Adelaide was frozen in place as she watched the knife go through DogNut's side, the mother screaming with laughter the whole time as if it was some kind of sick and twisted game. Throwing her backpack away, she gripped her knives as she felt her heart break into a million pieces.

No.

No, god please no.

Don't do this to me, please don't.

Not now, not ever.

Through her tears, she sprinted as fast as she could towards the pair, her pair of throwing knives in her hands. She screamed at the mother as she shoved both knives into the sides of her head, causing the mother to release DogNut and fall to the ground dead.

DogNut fell to his knees and to the floor, Adelaide holding him in her arms. Even through her shaking hands and her racing mind, she knew vaguely what to do. She quickly removed his jacket and his armour and applied pressure to his wound, ignoring her hands now being coated in blood. She took a shaky breath as tears dropped down her cheeks, keeping her hands over his wound. "You're okay, you're okay, I'm here. You're gonna be fine, I promise."

"Thanks, princess." He whispered, forcibly trying to keep his eyes open and focus on her voice, knowing he needed to stay conscious for as long as possible. But somewhere inside of him knew that he was dying, there was no avoiding it. But at least he died a hero, protecting the girl he loved.

Adelaide forced back her tears and licked her lips, beginning to speak. "I love you, Jacob. I really do; when you saved my life when we first met, that was when I realised you were the most beautiful person I had ever seen. And when you came to find me, that was when I realised how in love with you I was and I never wanted to let you go. I'm so grateful for you, Jacob. You reminded me that there are good people left in this world and I cannot tell you how thankful I am for your love."

DogNut frowned a little, his eyebrows fusing together in confusion. "Why'd you tell me that?"

Adelaide shrugged her shoulders, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. "I don't know, I guess trauma turns me into an emotional wreck and I blurt out whatever secrets or things I've never told anyone else."

She looked around the park, hoping she would see Jackson running down the road towards them with help but Adelaide already knew the truth. Nobody was going to come and help them, they were completely alone now.

Even with Adelaide applying pressure to DogNut's wound, it wouldn't be enough to save his life. She needed proper medical supplies and she didn't have anything with her. She knew he was dying, but there was one more thing she needed to say to him before he died. She'd thought of it for over a year and hoped she would never have to say it, but now her worst nightmare had come true and now she had to tell him.

Through her shaking voice and her sobbing, she somehow managed to get the words out. "Listen to me, you are going to beat this world. You're gonna get out of here, you're gonna go on and we're gonna make lots of babies, and you're gonna watch them grow. You're gonna die an old man warm in his bed, not here, not this night. Not like this, do you understand me? I won't let that happen."

DogNut smiled through the pain, chuckling a little. "Did you just quote Titanic at me?"

Adelaide chuckled through her tears, nodding her head. "You quoted Terminator the first time we met; I felt like it was only fair that I got to quote a movie line back to you."

DogNut reached up to gently place a hand on Adelaide's cheek, wiping away her tears with his thumb. "So beautiful," he whispered before his hand dropped and he died in Adelaide's arms.

A single tear fell down Adelaide's cheek before her eyes closed, resting her head on his chest. She couldn't hold it back anymore, she let out a loud scream into DogNut's chest, her arms clutching his body. "Come back to me, babe. Please come back," she brought her face back up to his, a hand cupping DogNut's face gently.

She knew he wasn't coming back, he was gone now. And she was left to pick up the pieces, and deal with the loss of him on her own. She'd failed to do the one thing she'd wanted to do from the start; protect him and keep him safe.

Adelaide pressed a kiss to his lips, resting her forehead against his for a moment before looking back up to see more grown-ups coming towards her but they were blurred to her, and she felt herself lose grip on reality. She couldn't tell if it was from exhaustion or just the shock of DogNut's death but she promptly collapsed to the ground beside DogNut, almost appearing to be dead. The last Brooke saw of Adelaide as she was carried away after being rescued by the Holloway crew was her seemingly lifeless body lying beside DogNut, coated in blood with her eyes closed. Then Brooke's world went black.

Note

#SorryNotSorry

You guys knew this was coming, but it still hurt like a mother fucker. But the story isn't over yet, guys! Adelaide's story still hasn't been completed and although DogNut isn't in it, he'll still play an important part in it, you guys will just have to trust me.

If you want your feels hurt even more; I wrote an AU to this called Without Each Other, it's up on my profile now and I hope you'll like it – I know I've already killed Esme with it so I know it's painful. Extra brownie points for you if you notice the parallels between this chapter and that story, by the way.

Until next time;

Lorna.