Jenna’s hands are cold as she pushes me onto the bed. I fall back as darkness starts to seep into my line of vision. Maybe it would be better. Better to just let it take over.
To take full control.
I smile.
And then I see Izzy’s face and am able to get out. “Medicine.”
“Where?” Jenna asks.
“Desk.” I think? I can’t remember where I put it last. “Syringe.”
Footsteps sound, and then I hear a gasp and a door opening, more yelling. Shit, why is everyone yelling all the time?
“How much?” A deep voice says.
“He didn’t tell me!” Man, Jenna is losing her shit.
My body is burning up, but soon I’ll be cold. Soon I’ll be gone. Better for everyone, better for Izzy.
At least I left her nothing but hate.
At least I kept her love.
How fucking selfish.
How necessary.
I start to think about all the things I will tell her when I see her again when my heart starts beating for her one more time.
“I love you. I need you. I miss you. I lived for you. I died for you. Worth it, so fucking worth it.”
“Yeah-yeah.” I hear King. “I love you too.”
“Don’t kill him!” Jenna says.
I laugh. “Already dead.”
“Fuck!” King yells; the familiar stinging sensation hits my arm. The darkness soon evaporates so I can see clearly. I blink and rub my eyes; my body shudders as it tries to come down from the sickness.
When I can finally control my breathing, I look up. Jenna’s crying, and King is holding the needle, a tear running down his cheek, his jaw clenched.
“Tell me.” He glares. “Everything.”
“Not much to tell.” I look between them, then down at my watch. “I have mere days left.”
“To do drugs?” Jenna asks.
“To live,” I say calmly. “The drugs aren’t working anymore.”
King starts pacing.
I sigh and rise to my feet. My body still feels rigid, angry that it wasn’t able to go into fight mode, that I was pulled back into flight.
Thank. God.
“King.” I reach for him.
“Don’t fucking touch me!” he yells, dropping the syringe back onto my desk. “We tell each other everything. What the hell is going on!?”
I squeeze my eyes shut. “I can’t tell you that.”
“Why?” he shoves me, not hard but hard enough that I grunt. “Why can’t you tell me?
“Because.” All I have is the truth. “That’s between me, Nik, and eventually, Chase.”
King’s eyes dart back and forth, still staring at me. “What did they do to you?”
“What do you think?” I spread my arms wide. “They asked me to become a monster, and in order to love Izzy—to keep her—I embraced the sickness.”
“What?” King runs his hands over his face, then turns to Jenna. “I think you need to go.”
“I can’t,” she chokes out. “Whatever you guys are in, I can’t…” She shakes her head. “Don’t give me the Porsche.” Her eyes flicker to King. “I don’t deserve it anyway.”
His face falls. “You sound different.”
“What?” Her smile seems forced as she tilts her head and rolls her eyes. “Damn, guys are the worst, byeeeee.”
King reaches out, grabs her by the arm, and pulls her against his chest; his eyes rake her over. “No. I think… you should stay.”
It’s the first time I’ve ever seen Jenna flinch.
Interesting.
I move to my bed only to have stupid King use his other hand and grab me jerking my body toward him. “Nope, you don’t get to leave either, and we’re going to Ash.”
“Great,” I grunt. “Fucking great.”
I don’t even attempt to fight as King walks us down the hall, then down into the ring where Ash and Junior are sparring, with Tank keeping track.
King whistles.
Everyone stops and turns.
Fantastic.
“This one”—he holds up my hand—“is shooting up something to stay sane, and this one”—he holds up Jenna’s hand—“is suspicious.”
“Ugh, why am I suspicious?” She tries to pull away.
He glares. “Because only really smart people are that good at playing dumb!”
Her eyes widen as her skin pales.
Well then, the plot thickens.
The medicine is doing its job, calming me, almost too much. Oh shit, how much did King give me?
I opened my mouth to ask him, but everything tastes funny, metallic? No, no, wait, what am I tasting?
I start to convulse.
Jenna grabs my arm before I hit the ground, and then I look up as my body goes ice cold and announce, “See you in Hell!”
“What the fuck do you mean you injected him with medicine?” someone shouts.
“He needs medicine!” Jenna says over what sounds like Ash’s voice.