Last Whispers

I never thought happiness would be a feeling I experienced when I died, but in this moment, it was all I felt. I'd expected to feel cold as the life fleeted from my body. Instead I was met with the warmth of a lover's embrace. Any pain I felt from the knife logged in my abdomen had slipped away, now replaced with the pressure of Grayson's desperate hands. His effort to save me was admirable, but foolish all the same. It was time for goodbyes.

"Grayson ," I whispered faintly. "You can't save me." Gently I rested my hand upon his. His eyes wouldn't meet mine. Instead I saw the despair that was apparent on his face. I pressed my palm firmly against his white knuckles, urging him to look at me. "Please, you've done all you can."

Stubbornly he shook his head and stammered, "No. I-I can still save you. You'll be okay." I could see tears pooling in his eyes. Once in a while one would spill over and cascade down his cheeks, drip from his chin and mix with the blood staining my shirt. "I can..." His words died away before they could reach my ears.

Using more effort than I thought I'd need to, I cupped my fingers below Grayson's chin and tilted his head up to face me. He wore the expression of a broken man. One that had lost everything. The expression shattered my heart to pieces, and tears started to pour over my own lashes. "You've done more than enough for me. You don't need to save me." Grayson broke eye contact, returning his concentration to my wound. "Stop, Please. I don't want to be saved. I just want to be with you." As my words settled in his mind, Grayson's eyes began to soften. Once more our gazes met, and I could see the realization form across his sullen face. He'd now accepted the same fact I had the second the knife pierced my skin. Death was taking me, and there was no way to stop him.

Gingerly, Grayson removed his hands from the knife in my stomach and wrapped them around my shoulders, pulling me into him. "This isn't how it's supposed to work," Grayson's voice quivered as he whispered into my hair. "You aren't supposed to be the one to save me." I leaned my head into his chest, closing my eyes and welcoming his warmth. "You shouldn't have to die to protect me."

"It's okay," I said with a smile. "You're worth it." Slowly, my limbs began to feel weaker, strength leaving me with every passing second. For a brief moment, fear sunk into my bones. I was dying, and I was afraid. So I focused my attention to the feeling of Grayson's strong arms enveloping me. His heat seeping through his clothes and melting every part of me.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you, Ava." Grayson's whisper was barely audible. I opened my eyes and locked them with the pair that had been peering down at me.

"Don't apologize, Gray." My voice sounded frail and shaky, an accurate representation of how I had felt. "To die in the arms of the man I love is more than I could ever ask for."

No longer able to keep them open, my eyes fell shut. I breathed him in and sighed in relief. Softly, Grayson's lips had been pressed to my forehead. It was the last thing I felt before.....