Page 109 of Bound By Threads

“It’s fine,” she sobs, pressing her forehead to mine. “I’ll forgive you if you don’t die.”

The pain feels like it’s slipping now, replaced with a calm I haven’t felt in years.

It’s not gone—it’s just far away, like a siren’s call far from the shore that I’ll never hear again.

The world grows dark at the edges, and Lottie’s face blurs.

Still beautiful.

Still alive.

“You’re not a monster,” she whispers, tears falling onto my skin.

I want to tell her she’s wrong.

That I was… I am… that I will always be, for the things I did to her.

But I can’t speak anymore.

So, I just smile.

The light fades, and everything goes still.

Lottie’s cries are the last thing I hear, even as I try to reach out, desperate to soothe her pain, even though I’m the one who caused it.

I’m sorry.

Please forgive me.

To be continued…