Chapter 98
I woke with a start, my heart hammering against my ribs. The room was dark, but I could feel it…someone is watching me. A shadow moved at the edge of my sight, a faint shuffle, a scrape against the floor. I freeze, my body going stiff, trying to convince myself it was just a trick of the night.
But then when I open my eyes I see him.
Zane. Standing at the foot of the bed. My chest constricted instantly, the air thick in my lungs. I blink rapidly, trying to take in what I am seeing. His clothes were torn in certain places, and his skin glinting under the faint moonlight. My stomach twist when I notice the dark streaks smeared across him. At first, my mind tries to dismiss it paint, maybe, or some spilled substance but as my eyes adjusted, horror settles like a stone.
It’s blood.
Dark, almost crimson, drying across his shirt and arms. My pulse jumps, my hands gripping the sheets, as a mix of fear and adrenaline surges through me. I force myself to sit up, shaking slightly. “Zane what… what happened?” My voice is higher than I intended, tight with panic.
He shifts slightly, as if uncomfortable under my gaze, and I notice his jaw tightening, the tension in his shoulders. He doesn’t answer immediately, and my mind races. Did someone attack him? Is he hurt badly? I want to reach for him, to touch him, but every instinct screamed to keep my distance.
Finally, he speaks, his voice low and steady, but there is a weight to it that makes my stomach drop. “It’s not mine,” he says simply.
My brow furrows. “Not yours? Then whose…what happened p>
He turns slowly toward the bathroom, the motion deliberate, calm, and yet there was an unmistakable edge to it. “Don’t worry about it and go back to sleep little spitfire p>
I shake my head, my pulse refusing to slow. “No. You’re literally covered in blood Zane, I’m not going back to sleep. Tell me what happened. Now p>
He pauses, his hand lingering on the doorframe. I can see the strain in his eyes, the shadows of bruises or maybe cuts along his face, and a sudden wave of fear washes over me. My mind tries to brace itself for the worst, but nothing prepares me for what comes next.
He looks at me, and for the first time, I seee it: the raw, unflinching truth in his gaze. Pain, exhaustion and something darker lurking beneath. “I… I killed him,” he said quietly.m
The words hang in the air, thick and suffocating. My stomach drops, my chest tightening until it feels like I can’t breathe. “You… what?” My voice was trembling, disbelief slicing through every nerve in my body.
He doesn’t flinch. He looks worn, but unbroken, standing there as if carrying a weight I could never begin to imagine. “I killed him. He… he deserved it p>
My hands flew to my face, trembling. I sank back slightly into the bed, trying to process, trying to make sense. My throat ached, my thoughts scattered. Who? Why? My mind jumped to every worst-case scenario I could conjure, and nothing seemed enough to explain it.
“I… I don’t understand. Who? Who did you My voice catches, fear and anger tangled together, and tears burn behind my eyes
He walked closer, slowly and deliberate, but I flinch back instinctively. I couldn’t stop myself. My hands are pressed tightly against my chest, shaking, as I try to put space between us. “Elaine… I didn’t want you to see it like this. I didn’t want you to p>
“Zane!” I shout, cutting him off. “I don’t care what you wanted! You’re standing here, covered in blood! How am I supposed to just I stop, my voice cracking as the weight of the moment hit me. My hands clutch at the blanket my knuckles white. “How am I supposed to understand that p>
He hesitates, looking at me, the blood smear along his forearm catching the dim light. I can see his chest rising and falling, his breathing uneven but controlled. “It had to be done,” he said, almost in a whisper. “It was him or… someone else p>
I swallowed hard, the bile rising in my throat. My mind refuses to wrap itself around his words. The thought of him taking a life right here, under my eyes, before I even had time to process anything sent shockwaves through me. I wanted to scream, to run, to collapse, anything but face the reality of what he had done.
“Zane… you… you killed someone,” I said again, my voice barely audible this time, trembling, choked with emotion. “You just… you… how p>
He knelt slightly, coming closer but keeping his distance, and his hand hovered in the air as if reaching out, then withdrawing. “It wasn’t easy,” he admitted. “I… I didn’t want to. But he was going to do… more. He He broke off, swallowing hard and his gaze dropping for the first time.
My breath came in shallow, rapid bursts. I could feel tears sliding down my cheeks, hot and fast. Anger, fear, confusion…all of it twisted in my chest. I wanted to run, but I was rooted to the bed, watching him, seeing him…the man I’d come to rely on, standing there covered in someone else’s blood, admitting to murder like it was a fact of life.
“I don’t even know what to say,” I whisper finally, voice hoarse. “I don’t know what… how you can even do that p>
“I didn’t want to drag you into this,” he said, softer now, almost painfully gentle. “You don’t need to be involved. You’re safe now. That’s what matters p>
“Safe?” I scoffed, wiping at my face. “Safe? Zane, you just told me you killed someone! Safe is not what I feel right now p>
He flinches slightly at my tone but doesn’t back away. “I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t risk letting him hurt anyone else p>
I buried my face in my hands, rocking slightly. My chest hurt from the sobs building up, from the adrenaline, from the disbelief. “I… I can’t… I can’t p>
He finally sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to crowd me. “Elaine, listen,” he said, voice low, insistent. “I did what I had to. You don’t have to understand it. You just… let me handle this part p>
I peek through my fingers at him, still shaking, still terrified, still processing. My body feels like it had been run over, and my mind refuses to settle. I want to be angry, I want to scream, I wanted to hit him p>
“Zane… I I faltered, voice breaking completely. “I don’t know if I can… I can even p>
“I know,” he said softly, almost a whisper. His hand finally came down and brushed against my shoulder, light but grounding.
“You’re safe now. That’s all that matters p>