Chapter 65 - Ethan
Ethan
“No—no, no—Ava—”
She folds in my arms.
All at once.
Like something just… let go.
I catch her before she hits the floor, pulling her tight against me.
Too light.
Too still.
“Ava—hey—stay with me—HEY—”
Nothing.
Her head falls back against my arm.
Her skin is pale.
Too pale.
My fingers find her neck—
Pulse.
There.
Faint.
Weak.
“Jonah!” I snap. “Tell me that worked!”
Silence.
Keys hammering.
Fast.
Too fast.
“I—I don’t know yet!”
Not good enough.
Not even close.
“Ava—” My voice drops, rough. “You don’t get to check out on me now.”
I pull her closer, one hand braced at her back, the other gripping her shoulder like I can anchor her here by force.
“You hear me? You stay—”
A sound cuts through.
Low.
Mechanical.
The system.
Screens flicker—
glitch—
then snap into place.
Jonah sucks in a breath.
“Wait—hold on—”
Hope hits sharp.
“What?”
“It’s… working.”
Everything in me goes still.
“What do you mean working?”
“The override—she did it,” he says, voice climbing. “Failsafe’s breaking—system’s collapsing—”
Relief slams into me—
hard—
but it doesn’t stick.
Not yet.
Not until—
“Ava,” I whisper, pressing my forehead to hers. “You hear that? You did it.”
Nothing.
Her breath is there.
Barely.
But she doesn’t move.
Doesn’t fight.
Come on.
“You don’t get to save yourself and then leave,” I say, voice cracking. “That’s not how this works.”
Still nothing.
My chest tightens.
Worse than before.
Because this time—
she’s not pushing back.