Page 60 of Only You

‘Hey, hey, hey.’ The man grabbed Demir’s jacket, and the ex-boxer twisted his wrist and pushed his arm away.

The man let out a chilling laugh as he cradled his wrist. ‘Ah, still got the fire. That’s good ’cause my pockets been a little thin since you left.

Bets ain’t coming through like they used to.

Can you spare a dollar? I mean you wouldn’t mind, right, champ? ’

‘Get out of the way,’ Demir warned, his hands clenching into fists.

‘Come on, brother. Just a dollar! Or maybe your dame can spare some time—’

Demir struck him, and the guy fell right to the ground.

Unfortunately, his friends didn’t take that as a cue to leave.

Demir put his hands up, dodging their wild blows.

He fell right back into the mind of a fighter, no longer in an alleyway with a couple pissed-off fans.

He was in the ring and his opponent was no match for him.

It took nothing more than a couple jabs to knock them out.

It was quick and instinctive, the mindset to strike first and worry later slipping on like an old coat.

He was barely breathing hard by the time he realised it was over.

He stared at the men groaning on the ground, uncomfortable with how easy it was to fall back into his old role.

He should have looked behind him.

A scream pierced the air as pain erupted through his head as he felt something heavy meet his temple.

He fell forward, unable to stop the world from spinning even as he met the ground.

He tried to open his mouth to yell out in pain, but no sound came out.

The edges of his vision blurred as someone came outside.

He could vaguely make out someone else yelling.

He blinked, and Haze stood over him, Selene bending down to cradle his head.

They kept asking questions, but he couldn’t answer. He suddenly wanted to sleep.

Close your eyes.

The words were crystal clear in his head along with an image of a woman, tired and resigned, holding a hand over her side, blood seeping through her dress. It left just as quickly as it came but, all the same, he listened.

The chaos surrounding Selene was a distant echo as she cradled her coat to the back of Demir’s head, trying to stop the bleeding, watching his eyes drift close.

Her mind scrambled trying to remember how to treat head trauma while blood started to drip from his nose, his chest stilling.

Her hands shook as she checked his pulse.

It was slow, too faint to mean anything good.

‘No,’ she whispered, before looking around.

‘Help! Someone, help me!’ She looked back down to see his blood dying the snow red.

She tried to turn him over, her heels slipping in the snow as she positioned his chest against the ground, his head to the side.

Dread filled her but she did her best to ignore it as she positioned his head over his hands and started applying pressure to his back, a resuscitation method she learned from one of her professors who was a field army nurse.

She knew if she could get breath back into his body, he would have a chance.

So, she didn’t look at the wound on the back of his head or how the blood seeped more and more into the top of his coat. She just kept pushing, hoping to hear him take a breath over Haze’s yelling at the end of the alley or her own sobs. She just needed one breath. Just one…

‘Sabine,’ Nora called gently from over her shoulder. She shook her head, not stopping until a pair of arms pulled her away.

‘Get off of me!’

‘Sabine, he’s gone,’ Nora said, her voice cracking. ‘He’s gone. You have to stop.’

Sabine shook her head, but there was too much blood, and he wasn’t moving. Yet, she still shook Nora off her to grab his wrist. She searched for a pulse. There was none to be found.

She couldn’t contain her anguished cry as she collapsed over him, gripping his coat tightly.

He was strong, too strong to be gone like this.

He didn’t deserve this. After everything…

how could this happen? She cried futilely onto his shoulder, the snow falling over them.

If felt like the cold had seeped into her skin, down to her bones as she felt his body grow colder.

She didn’t move, couldn’t let go of him.

Let the snow bury me , she thought, this is all my fault .

Sirens filled the air, and she looked up for the first time since Demir fell.

It felt like everything came into focus as she heard them get closer.

Suddenly, she remembered that Jack would be back from the fight by now, wondering where she was.

Fear pierced through the numbness, and she looked down; she was covered in Demir’s blood.

If she got held up by the cops, she wouldn’t get home before morning.

‘I’m not supposed to be here,’ she gasped. She looked around in panic, catching Nora’s eyes as she tried to figure out what to do. The dancer quickly shrugged off her jacket.

‘Put this on.’ She threw the jacket and Selene scrambled to catch it.

‘W–What are you doing?’

‘That man hit Demir, right?’ Selene froze at the question, her brain trying to catch up to what was happening. ‘Selene, focus! Did that man do this?’ Nora pointed to the drunk from earlier that Haze had pinned against the wall. Selene nodded. ‘With what?’

‘A brick,’ she answered.

‘Okay. Demir got hit with a brick by that man and…’ Nora closed her eyes for a moment and swallowed. When she opened her eyes, they were piercing. ‘Me and Haze will explain everything to the cops. Go. Now! ’

Nora left no room for discussion as she pushed Selene away from Demir’s body. Selene opened her mouth to protest but the sirens were close, only blocks away. She scrambled to her feet, throwing Nora’s coat over her ruined dress as she ran the opposite way.

She practically sprinted through the streets towards Jack’s apartment, her heartbeat spiking every time she almost slipped on the ice under her feet.

She didn’t look at anyone nor did she slow down, ignoring the shouts of people when she bumped into them.

Her legs were burning by the time she got to the back entrance.

She fumbled with her keys, the chill from the night following her as she rushed to Jack’s apartment.

She didn’t dare take a deep breath until she reached the apartment door.

Only when her hands stopped trembling did she open the door as quietly as possible.

She stepped inside cautiously, taking her shoes off so as not to make any unnecessary sound.

Her steps were silent as she eased towards the bedroom.

The door was open, and she could make out the soft sound of Jack’s snoring.

Relief almost made her collapse, but she forced herself to keep standing.

She quietly opened the linen closet and grabbed a towel.

She hoped the closed bathroom door muffled most of the sound of her filling the bathtub, having no energy to explain anything to Jack if he woke up.

Her arms were already stiff as she stuffed her ruined dress and Nora’s jacket at the very bottom of their laundry basket, knowing Jack wouldn’t look there.

She couldn’t tell if the water was warm or not as she slipped into it. Everything felt cold and harrowing as if it were snowing inside. Images of Demir filled her brain as she scrubbed the blood from her skin.

Demir performing with all the confidence he carried in and out the ring as he bared his truth.

Him lifting her chin, longing and promise shining in his eyes.

Him falling only moments later.

The blood rushing out of his head.

His limp wrist in her hand as she checked for a pulse.

Tears streamed down her face as she looked at the door, making sure it was locked. Once she was sure, she slid down until her head was fully submerged. Only then did she scream.