Undefeated

Part 23: Final

    "I think it's all healed up," Mila says with a smile.  We're all standing in the kitchen a few days after our long walk back.

    Grim told me who he was. I've been staying away from him ever since then. He clearly feels remorse, but there's no way in hell that I'm forgiving him.

    "You have to leave soon," I coldly say to him without making eye contact. "I can't stand your presence."

    "But he's been nice to us," Mila says.

    "He shot my parents dead and captured me into a life of pain and suffering." I give her a stabbing look. "I cannot and will not forgive this man."

    "Minnie has a point," Dane says to Mila. "I say he needs to leave too."

    "Wait!" Grim speaks up. "Just one more thing before I leave?"

    I grumble. "What?"

    "I have the antidote, enough for both of us."

    My breath hitches and all the kitchen sounds fall silent.

    I've waited one-hundred and eighth-five years for this moment. It's from Grim, should I even take it?

    "It's not poisoned or anything, I swear."

    I guess I don't have anything to lose. I can't die, anyways...

    "You go first." He slightly nods and pulls two glass vials from his pocket.

    In a flash, he pulls the cork and gulps down the purple solution from one of the vials. As soon as it empties, he hands the other vial to me. "Just so you know, it's gonna hurt a lot when you drink it because of all the wounds you would've died from."

I hesitantly grab it and look at Dane.

"Can you two leave us alone, please?" I sheepishly ask Mila and Grim. They nod and shuffle out of the kitchen.

    The vial in my hand feels like it weighs a thousand pounds. This thing is made by the guy who once betrayed me, what if it kills me?

    Then again, he drank it. He's also immortal, and he was fine as soon as he drank it. He had a small expression of pain, but it seemed to go away relatively quick.

    "Are you alright?" Dane asks and cups my left cheek in his hand. "You don't have to drink it if you don't want to, sweetheart."

    His nickname makes my heart skip a beat. Or several beats. I grab his left hand with mine and he takes the message, grasping it and stroking it with his thumb.

    My hand is trembling. This will end my one-hundred and eighty-five years of misery.

    So what if it hurts? It'll give me my life back. My actual life. A life with Dane and Mila.

    I squeeze his hand and pulls the vial's cork with my teeth, quickly downing the solution. It tasted sweet, then disgustingly sour. The second it goes down my throat, a burning sensation covers my entire mouth and slowly radiates across my entire face.

    My knees shake and my vision blurs. My eyes keeping losing focus and I start swimming in dizziness. Thankfully Dane notices and lifts me off the ground into bridal style.

    Through the horrific pain, I feel him walk me through the house and lay me in a bed. By the feeling of the covers and pillows, I think it's his bed. The world quickly goes dark as soon as I feel him sit beside me.

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    Ba-thump. Ba-thump. Ba-thump.

    My sound of my heartbeat drones through the ringing in my ears. My heart's still beating, and I'm breathing.