As they anticipated their last few hours alive, John and Mildred picked up Sarah, their sweet baby, even in death, and headed towards one of their favorite spots, hoping it still stood. Mildred sobbed the entire way, and John didn't blame her, wanting to sob his own rage out until the earth bled with it. When they sat down, Mildred leaned against him. "I know we're outliving her by a few hours but at least we're going together," she murmured.
John nodded, running a hand through her hair. His lips quirked up into a sad smile. "You're beautiful."
"Don't be sweet-talking me now, John Pruitt," she gently chided.
But he shook his head, not wanting to have any more regrets and needing her to know the full truth. "I love you so fucking much, you know that, right? I need you to know that, Mildred."
"I know," she assured him. "I love you too, John," she told him, sealing the confession with a kiss. "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned."
He let out a shaky, wet laugh. "I'd love to sin with you some more." But as much as they both wanted to, they knew they didn't have enough time (nor did they want to defile this place when Sarah was with them).
Mildred rolled his eyes and swatted his shoulder. "I cannot fucking believe you just said that to me. As pick up lines go, that's at the bottom." But she'd let him have this one, even as much as she wanted to fuck with him.
There was so much John wanted to tell her but he didn't know how to get the words out. How could he tell her that she was the love of his life? So was Sarah, the beautiful, perfect little girl they had created together. The grief was still so intense it was choking him but at least they didn't have to be without her for much longer. The loss of their daughter choked the air between them, clung to John and Mildred like dirt. But he needed to say something so he quickly settled on something less intense. "You and Sarah mean the world to me, and already said this to both of you, but I love my girls with every fiber of my being. I just wish we had more time, that I hadn't fucked this up so badly." He wished he could tell that self-righteous bitch Bev to fuck off but he took comfort in the fact that she was dying with the rest of them.
"John, don't be too hard on yourself. You are responsible for your own actions but you were manipulated by a demon and then Bev preyed on you." She didn't want either of them to have any regrets, and didn't want him to drown in his guilt. That wasn't healthy (nor did it really matter but she was past giving a fuck).
They watched as the sun started to rise, neither fearing their imminent deaths. "This is it. One last kiss for the road?"
"One last kiss for the road, John Pruitt. See you on the other side." Hopefully, the three of them would be able to reunite once this was over.
Mildred kissed John, and the two of them held their daughter and each other as death finally came for them.