I tried to move closer, but just as I did, Yara let out a choked sob. “Hayden.”


    It felt like my heart had been ripped out Slowly, I lifted my head to look at him. His eyes were half–


    closed now, no longer fluttering. The hand that had been resting by the bed hung limp at his side.


    “Hayden,” I whispered.


    But he didn’t respond.


    I shook my head, disbelief crashing over me. I cupped his face, frantic. “Hayden, please. You


    haven’t finished talking–just say something. Please!”


    Têxt ? N?velDrama.Org.


    The words caught in my throat, choking me. I leaned in, kissing him everywhere–his nose, his eyes,


    his cheeks, his lips–desperately trying to wake him,


    But he didn’t move.


    “ever


    He wasn’t going to say, “Kiki, stop it,” ever again.


    “Hayden, don’t leave me. You’re all I have left,” I screamed.


    The emptiness inside me was unbearable, swallowing me whole.


    This was worse than losing my parents. Back then, I was too young to fully get it–but now? Losing


    Hayden was like being dragged underwater, suffocating, helpless.


    * There’d never be anyone like him again. You think about them, but they’re just… gone. Out of


    reach, not


    matter how hard you try.


    I shook him, desperate, but all I could do was cry.


    My tears dripped onto his face, sliding down his cheeks, like they were his.


    And then everything went dark.


    When


    I woke


    up, I was alone in a cold hospital bed. The room was empty, and the only thing piercing the silence


    was the blinding white lighting through the window.


    Memories of the night before flooded me–shes of Hayden’s face, so vivid, so real..


    Pain coursed through me, my body convulsing as if my muscles had been torn apart. The agony


    was so intense, I could barely breathe.


    “Rea, what’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?”


    Jace’s voice broke through, panicked.


    Then Steve’s voice, “Rea…Rea”


    Both voices were so familiar, but neither one was the one I wanted to hear.


    I just wanted Hayden to call me “Kiki” one more time.


    Jace and Steve called the doctor, who came in and lifted the nket, checking me over. “How are


    you feeling? Any pain?”


    I didn’t answer. The doctor gave me a look, then turned to Jace and Steve. “She’s probably still in


    shock Just stay with her and keep her calm.”


    When the doctor left, they stayed by my bed–Jace on one side, Steve on the other. Neither of them


    spoke. They just stood there while I curled up.


    It was the only way I could keep myself together–keep holding on to something.


    “Rea,” Jace finally broke the silence. “Hayden’s gone. He loved you so much, and I know he


    wouldn’t want you to hurt like this.”


    Hearing those words-“he loved you so much“-felt like a knife to my chest. My tears came before I


    could stop them, spilling over, unstoppable


    Yes, he loved me so much. But I hadn’t truly understood how much until Yara told me the truth. And


    maybe, if this was how it was going to end, she shouldn’t have told me why Hayden broke up me.


    Maybe if I hadn’t known, I wouldn’t be breaking like this.


    with


    “Rea,” Steve said gently, his voice heavy with sadness. “Deathes for all of us eventually.


    Hayden just left a little earlier than the rest of us


    They were trying to help, but none of their words could ease the pain. They didn’t get it. They


    couldn’t. I shut my eyes, taking a shaky breath. My voice was barely a whisper. “Where is he now?”


    I didn’t want to cry anymore. Didn’t want to scream. I just needed to see him, to be near him. Just a


    little longer “Quietly