Hey Y'all! How's life?

K, I'm updating again! My writer's block is finally so gone that I can't keep up with all the ideas I'm getting. So have a chapter! Sorry it's short again.

Ok, I forgot to say this before, and I'm so ashamed of myself now. HUGE thank you to everyone who prayed for me. You don't know how much it helped. Really, I could feel the effects in my life, and everything started turning around for me then. I'm so blessed to have you guys as my friends! (Heart sign!) To TEAM SOPHIE and booksaremylife, and of course dear Smiles, who had me smiling and feeling encouraged.

And I'm sorry about them being engaged! But aside from it being cute, I really needed them to be kiss-eligible, (spoiler alert!) and you know my policy on relationships by now, I think.

Reviews:

TEAM SOPHIE: ...? Is that a good scream or a bad scream? Have I killed another reader?

KOTLC 1 Fan: Thank you! and Thank you! Luv you too!

themusicaddict: not cringy, then?

I've got to say, when I wrote that Tam and Linh scene, I totally fangirled waaay hard over my own writing. I know, I'm weird.

Chapter 37:

It was the wee hours of the morning, Kelse guessed, when they appeared on the streets of Mysterium, pale, trembling, blood-soaked, and laying on top of each other. She was thankful for the deserted streets and relative darkness.

"Are you ok?" Inwardly, Kelse winced when she heard herself.

Dex let out a pained, not completely humorless laugh. "Sadly, I would say yes. Funny, isn't it. What does it mean when a near death experience leaves you less than rattled?"

It was funny, even though it seemed perversely so. Kelse doubted either of them weren't rattled, however. "Can you walk?" she asked.

Dex looked doubtful, but motioned for her to stand, then grabbed her arm to steady himself as he hauled himself into a sitting position, then to his knees. He gasped.

"Just dizzy," he explained when she shot him a worried look, but it was obvious that wasn't all.

"Just… take it easy," she fretted.

The stains on his shirt got darker as he finally made it to a standing position, and he wavered on his feet, but Kelse twisted her arm in his hand so she could grasp his elbow. His breath came in short, wheezing pants.

When they were collected, they started down the street toward Slurps and Burps. It was many blocks' walk, and they were moving slowly. Kelse started going crazy between concentrating on keeping Dex upright and listening to her racing heart and his labored breathing.

After a while, they had to stop so Dex could catch his breath. They leaned against a wall.

"You know I love you, right?" he said suddenly.

Kelse felt as if a sledgehammer dropped in her stomach. She and Dex knew, of course, how they felt about each other, but they didn't talk about it. They were both awkward dorks, even she knew that, but it was more than that. They didn't need to say it, because their feelings were perfectly in sync. The fact that Dex was bringing it up now could only mean he thought he wasn't going to make it.

"Dex, don't-" she began, but Dex cut her off.

"Kelse. I'm not just scratched up this time. I'm not just burned. Look at me." He lifted his shirt just enough to show the old finger-shaped scar on his belly. It was dwarfed now by an oozing, bloody wound that extended under his shirt in every direction. Burnt, torn skin surrounded it, making Kelse want to be sick. "I'm not sorry I came to save you, either. I'd do it a thousand times over. But we have to realize there might not be any coming back from this one. And I don't want to leave you without you knowing exactly how much I love you. I know we haven't known each other that long, but I can't imagine caring more for anyone. I mean, maybe not even Sophie. Possibly. Or my parents." He looked a little sheepish as his honesty made him hedge on the last point.

Tears welled in Kelse's eyes. "Dex," she whispered. "I love you more than words, more than I've ever loved anyone in my life, save Danny and my Mother." She buried her face in his shoulder, in the least bloody spot she could find. She still felt wetness in her hair as he strained to put one arm around her, the other hanging limp and useless. She wrapped her arms oh-so-gently around him and tried not to give in to the wracking sobs fighting to break free. Somehow she controlled them, as she'd always done before.

"Don't leave me," she murmured. "Stay with me. Please."

"I'm so sorry," he wheezed. "I tried so hard to hold on for you." Dex squeezed her with his good hand.

"Dex no."

"I tried. I'm sorry." he repeated, slowly falling down the wall, his hand losing it's grip.

"I love you." The words were barely audible as he sank the last few inches to the ground and closed his eyes.

"NO!" Panic closed over Kelse's chest. She dropped to her knees and shook the boy, disregarding his injuries, but there was no response, not even a gasp of pain. They couldn't have gotten this far just to fail two blocks from safety, they couldn't!

Somehow, her panic gave way to a brief moment of clarity. Kelse remembered her watch. Quickly, she messaged Sophie, hoping desperately that the girl would hear. Then she crumpled beside Dex.

Time seemed to stand still. Somehow, though, the long wait finally ended. Just as dawn was starting to break in the sky, figures appeared running toward them. She recognized Sophie and Sandor, and she heard the others referred to as Grady and Edaline. The latter gasped when she saw them, but Kelse couldn't even get up the strength to open her eyes fully. She moaned just loud enough so they would hear, then succumbed to the grief and exhaustion that was overwhelming her, staying conscious just long enough to feel strong arms lift her. She strained to see Dex cradled safely in Sandor's arms, then let the world go black.