MARRY YOUR KILLER
Chapter Sixty-Two: The Bullet
---
The morning of the wedding was gray and cold.
The old Watson house was transformed. White roses covered the garden. White chairs stretched across the white lawn. White ribbons hung from the white arch. The sky was white with clouds. The sun was hidden. The world was waiting.
Keifer stood in his father's study. His suit was black. His hands were empty. The ring was in his pocket. Jay's ring. He had carried it with him every day since she left. He would carry it with him today. He would carry it with him always.
Percy was at the door. His face was pale. His hands were shaking.
"It's not too late," Percy said. "You can still walk away. You can still—"
Keifer turned. His face was calm. His eyes were empty. "It's too late."
Percy walked to him. He stood in front of his friend. "She's not coming. She's not going to stop this. She's not—"
Keifer put his hand on Percy's shoulder. "I know."
---
Ava was in her room.
Her dress was white. Her hair was pinned. Her face was calm. Her mother was beside her, adjusting the veil, smoothing the fabric, checking the pearls.
"You look beautiful," her mother said.
Ava looked in the mirror. The woman looking back was a stranger. White dress. White veil. White gloves. A bride. A wife. A von Ashberge.
"Thank you," Ava said.
Her mother kissed her cheek. She walked out. The door closed.
Ava sat on the bed. Her hands were empty. Her heart was heavy. She was marrying a man who loved someone else. She was marrying a man who would never look at her the way he looked at Jay. She was marrying a man who would spend the rest of his life wishing she was someone else.
She closed her eyes. She saw his face. The way he looked at the ring. The way he held it in his hand. The way he said her name. Jay.
She opened her eyes. She stood up. She walked to the window. The garden was white. The chairs were full. The guests were waiting. The groom was waiting. The life she had chosen was waiting.
She walked to the door. She opened it. She walked down the hall.
---
The garden was full.
The guests were seated. The families were waiting. The press was at the gates. The whole world was watching. Keifer stood under the arch. His hands were empty. His face was calm. His eyes were on the door where Ava would appear. His heart was somewhere else.
Percy stood beside him. Aries was in the front row. Ci N was beside them, his phone in his hand, his face pale. Felix was next to him. Care was with Cole. Grace was with Denzel. Kit was with Mayo. Freya was with Erdix. Rakki was with Ci N.
Lyra was in the back. Her face was blank. Her hands were steady. Alex was beside her. His hand was in hers.
"She's not coming," Alex said.
Lyra didn't answer. She was looking at the gate. At the road. At the place where Jay should be.
"She'll come," Lyra said.
Alex squeezed her hand. "She'll come."
---
The music started.
The guests stood. The doors opened. Ava walked down the aisle. Her dress was white. Her veil was long. Her face was calm. She looked at Keifer. He was looking at her. He was not seeing her.
She walked to the arch. She stood beside him. Her hands were empty. Her heart was heavy.
The priest spoke. His voice was steady. The words were old. The vows were ready.
"Dearly beloved," the priest began.
Keifer looked at Ava. Her face was calm. Her eyes were sad. She knew. She had always known.
"If anyone has any reason why these two should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace."
The garden was silent. The guests were still. The world was waiting.
Keifer looked at the gate. At the road. At the place where Jay should be. She wasn't coming. She wasn't going to stop this. She wasn't going to come back.
He turned to Ava. His hand was empty. His heart was gone.
"I now pronounce you—"
The gate burst open.
---
Jay ran down the aisle.
Her dress was black. Her hair was loose. Her face was wet. She ran past the guests, past the chairs, past the flowers. She ran to the arch. She ran to Keifer.
"Stop!" she screamed. "Stop!"
The guests turned. The music stopped. The world stopped.
Keifer stared at her. His face was white. His hands were shaking. "Jay."
She stopped in front of him. Her chest was heaving. Her face was wet. Her hands were empty.
"I didn't leave because I wanted to," she said. "I didn't leave because I stopped loving you. I left because someone threatened to kill you. I left because I was trying to save your life."
Keifer's hands were on her face. His eyes were wet. "Jay."
