Page 138 of So I'll Know
By the timeI reach Jeremy’s apartment, I’m gasping, my whole body on fire.Something’s wrong.
Marion texted me, saying that she was on her way here because Jeremy wasn’t answering his phone. I rushed straight here.
In my mind, I see his face when he left the conference room.
He was so empty. So lifeless.
I fumble with the key Jeremy gave me, trying not to drop it as I shove it into the lock and push open the door.
I enter the hallway, and dread pools in my stomach.
Jeremy’s apartment door is ajar. Like he didn’t bother to close it when he got home.
Fear is dry in my throat, and I toe open the door with my boot. The hinges creak, and I startle when Toothless jumps down from the arm of the couch, yowling loudly. He scampers toward the bathroom door and starts to paw at it, scratching at the white-painted wood.
I walk toward him, and something on the carpet catches my eye. I bend down, and choke on panic when I realize that it’s one of T’s paw prints. But it’s dark red.
Blood.
I stand and pound on the bathroom door.
“Jeremy?” I yell, my voice rising. “Jeremy! Open the door.”
Silence.
“Fuck,” I mutter.
I pick up Toothless and toss him gently into Jeremy’s bedroom and close the door. Then I take a step back and kick the door with my booted foot. The wood splinters but doesn’t give, so I kick it again with a desperate grunt.
The door flies open violently, and the taste of metal is sharp on my tongue. Jeremy’s lying in a pool of blood, the sticky mess clinging to his hands, face, and hair.
“Shitshitshit,” I ramble as I rush to his side and drop to my knees.
His skin is gray, and I press two fingers to his throat, feeling for a pulse. It’s there, but it’s faint.
I pull his head onto my lap, tears hot and heavy on my cheeks as a sob crawls up my throat. “Jer, baby, don’t leave me.”
I examine his body and see the wide cut on his hip. It looks deep. I yank off my coat, pull my T-shirt over my head, and ball it up, pressing it firmly against his wound.
“Dammit, Starlight, hang on. Don’t do this,” I plead. “You promised.”
I’m crying in earnest now, and my throat feels raw as I chant his name over and over. I cradle him tightly to my chest, one hand still pressing on his hip, literally holding on for dear life. “I’ve got you. Hang on.”
I hear a familiar female voice behind me, but I can’t seem to process what she’s saying. She’s on the phone, telling someone that Jeremy is hurt really bad. That he might be dying.
I cry harder until I can’t breathe.
He can’t die.
I press my lips gently to his. His skin is so cold. “Baby, please don’t leave me. I’m so sorry.”
There’s a lot of commotion and then someone is taking Jeremy from me, and I clutch him tightly against my body, shaking my head.
He’s mine.
“Marcus, you have to let them help him.” She sounds kind, her voice steady and gentle.
“Marion?” I ask, around another sob.
