She came the next morning earlier than usual.
This time, the smile on her face wasn't empty—
it was trembling.
Almost broken.
He noticed immediately.
But she forced herself to act normal.
"Can we… go somewhere today?" she asked,
her voice softer than ever.
His heart leapt.
A warmth bloomed in his chest so suddenly he almost forgot to breathe.
"A date?" he whispered.
A shadow crossed her eyes.
She hated that word today.
Hated how much he meant it.
"…Yes," she lied.
"A date."
He smiled—shy, innocent, trusting.
She felt her heart twist painfully.
Forgive me… please forgive me…
They walked together through quiet streets,
past the bakery, past the old library,
past the small park where children were playing.
To him, it felt magical.
Like the world was finally giving him a moment of peace.
He didn't know she was leading him to hell.When they reached an abandoned warehouse on the edge of town,
he hesitated.
"Why… here?" he asked.
She swallowed.
Her hands were shaking.
"It's… quiet. No people. We can talk."
Her voice cracked on the last word.
He didn't understand,
but he followed.
Inside, the air was cold.
Too cold.
A slow clap echoed through the darkness.
He froze.
No.
No, no, no—
That voice.
That horrible voice.
"Ah… finally," Jack stepped forward, smirking.
"I was beginning to think you two got lost."
The world stopped.
His breath died in his chest.
His vision blurred.
His knees buckled.
He stumbled backward, hitting the wall.
His mind flashed—
the contract
the shouting
the beatings
the broken hand
the chains
the year of hell.
Images slashed through his memory like knives.
"No… please… no—" he whispered, trembling violently.
Jack laughed.
"Still pathetic, I see."
His legs collapsed.
He slid to the floor, shaking uncontrollably, hands covering his head like he used to.
"STOP—PLEASE—DON'T—"
the words ripped out of him in sobs.
The girl flinched hard.
Her heart cracked open.
She had never seen fear like this.
Never seen pain this raw.
Jack stepped closer, amused.
"Look at you… nothing's changed."
He lifted a gun
and pointed it directly at him.
The boy froze—
dead still.
Tears streamed down his face,
silent, hopeless, broken.
The girl's breath caught in her throat.
This wasn't the plan.
Jack never mentioned a gun.
He never said he'd kill him—
not really.
"Jack— stop," she whispered.
Jack ignored her.
"I warned you, boy," Jack said, finger tightening on the trigger.
"You thought you could run from me?"
The boy sobbed,
body shaking uncontrollably,
as memories crushed him under their weight.
"Jack— DON'T!" she shouted, voice breaking.
Jack smirked.
"You did your job, sis.
Now let me do mine."
The truth hung in the air.
Sis.
His sister.
The boy's eyes widened in absolute betrayal.
The gun clicked—
a half-second from ending everything.
The moment Jack's finger tightened on the trigger,
the world shrank into a single heartbeat.
Click—
He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the shot.
His breath stopped.
His pulse collapsed.
Everything inside him shattered.
But the pain never came.
Instead—
a body slammed into him with violent force.
He gasped as he fell to the ground,
and her weight pressed over him.
Warm.
Shaking.
Alive.
Then the gunshot ripped through the air.
BANG.
Her breath hitched sharply.
His eyes flew open.
She was lying on top of him,
her hair falling over his face like a dying curtain,
her fingers trembling as they gripped his shirt.
He stared at her—
confused, terrified, frozen.
Then he saw it.
The red stain spreading across her side.
No.
No.
No, no, no—
"W-Why…?" he whispered, voice trembling uncontrollably.
She tried to smile,
but the pain twisted it.
"I… couldn't let him hurt you," she whispered.
Her voice was faint, cracking.
"I couldn't… not you."
He shook his head frantically.
"I don't understand— why would you— why—"
She placed a shaking hand on his cheek.
Her thumb brushed away a tear he didn't know had fallen.
"I'm sorry…"
Her voice fell softer, weaker.
"I'm so… so sorry."
He grabbed her hand, desperate, terrified.
"What are you talking about? Please— please don't leave—"
Tears filled her eyes, blurring him into a soft, trembling shape.
"You were never… supposed to matter to me."
A bitter laugh escaped her.
"But you did."
His heart stopped.
Her breathing grew harder.
"I was supposed to destroy you.
I lied… every day… but—"
she swallowed, fighting pain,
"—but somewhere along the way… you became the only person who ever looked at me like I wasn't a monster."
He shook his head, sobbing openly now.
"You're not— you're not a monster— please stop talking like that—"
Behind them, Jack shouted in disbelief,
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
But she didn't look at him.
Not anymore.
Her world had narrowed to the boy beneath her.
"You made me feel…" she whispered,
searching for the word,
her voice trembling, breaking,
"…human."
He held her tighter, terrified she would slip away.
"Please— stay— don't die— please—"
Her fingers weakly curled around his shirt.
"I'm sorry I lied to you…"
Another breath.
Shallow.
Painful.
"…but I never lied about how I felt."
He froze.
She leaned closer—
her forehead resting gently against his.
Her last whisper trembled against his lips:
"I loved you… even if I wasn't allowed to."
His world shattered.
Her hand slipped from his cheek.
Her head grew heavier on his shoulder.
Her eyes fluttered…
Jack screamed in rage behind them, footsteps closing in—
But the boy didn't hear anything anymore.
All he heard was her last breath,
warm against his neck
before the world finally fell silent.
Was she gone?
Was she alive?
He didn't know.
All he knew was that the only person who ever protected him
had fallen because of him.
And he couldn't breathe.
He couldn't move.
He couldn't understand how a heart that had just learned how to feel
could break this violently.