Started With a Lie

Chapter Sixty

"Beautiful night, but you are even more so," he says, his eyes entranced by me. His hair is not gelled, but peacefully ruffles in its natural appearance. Lee looks...happy.

I sit down, placing the jug down. "Thank you," I say, grinning. "Did you bring glasses for lemonade?"

He reaches over to his side, pulling out glasses—mason jars with handles. "Of course," he answers, handing them over to me. When I try to grab them, he pulls them back, raising his eyebrow. "I think you're forgetting something."

"What?"

Lee leans in until I can feel his breath on my lips. "You're forgetting something."

I roll my eyes, grabbing the back of his head and pulling him in for a kiss. I break apart, taking the glasses from him. "Happy?"

"Very." He looks dazed after our kiss, a big smile on his face.

We begin to sip on the pink lemonade, clinking our glasses and cheering. Fooling around, we drop a few strawberries into our glasses. Between talking and kissing, we eat the small sandwiches and watch as fireflies begin to dance along the surface of the lake. Our hands intertwine as our voices do.

When our jokes end and after we fake fight with nudges, he turns to me seriously, his face sober of any light. For a moment, I am scared.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"I just...," he starts, "You are my everything."

My mouth opens, my heart squeezing at his words. His eyes begin to gloss over, tears brimming his eyes. My heart begins to squeeze in a painful way.

I scramble over, holding his face gently. "Hey, hey...We're okay. We're fine. I love you."

The tears fall down and spill onto his cheeks. The image of him crying stains my mind permanently along with the pain I feel, like a punch to the heart. He closes his eyes, his eyelashes wet. "I can't lose you."

"You're not," I reply immediately. I lean in and pull him into my arms, holding him as hard as I can. "You won't. You never will lose me."

He's silent but his body shakes softly. I squeeze him tighter.

"I can't lose you." His voice becomes deeper and more panicked. "I can't lose you. I can't lose you. I can't lose you. I can't lose you. I won't." Lee begins to still, his body like stone in my arms. His voice shifts, almost sounding demonic. "I can't lose you. I can't lose you."

I pull apart, finding my breath shake a bit. Why do I feel scared? My heartbeat jumps in circles again and again. "Lee?"

A gasp escapes my lips.

His eyes are void of light, as if they are frozen in pace. His pupils are large, his voice sounding like a recording going wrong. "I can't. I can't. I can't lose you. I can't."

Suddenly, a burst of dark liquid spills through his shirt. It's dark purple or...red? I press my hand to it and when I pull it back, my hand covered in bright red blood. Blood. My hand shakes and my eyes widen. I look at Lee, who is incoherently mumbling. Blood begins to pool out of his mouth, dribbling down his chin. Lee's lips turn upward, a chilling smile haunting his face.

"I can't lose you. I can't lose you."

When I reach for him again, there is a gun in my hand.

I scream. I try to drop it but it stays in my hand, my fingers enclosed around the handle permanently. Almost as if my hand is not my own, it cranks up until it presses the gun to his forehead. I begin to sob, my throat clogged with pain. "Please, no. No. No. I can't control it."