Page 140 of Ghosted

Then the alarm goes off.

The sound screams through the pool room, loud and brutal, bouncing off tile and glass and water.

My head snaps up.

And I see him.

Up in the shadows near the viewing area.

Johnny.

Standing there like he’s been waiting for this part. Wet hair. Split smile. Eyes bright and fucking empty.

Smirking.

Everything in me turns black.

I want to run at him. I want to tear up those stairs, slam him through the glass, put my hands around his throat, and squeeze until there’s nothing left of that smile. I want him dead so badly it clears every other thought from my head.

But Alice is under my hands.

Alice is cold and not breathing.

I can’t leave her. Not again.

And Johnny fucking knows it too.

His smile widens, like this is the punchline he came for.

Then he turns and disappears into the dark.

“No,” I snarl, but I don’t know if I’m saying it to him, to her, to the fucking universe.

The side doors burst open.

Voices flood in.

“What the hell⁠—”

“Call 911!”

“Get security!”

Shoes squeal across the wet tile. Someone grabs my shoulder, and I throw them off without looking.

“Don’t fucking touch me!”

“Sir, move back!”

“No!”

I go back to compressions, counting because numbers are easier than grief. One. Two. Three. Press. Breathe. Press. Breathe. My hands slip on her hoodie. Someone is shouting my name. Someone else is telling me to stop.

I don’t.

I can’t.

More people come in. Security. Staff. Radios crackling. Hands on me again, stronger this time, pulling me back while I fight them hard enough that someone swears and another body hits the tile.