She took his hands. Her fingers were cold. "I love you. I've always loved you. I never stopped loving you. I left to save you. And I'm not going to let you marry someone else. I'm not going to let you spend the rest of your life thinking I didn't love you. I'm not going to—"
He kissed her.
His lips were warm. His hands were in her hair. His heart was pounding. She kissed him back. Her hands were on his face. Her tears were on his skin.
The garden was silent. The guests were watching. The world was watching.
Ava stood beside them. Her face was calm. Her eyes were soft. She took off her veil. She laid it on the chair. She walked away. No one stopped her. No one called her back.
Keifer pulled back. His face was wet. His eyes were bright.
"I love you," he said.
She smiled. It was small. Tired. Real. "I love you too."
---
The shot came from the gate.
Jay heard it before she saw it. The crack of glass. The whistle of air. The sound of something moving too fast, too close. She turned. Kiko was standing at the gate. His gun was raised. His face was calm. His eyes were on Keifer.
She moved. She was between him and Keifer before she could think. Her body was in front of his. Her arms were open. Her face was calm.
But Lyra was faster.
She was there before Jay could move. Her body was between Jay and the gun. Her arms were open. Her face was blank.
The bullet hit her in the chest.
She fell. Her body was light. Her face was pale. The blood was red on her white shirt, spreading fast, blooming like a flower. Alex was there. He caught her. His arms were around her. His face was white.
"Lyra," he said. "Lyra."
Her eyes were open. Her face was pale. Her lips were moving. "Alex."
He held her. His hands were on her chest. The blood was warm. It was everywhere. "No. No. No. Stay with me. Stay with me."
She smiled. It was small. Tired. Real. "I love you."
His face was wet. "I love you too. I love you too. Don't leave me. Please don't leave me."
Her hand was on his face. Her fingers were cold. "I'm not going anywhere."
Her eyes closed. Her hand fell. Her chest was still.
"Lyra!" Alex screamed. "Lyra!"
---
Care was there.
She pushed Alex aside. Her hands were on Lyra's chest. Her face was calm. Her voice was steady. "She's not breathing. Her heart stopped. I need—"
She looked at the blood. At the wound. At the face of her friend. Her sister. The woman who had saved them all.
"Lyra," Care said. "Lyra, come back. Please come back."
Lyra didn't move.
Care's hands were shaking. Her face was wet. "No. No. No. You can't leave. You can't leave us. You can't leave him. You can't—"
Cole was beside her. His arms were around her. His face was white. "Care. Care, she's gone."
Care pushed him away. Her hands were on Lyra's chest. Her voice was rising. "She's not gone. She's not gone. She's not—"
Cole held her. His arms were tight. His face was in her hair. "She's gone. She's gone."
Care screamed.
It was a sound that came from somewhere deep. Somewhere dark. Somewhere that had been holding too much for too long. She screamed until her voice was gone. She screamed until there was nothing left. She screamed until she was empty.
Then she stood up. Her face was calm. Her hands were steady. Her eyes were on Kiko.
He was standing at the gate, his gun empty, his hands empty, his face pale. He had killed Lyra. He had killed her friend. Her sister. The woman who had saved them all.
Care walked toward him. Her steps were steady. Her hands were empty. Her face was blank.
Cole was behind her. "Care. Care, stop."
She didn't stop. She walked to Kiko. She stood in front of him. Her face was inches from his.
"You killed her," Care said.
Kiko's face was white. "I was aiming for—"
"I don't care who you were aiming for." Her voice was low. "You killed her. You killed my sister. You killed my friend. You killed the woman who saved my life. Who saved all of our lives."
Her hand moved. Fast. Precise. The hands of a doctor. The hands of someone who knew exactly where to cut.
The knife was small. Thin. It had been in her medical bag. It had been there for years. She had never used it. Not like this.
She plunged it into his chest.
His eyes went wide. His mouth opened. His hands went to his chest. The blood was red on his white shirt, spreading fast, blooming like a flower.
"That's for Lyra," Care said.
He fell. His body was heavy. His face was pale. His eyes were open. His hands were empty.
Care stood over him. Her hands were red. Her face was calm. Her heart was empty.
Cole was behind her. His arms were around her. His face was in her hair. "Care. Care, it's over. It's over."
