Eric couldn't take it anymore.
Justin's screams.
Amber stabbing herself.
The blood.
The guilt.
His body moved before his mind did.
He ran.
Sprinting straight toward Justin's room.
He banged on the door with both fists, voice breaking apart:
Eric:
"Justin! JUSTIN! Open the door—please—PLEASE!!"
Inside, Justin groaned through the pain, exhausted and furious.
The knocking wouldn't stop.
The pounding felt like needles in his skull.
Finally—
he yanked the door open.
Justin stood there, drenched in sweat, eyes wild, marks glowing, breathing sharp.
Justin:
"…what."
His voice was empty.
Drained.
Cold.
But Eric didn't move.
He couldn't.
He just stared at Justin with helpless, apologetic eyes.
At that exact moment—
Jonathan stopped kissing Amber.
Justin's silence reached them.
Everyone turned toward Amber and Jonathan—
And froze.
Amber was drenched in her own blood.
It covered her clothes.
Her arms.
Her hands.
Pooling on the floor beneath her.
Jonathan still held her like he was afraid she'd disappear.
One hand on her neck.
One on her waist.
His palms stained red.
Everyone's breath hitched.
Even Mrs. Devus stepped back in shock.
Jonathan's voice cracked as he looked at Amber—
pleading, terrified, furious.
Jonathan:
"Amber… what the hell are you doing…?"
Amber lifted her eyes slowly.
Her smile wasn't a smile—
just a broken curve on a dying face.
Amber:
"…🙂"
That small expression shattered something inside him.
Jonathan's voice exploded.
Jonathan:
"SAY IT!!"
It was the first time—
the very first time—
he had ever raised his voice at her.
Amber's eyes trembled.
Her voice cracked—
barely a whisper.
Amber:
"…aren't you all…
tired of me being alive…?"
Everyone froze.
Jonathan's grip tightened.
Then quietly—
Amber:
"…so I thought… maybe I should jus—"
SLAP.
A harsh, ringing slap cracked through the hall.
Mrs. Devus was the one who did it.
Amber's face turned, blood splattering onto the floor.
Mrs. Devus shook with rage.
Mrs. Devus:
"If you die—
WHAT WILL MY SON AND GRANDSON DO?!"
Amber held her cheek, but her expression didn't change.
Just lifelessness.
Just that empty smile.
Amber:
"…please, Mrs. Devus.
You don't have to pretend.
I know you don't like me.
I know you want me to—"
SLAP.
Harder this time.
Amber stumbled.
Mrs. Devus grabbed her face with shaking hands.
Mrs. Devus:
"Yes.
I don't want you in my son's life."
Silence.
Not even breathing could be heard.
Then she continued—
Mrs. Devus:
"But that does NOT mean
I want you DEAD."
Amber's eyes widened slightly—
not in fear.
In disbelief.
Mrs. Devus glared at her.
Mrs. Devus:
"I may hate you.
But my grandson LOVES you.
And my son LOVES you even more.
If anything happens to you…
what do you expect us to do?"
Amber looked away.
Amber:
"…don't act, Mrs. Devus.
Don't pity me."
Her voice was shaking.
Her knees buckled slightly.
Her blood dripped faster.
But she still forced that empty smile.
Amber:
"I know what I am.
And I know none of you want me—"
Jonathan grabbed her face and forced her to look at him.
His voice trembled with anger and heartbreak.
Jonathan:
"STOP SAYING THAT."
Amber blinked, stunned.
Jonathan's eyes were red—
wet—
broken.
He wasn't angry at her.
He was angry that she believed that.
Mrs. Devus looked away, wiping a tear stubbornly.
The children couldn't breathe.
Megan covered her mouth, crying silently.
Eric…
Eric stared at Amber as if seeing her for the first time—
bleeding, fragile, self-sacrificing.
And Justin stood in the doorway behind him, watching everything.
Watching the woman he thought abandoned him—
stabbing herself
because he screamed.
bleeding
because he hurt.
breaking
because of him.
His heart twisted painfully.
His voice was a whisper.
Justin:
"…mom…"
Amber didn't hear it.
But everyone else did.
And it shattered them.
---continue