GREYSON
She's shot.
My father shot her.
I let go off my own gun and hurry up to her, catching her in my arms before she fell onto the floor. Her clothes are all bloody and she's struggling to breathe.
"Leila- Why did you come out? I told you-"
"It's okay, it's okay." She chokes, placing her blood filled hand on my cheek, "I love you."
"No, no, you stay awake." I feel the tears leave my eyes, "You're not leaving me."
"It's alright. You made my life better." She's trying so hard to breathe properly but instead, she chokes. She just chokes on her words.
"I love you, Greyson." Her eyes start to close and I widen my eyes, tears brimming out of them. This can't be happening.
"No!" I shout, placing my forehead on hers, "I love you. Please don't leave me."
I don't hear her struggling breaths anymore.
My tears fall onto her face and I lift my head, rubbing her cheek before looking up, my eyes met by Luca.
His lips are parted and he looks like he's about to scream his lungs out.
He falls to his knees and I see Mila come into my vision, kneeling down to his height. She brings him into her embrace and rubs his back countless times.
Suddenly, hands are placed on my shoulders, carefully dragging me away from Leila.
"No, no." I mumble, seeing how Silas is lifting her up.
"She'll be okay." Jacob's words circle in my head. I'm numb. I can't feel anything. She was the only thing that ever made me feel something.
"How do you know that?"
"Because she's Leila. Your Leila."
- - -
LUCA
I find her in her room, blood splattered around her. She looks done, so done.
"Leila, what the fuck did you do?" My voice is quiet and I walk up to her, grabbing the piece of metal out of her hand. There's no point of showing her that I'm panicking right now, she'll feel bad about it later and think it's her fault.
But it's not and it never will be.
"I can't do this anymore, I just can't." She whispers, looking up at me with distant looking eyes. I press my hands against the wound, clearly stopping the blood from coming out.
"Yes, you can. We'll get out of here, I promise." I'm not sure if I can make that happen. What will mom do? No, not even mom. Mother.
She's not our mom. We never had a mom.
No, she never did anything to me but the things she does to Leila is more than enough to make me call her mother instead of mom. Because she doesn't deserve the title of mom.
A mom is supposed to be caring and loving and just genuinely love you for who you are.
Our mother never did that. Never ever.
"Luca, it hurts. My heart hurts." Her voice is falling apart. I've never heard her voice sound so broken before.
"I know, I know but I need you." I say, feeling my own tears drop down my face, "I need you more than anything. You are the only person that ever gave a fuck about me. You are the only person that ever made me feel loved. You are my person. My forever number one."
"I love you, Leila. Please, you can do this." I say, taking one hand off of her wound, wrapping it around her to bring her into my embrace, "You'll get through this and I will always be standing right here. Right beside you."
"Do you mean that?"
"Of course, I do." I say, pressing a light kiss on the top of her head, "What makes you think I wouldn't?"
"Because our parents never did."
"Well, I'm not our parents, am I?"
"No." She smiles. A genuine smile. If I can make her smile for just a little bit, it's worth it. But now, I need to stitch her up so she doesn't pass out from the blood loss.
I tell her to press down on her own wrist while I go into my room to get my first aid kit. I find it in my bathroom and I hurry back to Leila's room.
She's sitting in the same position, pressing down her hands on her wound as hard as she can. She'll be okay, I'm sure of it.
"If you need to scream, then do it. This will hurt but I don't want you to pass out and never wake up again." I state, grabbing the clean needle and the small thread.
She nods and I start the process, piercing the needle through her skin. She doesn't give a reaction, maybe due to the adrenaline from what she did earlier.
"Does it hurt?"
"I don't feel anything anymore." She admits, leaning her head against the wall.
I nod, continuing to sow the wound together. I look up for a second, her eyes closed. She takes a deep breath, letting out a deep sigh.
"Talk to me." I say, "About anything, Leila. I'll always listen."
"I know." She opens her mouth, a small smile painted on her face, "But sometimes, that's not enough."
"Then what is enough? What would happen if you told me how you felt?" I question.
"You'd see me differently, you'd look at me like I'm crazy or something." She says and my lips part, almost being speechless.
"What the hell are you talking about?" I retort, "Nothing you do makes me see you differently. Seeing you with bruises and cuts every fucking night doesn't make me see you any different. You're my sister. You're always going to be my sister and I will always love you for you."
"Really?" Her eyes become glossy and a soft smile make its way to my face.
"Yes, really." I say as I push the needle through her skin one last time, the wound now all stitched up and clean.
"Thank you." She mutters, fiddling with the rings on her fingers, "A lot."
"Come talk to me next time, please. This, this wouldn't be the same without you here, Leila. I need you here." I take her into my arms, lightly rubbing her arm.
"I don't know how long I can take it anymore." She speaks, sobs audible in here voice, "I'm sorry but I don't know. I don't know."
My heart is breaking. I don't wanna hear those words from my sister. My little sister. Even though she's not so little anymore. She's my best friend in this whole world. She has always had that title.
"It's okay." I whisper, holding her in my embrace, "It's alright."
I don't know what I would do if I haven't had Leila by my side. She's been with me through all of it. All of the shit we've been through.
She stayed strong until she couldn't anymore. Yet, she's still trying. She's still trying to have a reason to stay. But in the end, she didn't have a reason to stay anymore so she lost hope.
I'm so fucking thankful she didn't cut that deep because if she did, she would be dead and I would've hold her cold and limp body in my arms, blood all over me.
But she's alive. She's still here.
She held herself together, she held me together. She's got so much pressure on her, I understand that. But still, she's here and that's what matters.
Her attempt failed and I'm glad I found her in time. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her.
She held me up, being there in thick and thin. She's been a big help to my problems. She's helped me through times where I couldn't help myself and couldn't do anything myself.
She ignored her own problems and helped with mine instead. But it's now time for me to help. I haven't been there so much for her.
But that will change.
That will change now.
- - -
A/N:
flashbacks woho!! i like writing flashbacks if you haven't noticed so yeah. and also, the next chapter will be the last chapter before the epilogue so i'm kinda sad that this book is almost done but all good times have an end unfortunately. but anyways, i hope y'all are having a lovely day/ night! ♡
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edited.
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