Chapter 70

Hugo was counting his breaths but each breath felt like a battle to stay alive and they were getting weaker and weaker. He looked at Iris and said “Iris the streets are no longer a safe place for you. Not with Campani looking for you. You need to leave. Just... please go!”

“Please don't say things like that! I cannot just walk away and leave you here to die!” I pushed my hands firmly against the wound on his body desperately trying to stop the blood that was pouring out of him. However, no matter how hard I tried my efforts seemed pointless. It felt as if I was throwing small pebbles into a powerful crashing wave and they were having no effect at all.

“Please believe me when I say that this is the better option for us right now“ he managed to say his voice thick with emotion as he spoke. A small pained smile appeared for just a moment on his face which was marked with streaks of blood.

But then that smile faded away leaving behind a quietness that filled me with a deep sense of fear. “You are stronger than you realize even if you don't see it. I just need you to have faith in my words and trust me.”

With my hands shaking and filled with anxiety I reached into his pockets almost unable to see what I was doing. My fingers soon found the shiny car keys that were lying against the inside of his clothing. “I-I’m going to get help, “ I said in a quiet voice that trembled heavy with sadness as I looked into his eyes which were losing their brightness. “You’re going to be okay I promise you that!”

His head was shaking lightly against the cold ground and a faint painful breath came out of him mixing with the cold air that surrounded us. With difficulty, he looked at me and said “Iris… please promise me that you will run away. You need to get back to Raf. When you see him you have to tell him everything that happened here…” His request felt very urgent and full of desperation and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to fulfill it.

“What should I tell him?” My voice was heavy with fear full of layers of sadness that felt like waves crashing violently against a weak shoreline. “He believes that I—”

A sudden gurgling cough interrupted my frantic and worried thoughts making me lose my train of reasoning. At that very moment, I noticed that Hugo's eyes seemed to lose all their sharpness and clarity. The fire of defiance and determination that had once shone brightly in his gaze was now completely gone replaced by a dull emptiness. “Iris please…” he spoke but his voice was weak and faint barely a whisper. It was as if the strength he had was fading away slowly much like the last glowing embers of a fire that is almost completely extinguished.

“Please don’t go away and leave me all alone!” I cried out tears streaming down my face. I could feel the warmth of his blood slowly soaking into my shaking fingers a painful reminder of just how delicate life is. “Hugo you are the only person I have—”

He was able to gather all of his strength to give me one last urgent look. The intensity of his gaze was so strong that it felt like it was reaching deep into my soul. With great desperation, he simply said one word “Go.”

And then in a heartbreaking moment, he became completely still and unresponsive.

I found myself blinking in disbelief completely frozen in shock as everything around me felt surreal. In that quiet moment, my heart felt like it was breaking into a million pieces and the weight of reality felt like an enormous wave crashing down on me unyielding and powerful.

Tears began to flow down my cheeks warm and relentless as I gently held Hugo’s head on my lap. A powerful wave of sadness overwhelmed me making it hard to think straight.

I whispered into the emptiness trying to make sense of it all “Why?” My voice was soft barely audible but it echoed in my mind as if the whole world had turned upside down. “Why did you have to leave us?”

The tires on his car made a loud crunch on the gravel breaking the quiet a scary reminder that danger was nearby. I took a shaky breath and stood up even though my heart felt like it was in pain. I needed to run.

I needed to get away—those thoughts rushed through my mind—but the thought of leaving Hugo behind the one person who had tried hard to help me broke me inside.

Even though I was sad I couldn't let Hugo down I couldn't let his sacrifice mean nothing. I rubbed the keys in my hand not sure where they would take me but I knew I had to hurry before Sam's friends got here and I lost my chance. The air felt heavy with hidden dangers but I told myself to stay focused.

In a moment of urgency fueled by a deep sense of desperation, I hurriedly ran towards the car. My hands were clumsy as I tried to unlock and open the door. Once inside I noticed that the inside of the car was dark and there was a mix of smells—one was a rich leather scent and the other was a faint trace of Hugo’s cologne.

That familiar smell hit me hard reminding me of the times we had spent together in the past making it feel like a ghost of those memories was still present. I then slid into the driver’s seat and felt my heart beating rapidly in my chest.

With shaky hands, I turned the keys in the ignition and the engine roared to life beneath me. The sound was suddenly very loud overpowering the silence that surrounded me and underscoring the feeling of deep sadness I was experiencing in that moment.

As I sat there with my hands clenching the steering wheel another thought took hold of my mind and wouldn’t let go. I softly whispered to myself “I can’t just drive away from this situation.” I could feel the tension in my body as different fears clashed inside me each one fighting for attention. Then I reminded myself “I can't leave now especially since Raf is in danger.”