Bloodhearts

Chapter thirteen: In the End.

A low moan resonates from Cory's throat. His eyes are closed and every movement he makes becomes weaker and weaker until he suddenly pulls away.

"I'm sorry," he whispers and pecks my lips once more before he gets to his feet and marches out without another word.

I watch as the door closes behind him and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. All I can think about is that we have to avenge Sadie's murder. I'm going to make sure this rebellion is stopped before it claims any more lives.

CORY'S POV:

I've felt numb before. I've lost people before. But no matter what, it still really fucking sucks. And I don't know if the timing could be any worse. My lips are still tingling after kissing Jay and it took a lot from me to walk away. But I had to. No matter how much I want to be in his arms, I want to make sure no one tries to hurt him again. I have a terrible feeling I know exactly who's behind all of this and who's been lying to me from the get-go. I think I'm the only one who realized that Marc's reaction to seeing Sadie's body was fake. Having been around him for some time, I've learnt what his true reactions look like – and that wasn't one of them. Marc is still trying to convince me to be with him, but every time he's asked, I've said no. Before I wasn't quite sure why. It just didn't feel right. Now, I have a very good reason. And then there's the more obvious reason; I love someone else even if we aren't together right now.

Marc tries to get me to hold his hand as we walk back to his room – or that's where I think we're going. Instead, he takes me to the rehabilitation center, and I raise an eyebrow, asking him what the hell we've doing here. In return, he tells me to be patient and that this will be good for me and my grief process.

"Marc, I don't think this is a good idea," I insist and try to pull him back and away again. I'm exhausted although I won't be getting any sleep for hours.

Marc stops me leaving with a surprising amount of force. I frown at him.

"What are you doing?" I ask him. "Let go!"

I notice two of his friends appearing behind us. The expression on their faces isn't exactly friendly and they are cutting off my chances to escape.

Shit.

"Marc, let me go," I say, more insistently this time.

Annoyingly, Marc doesn't let go, but his expression is still full of admiration for me. I want to tell him off, but my instinct tells me to keep quiet.

Marc's two friends take hold of my arms and Marc leads us inside the fence surrounding the center. What's even weirder about this situation is the fact that no guards have stopped us yet.

Marc's two friends force me to my knees once we're inside and my heart start hammering, thinking for a minute that they might try to execute me. Instead, though, Marc comes over and watches me with sorrowful eyes. It doesn't make me feel any better, if anything it makes me feel worse. I want to kick him where it hurts.

Marc leans down to kiss me and I feel him pick the badge off my uniform. His face is full of guilt but not regret as he lets me see the real him.

I can't believe it. It's not like my friends haven't warned me about him. Jay warned me too, the first night he met Marc, but I was too blind to see what Jay saw.

Marc examines my badge, before he hands it to another one of his friends, appearing next to him. I fight to keep as much hate in my eyes as possible. He is a murderer. He is behind the murder of Sadie and who knows how many others. I just know it. How could I ever have believed him?

"I'm sorry it has to be this way," Marc says, surprisingly unfazed by my rage. "But I know I can never convince you to turn on your friends and... him." He spits the last word like it physically hurts him. I know it's Jay he's talking about.