Page 157 of Eternal

DAMIR

“Let Down” by Mack Lorén

Present

S he wasn’t answering.

Not texts, not calls. Nothing.

And maybe most people would give it a few hours, chalk it up to being busy, or stubborn, or pissed, but my heart had this pressure on it, like it knew, like it was already preparing to shatter.

So I tracked her.

She’d never turn the location off, not for me, and it led me to a property I didn’t recognize, some oversized estate on the edge of nowhere, fireworks going off in the distance, laughter bleeding out into the sky.

The main house was full. Loud . People dressed nicely, but she wasn’t there, I knew that immediately.

I followed the signal, out back, around the side, a dependency, shut tight, the kind of place you wouldn’t even glance at if you didn’t know.

I pushed it, quietly and fast, there were bodies, two men, armed, shot clean… They were still warm.

And that’s when I saw it, the bullets, matte black casings, custom, engraved with a faint iris etched on the rim.

Hers.

I moved faster, heart punching my ribs, and found a door half-cracked open.

Inside, chaos, a desk overturned, albums everywhere, blood. So much blood.

And her.

At first, she was standing. I swear to God, she was still standing… back to me, shoulders heaving, clutching something like she was trying to finish a job.

And I smiled. Relief, stupid , fleeting relief, because if she was on her feet, she was okay. Right ?

Then she turned.

And the smile fell clean off my face, her hand was pressed to her stomach, the gloves I gave her were soaked through, a pool of red was spreading at her feet.

And then she collapsed.

My body moved before my mind could process it. I was running, shouting her name, dropping to my knees before she hit the ground. I caught her barely, enough to stop her head from hitting the tile.

“Hey…HEY! Stay with me,” I gasped, voice cracking, already shaking her gently. “Look at me, partner. Look at me.”

She was so pale, she blinked slowly, eyes unfocused, blood on her lips, albums still clutched in one arm like she refused to let them go.

“ Damir… ” she whispered.

And my whole world broke apart.

She’s bleeding too fast. I’m holding her face in my hands, desperate, my fingers smeared with her blood.

“Baby…no, no, no. Breathe, okay? Look at me.”

“What happened, Azra… What the fuck happened?”

She shows the albums around her, “A little boy… He didn’t mean to shoot me… He was scared… really scared .” Her lips part, a trembling breath escaping. “I found them,” she whispers, her voice cracked, eyes glassy. “The photos. The proof. It’s all there, please, take them, finish it.”

I shake my head, throat tight. “You're going to finish it. We’ll do it together. You need to hold on.”

She laughs, weak and shaking, tears trailing down her temple. “You’re so stubborn. I’m losing too much blood…”

I press my hand harder against her side, but it’s no use. It’s all coming out.

She’s slipping through my hands.

“I had a surprise for you,” I choke out, trying to keep her awake. “You can’t go. Not yet. You didn’t even see it.”

Her eyes flutter. “A surprise?”

I nod, swallowing down the sob that wants to rip through me. “Yeah. Please keep talking. Just keep talking like that. I’ll move you, I’ll …” But I stopped, I can’t move her, I see it in her eyes, the way her chest stutters when I even shift my arm under her.

I can see it in the way the pool of blood is forming beneath us.

So much of it…

If I move her, I’ll kill her faster.

“I’ll call someone,” I whisper. “I don’t care, I'll call an ambulance.”

She coughs, and a spray of red hits her lip. “You can’t call anyone. You know that.” Her hand, shaking, touches my face. “Tell me about… tell me. Please. I need to know.”

I can barely breathe. “I bought us a house.”

Her eyes widened just a little. “Blue walls,” I whisper. “The living room has shelves for your vinyls and cassettes… I built them myself. There’s a swing in the backyard, an iris garden in the front.”

She starts crying, quietly, the kind of cry that says this was all I ever wanted.

“I drew stars next to the ceiling window in our room. So even when we’re inside, you can still look up.”

Her body shakes as a sob escapes her lips. “It sounds perfect.”

I run my thumb across her cheek, her blood’s on her chin, in her hair. She’s trembling so hard.

“I was so stupid,” she says softly. “So scared. But you, you made it better, you made it all feel worth it.”

Her eyes flutter again, her breath catches. She coughs again, harder, blood on her lips now.

“Tell Kat…” her voice breaks, “tell Kat and Vik... I really wanted to see them tomorrow. They’re gonna be so mad at me.” Her shoulders tremble. “And the dogs... they’ll look for me. And... Zanae. I told her I’d call next week.”

“You will, you’re not done.”

“I don’t wanna leave you.” She’s crying. “But I’m so tired, Damir.”

“Don’t say that. Stay with me, come on, partner, look at me.”

She nods, weak. Her hand in mine, barely moving.

“Thank you for the gloves,” she says, barely a whisper now. “They kept me warm, they always reminded me of you.” Her lips twitch in a soft smile. “I ruined them... I'm sorry.” She lifts her hand weakly and looks at them, soaked in red.

I lean down, press my lips to her forehead, my own tears falling onto her skin. “No, baby. It’s okay. I’ll buy you another pair, ten others if you want.”

She smiles, a soft, trembling thing, her chest rattles with a shallow breath, her bloodied hand lifts slowly, reaching for my cheek as if she needs a small kiss, reassurance, anything.

I lean forward, brushing my lips against hers, soft and slow. She’s barely moving, but I feel it, her presence, then she whispers, smiling, “I…” Her voice catches. Her lips try to say it. “I lo?—”

My voice cracks. “Don’t go. Please don’t leave me.”

Her body sags into his arms. And then nothing, no breath, no sound.

Just her eyes, still open, still searching the ceiling for stars.

I gather her up carefully, cradling her fragile body as if holding her close could mend what’s breaking inside me. I pull her into me. “ Partner … partner wake up.”

And still, she doesn’t move.

“You can’t go… I promised you we were eternal.”

She’s so light in my arms, she’s so light I hate it. I cradle her. She’s not breathing anymore, she’s not breathing. Azra is not breathing.

No. No, not like this.

She’s warm, still warm… She can’t be gone.

Not today, not when I was finally gonna give her something good.

She was mine. She was mine . I was supposed to have her forever. But all I have is her blood on my hands, her name breaking inside me.

I can’t breathe, I can’t think, I just want to go back. One second. One fucking second.

I was gonna build her a home, and now… now all I’ve got is a body, and a war.

I lay her gently on the bed, press a final kiss to her forehead, and carefully slide my jacket under her head, then I stand.

Her fingers are limp in mine, the glove is all red, but I bring it to my lips, kiss the iris I stitched there.

There’s something wrong in my chest, something tearing, not sharp, not fast, but wide. Like a crack through everything I ever believed I could have.

I thought I knew heartbreak, I thought I’d buried enough to survive anything.

We were almost there, a house, a garden, her music. My hands on her waist every morning. She would’ve made it beautiful. She would’ve made it real.

Her lips are still parted like she has one more thing to say.

I smooth the hair from her face, and press my forehead to hers, and my voice breaks.

“ I love you .” I choke on the words. “I will never forgive myself for not letting you know it. Okay, partner?” My fingers tremble where they hold her hand.

“ I love you. I love you. I love you and it’s eternal . ”

The word cracks in my mouth. Eternal.

“I’m coming back,” I murmured one last time, and then I left.