Chapter 27 #2
Walking out I see my brothers, but I ignore them. I tuck her into my bed like she’s something sacred. She doesn’t fight it. She curls into the pillow, closes her eyes, and fades.
I sit beside her, watching her chest rise and fall. My brothers are here. Quiet. Present. The weight of what just happened is still thick in the air.
“What the hell was that?” Marco’s voice breaks the silence.
“She was ready to kill herself,” Milo says, like he still can’t believe it.
I swallow hard, still staring at her.
“She said they were going to kill her,” Marco mutters. “What the fuck does that mean?”
“I don’t know,” I whisper. My voice cracks. “But I believe her. She didn’t care what was going to happen to her.”
They don’t speak, they just sit in the room with me. Watching. Waiting.
My eyes never leave her. I almost lost her. I was ready to fall off that fucking cliff with her. And I’ll do it again in a second if it meant I can keep her safe, and I’ll burn the world down to keep her that way.
Aoife’s breathing is soft now, her body curled in my sweatshirt like she’s trying to disappear into it. Her damp hair clings to her temple, and every now and then her lip twitches like her mind’s still at the edge of that cliff.
The place she jumped.
Because of them.
Because of this fucking war.
Because we can’t be together.
My fingers drag through my wet hair; it’s like my body still hasn’t processed the fact that I almost lost her tonight. Not to a bullet or betrayal. But to herself.
I take a long drag of my cigarette, lean my head back, stare at the ceiling, and think about what the fuck my next move should be.
One thing I do know, she’s not dying.
“She’s asleep?” Rosa’s voice is barely above a whisper.
She stands at the edge of the bed now, her face unreadable as she watches Aoife.
Marco and Milo flank her, both of them have stayed quiet, faces hard with concern they aren’t used to showing.
The last time any of us were this worried about something was with Rosa.
I nod once. “She cried herself to sleep.”
Rosa moves closer, kneels beside the bed, brushing a stray tear off Aoife’s cheek with the back of her hand. “I know this look,” she says softly. “I wore it once.”
Silence swells between us. Heavy. Unbearable.
“Is she okay?” Milo finally asks.
I shake my head. “No. Not even close. She threw herself off a fucking cliff.” My voice is shredded, I still can’t believe it’s got so bad for her, she fucking did it. I look at them, the three people who’ve always had my back through hell and worse. “She said they planned her death.”
Marco curses under his breath. “This is more than just arranged marriage bullshit.”
“She wasn’t fucking bluffing.” I glance down at her again, hand resting lightly on her leg beneath the blanket. “And Conor? He’s in on it. The way she spoke, like she’s already counted the days she’s got left.”
No one speaks.
“She wasn’t just playing to see how I would react,” I whisper.
“She chose it. That moment on the cliff, she meant it.” I squeeze my eyes shut.
“I fucking let myself think I could stay away. After the last trial, I told myself to pull back, that we couldn’t have this.
But I ran like hell the second I thought she’d actually do it and when I grabbed her hand, when I saw her eyes… ”
“Matteo, you jumped to save her,” Marco says quietly. “If you’d missed her, you would’ve died. For her.”
Rosa walks toward me and lays a hand on my shoulder. “You love her.”
I laugh, dry and bitter. “I’m not allowed to love her. Father would kill me,” I whisper the last part. I sigh and sit on the edge of the bed again, glancing at the clock. “Trial starts in an hour.”
“Matteo…” Marco says, warning in his tone.
“I can’t do it. I’m supposed to be in a strategy simulation, sharing space with Conor. The bastard nearly killed her by doing nothing. I’ll kill him if I see him tonight.”
“But you have to go,” Rosa says softly.
A soft voice joins us from the bed. “You do.”
I turn; Aoife is awake. Her eyes are open, swollen, red, but clear.
Focused. She brings the sleeve to her face and wipes the tears away.
“You need to go,” she says, sitting up slowly.
“This trial isn’t just about you. They’ll be watching how you move.
What you say. If you back down now, it’ll show weakness, and the second you do that, they’ll use it against you. ”
“Little lamb…” I whisper. She reaches for my hand. I kneel beside her again, eyes locked. “How are you feeling?”
She shakes her head. “Like I don’t know who I am anymore.”
“You jumped off the fucking cliff, Aoife,” I say, voice shaking. “You have to talk to me. You have to—”
“I don’t know what this is between us,” she cuts me off gently. “But I know what’ll happen if it gets out. I might hate my family, but—”
“But nothing,” I growl.
“Matteo,” Milo warns, and I turn to face him. “She’s been through a lot, tone the voice down.” His glance moves to Aoife, and I nod.
“What do you want, Aoife?” I ask.
Her lip trembles. She looks like she might break all over again. “You. But I can’t have that.”
I press my forehead against hers. “You already have me.”
“No, no I don’t. We both know this can’t happen. We both know neither family will allow it. Hell, mine have everything planned for me, and yours—”
“We will figure it all out.” The clock clicks louder now. “Do you trust me?” I ask her, because before I do anything I need to know that I have her trust.
She looks in my eyes, not just at me, she’s looking at my soul.
“Yes.”
“Then trust me, I will think of something. But first I have to do this trial, and not kill your cousin.” I stand up, and go to face my brothers, but stop when Aoife grabs my hand.
“Please don’t tell Conor about… please.” Her plea hits me hard, and I nod. I have no idea how I’m supposed to keep my mouth shut, but something tells me if I tell him what happened on the roof, her family will take her home, and I won’t see her again, never mind save her.
Turning to my brothers, I order, “Don’t let her out of your sight until I get back.”
Marco nods. “We won’t.”
I walk to the door, and Milo follows. “This is going to be hard, but you have three wins. Just don’t kill him,” Milo jokes, and I smile the first smile which has hit me all night.
“I’ll try.” I walk away, wanting this trial to finish quickly.
But the first thing I need to work out is a fucking plan. There is only one way I get to win, but it’s also the one thing I’m the most fucking scared to do. Talking to Grandfather.