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It only takes me half a second to raise the shovel again, this time aiming for his head, but he tackles me before I can swing. “You stupid bitch!”
Pain shoots up my back when I hit the ground, and his heavy body lands on top of me, driving the breath from my lungs. Hisfist glances off my eye, but in my rage, I barely feel it. He’s not going to win. I can’t let it happen like this.
He’s strong, but I’m furious. I raise my knee with as much power as possible, squashing his nuts. The satisfying squeal he lets out will stick with me for the rest of my life. It gives me enough time to shove him and roll out from under him. Scooting away like a crab, I manage to put some space between us. My stomach suddenly drops at the feel of the crumbling edge of the cliff, and I reverse my direction, scrambling to get to my feet.
His curses rain around us while I draw in a whooping breath. He’s near the edge, and I pull back my foot to kick him in the side, hoping to move him in the right direction, but he catches my leg and twists it, sending me back to the ground.
One of my punches connects as I fight to get free of him. His nose crunches, but it doesn’t keep him from getting me pinned. Straddling me, he rips his mask off and stares down at me with a bloody grin. “I want to be the last thing you see, you worthless bitch.”
His hands wrap around my throat, cutting off my air. Panic is a wild animal in my chest as I buck under him, trying my best to get him off me, but it’s useless. My fingers claw at his hands. They only tighten, making my head feel like it might explode.
I’m not sure how much time passes. It feels like forever and none at all. My eyes shift away from him to look at the sky behind his head. Clouds draw away, their jagged edge revealing a spattering of stars. The moon slips out from behind them, brightening the night in seconds.
It’s beautiful. At least the last thing I’ll see in this world is beauty. Arlow will have to look at the stars without me. I should’ve told him I loved him. Tears leak from my eyes, but a peaceful feeling begins to take over. I’m dying. This is what dying is like. I’ll be reabsorbed by the universe. Maybe in some distant future, our atoms will clash, and I’ll find him again.
My artist. My Arlow.
The world tunnels, closing around me to a pinpoint, all the noise fading to the murmur of my slowing heartbeat.
“Calliope! Come on, baby, look at me.” My eyes leap open to see Arlow’s terrified face. My burning throat despises every ragged breath but it’s still the best feeling in the universe. “Yes! Oh thank fuck!” he cries.
A wave of dizziness shifts the ground beneath me as I sit up and try to piece together what’s going on. Arlow kneels beside me, a gun in his outstretched hand. In his line of fire, Carl sits on the ground with a large split on one side of his forehead and his face covered in blood.
“I’m okay,” I croak. “I’m okay. Don’t take your eye off him.”
“He’s not going anywhere.” To hear his usually kind, soft voice filled with threatening hostility makes the whole night feel even more surreal.
My mind clears and I bite back the pain of my body to stand up beside the man who just saved my life. “I’ll be okay,” I repeat, hoping to convince both of us.
“Don’t fucking move!” Arlow roars when Carl starts to get up.
His eyes wide, he freezes in place. What to do now? Shove him over the cliff while Arlow watches? I can’t involve him in a murder. Damn it.
“I just wanted the money!” Carl shouts. “All she had to do was give me the fucking money!”
Ignoring him, I pull my phone from my back pocket, then look up at Arlow. “I don’t have a signal to call the police.”
Arlow keeps the gun on Carl as he looks into my eyes. “We don’t need the police yet. Go back to the house. I’ll be right behind you.”
The cold resignation in his voice sends a shiver down my spine. I’m not the only one who comprehends his intention.
Carl’s demands and shouts take a sharp turn. He gets up on his knees. “No! Please, don’t. I’m sorry. I’ll go. I won’t ever bother either of you again,” he begs, frantic.
His words fall on deaf ears as Arlow gazes at me.
He loves me. The realization strikes me and shouldn’t hold such power in this moment, but it does. There’s no doubt in my mind. After suffering so much from causing a death, he’s ready to have another on his conscience. He’s willing to risk being arrested and charged again. For me.
I can’t let him do that. Tears slip down my face. “No, give me the gun. I can do it.” The shake of his head is firm as Carl continues to plead for his life. Blocking him out, I look Arlow in the eye. “Listen to me. That’s why I led him out here, to push him over the cliff. I can do it. I want to do it. You can’t kill him for me. It isn’t your burden to carry. It isn’t your responsibility.”
“No, it’s my privilege,” he replies, his deep voice back to a soft rumble.
“Don’t. Just give it to me.”
Carl is a blubbering mess on his knees in front of him. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t the most satisfying thing I’ve ever seen. I hope he’s as terrified as he and my mother made me over the years. Part of me wishes she was on her knees here beside him.
Arlow’s lips press together. He lowers the gun a few inches and barks at Carl. “Stand up.”
The relief in Carl’s face is instant. “Thank you! I swear you’ll never hear from me again.”
