Page 121 of Dark Surrender

Out of body.

My face is wet.

Someone hugs me, but… nothing.

There’s a loud sob.

Then another.

Dark’s dead.

Dead.

I never got a chance to tell him how I feel. Not really. Not like he did.

I held back.

Why…

Why didn’t I just say it?

Why didn’t I… go all in like he did?

Why did I let this man into my life, buy me a house and breakfast, and touch me in ways nobody ever has before?

I didn’t even acknowledge it when he said he loved me.

I pretended he didn’t. Because how could someone love me? The real me?

Tightness presses down on my chest, making it hard to breathe.

Dark died trying to save us.

To save children.

What about his kids? Tarek, Fog, and Lily.

Oh. God… He never got a chance to make it right with them. Not like he wanted.

Grasping my throat, I try to force air in and out, but I can’t. Just like I can’t see. Everything’s blurry.

I can’t see.

Why can’t I see?!

My pulse pounds through my ears.

Distant voices register, but all I see is his face.

That handsome, unshaven face and that smile.

Oh. That smile.

For me. Just me. A gift I took for granted.

Everything goes dark, and I die alongside him.

I’m so sorry.