She looked at Lyra. At her face. At her hands. At the blood that was everywhere.
"It's not over," Care said. "It will never be over."
---
Alex held Lyra.
His hands were in her hair. His face was in her neck. His voice was low. "You can't leave. You can't leave me. You promised. You promised you would stay. You promised you would—"
Her hand was cold. Her face was pale. Her eyes were closed.
"Lyra," he said. "Lyra, please. Please wake up. Please come back. Please—"
Jay knelt beside him. Her hand was on his shoulder. Her face was wet. "Alex."
He looked at her. His face was broken. His eyes were empty. "She's gone. She's gone."
Jay pulled him close. His arms were around her. His face was in her hair. "I'm here. I'm here."
He held her. His hands were shaking. His heart was breaking. "She saved you. She saved you and she—"
Jay held him tighter. "She saved me. She saved all of us."
---
The sun was setting when they took Lyra away.
The garden was empty. The chairs were gone. The flowers were gone. The arch was gone. The only thing left was the blood on the grass. The blood that would not wash away. The blood that would always be there.
Alex stood at the gate. His hands were empty. His face was pale. His eyes were on the place where she had fallen. Where she had died. Where she had left him.
Jay walked to him. She stood beside him. Her hand was in Keifer's.
"She loved you," Jay said.
Alex didn't answer.
"She loved you from the first day. From the moment you walked into her corner. From the moment you said her name. From the moment you made her real again."
Alex's face was wet. "She was supposed to stay. She was supposed to live. She was supposed to—"
He stopped. His voice cracked. His hands were shaking.
Keifer put his hand on Alex's shoulder. "She saved Jay. She saved all of us. She died a hero. She died protecting the people she loved."
Alex looked at him. "She died. She died and I wasn't enough. I couldn't save her. I couldn't—"
Keifer pulled him close. His arms were around him. "She knew you loved her. She knew you would always love her. She knew."
Alex held him. His face was in Keifer's shoulder. "I love her. I love her and she's gone."
Keifer held him. "I know."
---
The night came.
The house was empty. The guests were gone. The press was gone. The only people left were the ones who had loved her. The ones who would never forget her. The ones who would carry her with them for the rest of their lives.
Care sat on the steps of the garden. Her hands were clean. Her face was calm. Her eyes were on the place where Lyra had fallen.
Cole sat beside her. His hand was in hers.
"You saved us," Cole said. "You killed him. You stopped him. You—"
"I killed him," Care said. "I killed him and I don't feel anything. I killed him and Lyra is still gone. I killed him and—"
Cole pulled her close. His arms were around her. "You did what you had to do. You did what she would have wanted. You protected the people you love."
Care held him. Her face was in his chest. "I loved her. I loved her and I couldn't save her."
Cole kissed her hair. "She knows. She knows."
---
Alex sat in the corner.
Her corner. The one where she used to stand. The one where she had held a knife to his throat. The one where she had let him stay. The one where she had told him she loved him.
He sat on the floor. His back was against the wall. His hands were empty. His eyes were on the window where she used to watch the street.
"She was supposed to come back," he said. "She was supposed to stand here. She was supposed to tell me I was annoying. She was supposed to—"
His voice cracked. He stopped.
Jay sat beside him. Her shoulder was against his. "She loved this corner. She loved you. She loved—"
"She loved you too." His voice was low. "She loved you more than anything. She would have done anything for you. She did do anything for you. She—"
He stopped. He couldn't finish.
Jay took his hand. "She saved me. She saved all of us. And she would want us to live. She would want us to be happy. She would want us to remember her. To carry her with us. To—"
"She would want you to be happy," Alex said. "She would want you to be with Keifer. She would want you to live the life she couldn't have."
Jay looked at Keifer. He was standing at the window, watching them, waiting.
"She would want you to be happy too," Jay said.
Alex looked at her. His face was wet. "I don't know how to be happy without her."
She pulled him close. Her arms were around him. "Then we learn. Together. We learn to live without her. We learn to carry her with us. We learn to be happy because she would want us to be happy."
He held her. His face was in her hair. "I miss her."
She held him. "I miss her too."
---
END OF CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO