THE CRASH

THE DEVIL'S PREY

CHAPTER FIFTY

AFTER THE CRASH

"When… are you coming back home?" she asked him.

Xavier tried to respond, but his tongue felt heavy, his breath uneven. The words wouldn't come out properly. He tried to say something but he was too weak to let out a word. He tried to focus on the driving but nothing was working at the moment for him.

"Xavier?" Her voice held a hint of concern now. "Are you okay?"

He forced himself to speak. "I… I'm… almost—"

A sharp pain stabbed through his side, making him groan involuntarily.

"Xavier?" Sarah's tone was sharper now, alarm creeping into it. "What's wrong? You don't sound—Xavier, talk to me!"

He opened his mouth, but his response came out slurred, barely understandable. His grip on the steering wheel loosened, his hands growing numb.

His eyelids felt so damn heavy.

"Xavier?!"