All Mine

The taxi smelled like rubber and panic.

But all I could smell was her.

Serene.

Pressed beside me, fingers trembling in mine, breath hitching so quietly it didn't even make a sound.

I hated it.

Hated how quiet her pain was.

Because her silence was louder than a scream.

She wouldn't look at me. Just kept staring at the phone screen, her nails digging into the plastic like she could claw her way back in time and undo everything.

I watched her.

Watched every tiny tremble of her lashes, the way her bottom lip quivered like she was trying not to fall apart.

And it hurt.

It physically hurt.

Like someone was carving my ribs open with a rusted knife and shoving her grief inside.

"Serene," I said—too soft, too useless. "I'm here. I'm right here."

No answer.

Just the rain against the window. Just the way her knuckles turned white.

When we reached the hospital, she bolted out the second the taxi stopped. I followed—of course I did—my hand finding hers again even though she didn't even seem to notice.

Everything was too bright inside.

Fluorescent lights.

Cold white walls.

Sterile death.

A nurse pointed us down the hallway.

Then the doctor came.

And just like that—

Her world ended.

"I'm sorry," he said. "We… we did everything we could."

No.

No.

No no no no.

I didn't even hear the rest.

Because she fell.

Not metaphorically.

Literally.

Her knees gave out like someone cut the strings.

And I caught her.

Held her to me like if I just wrapped her tight enough, I could sew the broken pieces back together.

She was shaking so hard I thought her bones might shatter.

"No…" she whispered. "No, no, no—Papa… Mama—please—"

My throat burned.

Because they were gone.

My mama and papa too.

Not by blood—but by something deeper.

They were the only ones who took me in when I was just a bruised, silent kid who only ever wanted to sit beside Serene.

They fed me. Hugged me. Called me son.

But none of that pain compared to hers.

I clutched her tighter, burying her in my arms like I could hide her from the world.

"I've got you," I murmured into her hair. "I'm here. We're going to be alright. I swear, Serene."

My voice shook. But not because I was lying.

Because part of me believed it.

Believed that maybe—just maybe—this was the moment we'd been waiting for.

Because now…

Now she had no one else.

Just me.

No papa. No mama. No one between us anymore.

I hated that part of me.

That sick, twisted, rotten part that felt pleasure in the middle of all this pain.

But God—

I couldn't stop it.

Now, she's mine.

Completely.

Utterly.

Forever.

And it made my stomach twist with something that felt so wrong and so right all at once.

She sobbed into my shirt, and I stroked her back, whispering soft things I barely even registered.

But inside?

Inside I was smiling.

Not on my lips.

No.

In that darkest, deepest part of me.

The part she couldn't see.

The part even I pretended didn't exist.

Now you only have me, Serene.

Now I'm the only one left.

And I'll love you in a way no one else ever could.

Even if it breaks me.

Even if it breaks you.

Even if one day, it destroys everything.

And in that moment—standing in the cold hospital corridor, Serene trembling in my arms—I heard his words again.

Like he was whispering straight into my skull.

He's going to become a curse. One day, he'll hurt her.

A curse. That's all you'll ever be.

My jaw clenched.

No.

Not now.

Not when she needed me.

I buried it—deep—like I always did.

Like I'd bury him if he ever said that shit again.

---

The funeral came too fast.

The sky was the kind of gray that felt like a weight pressing down on the bones.

Serene stood beside me.

Pale.

Eyes swollen.

Red-rimmed and heavy, like she hadn't slept in days.

She held my hand so tightly it almost went numb.

I didn't say a word.

Didn't need to.

We'd always been like this. Breathing in sync. Hurting in sync.

And I'd hold her hand for the rest of her life if it meant I could keep her upright.

I hated seeing her like this.

So fragile.

So quiet.

It made something snap inside me.

And maybe that was the part Uncle Elias saw all those years ago.

After the caskets were lowered… after the prayers and pitying looks… after the last handfuls of dirt—

He came.

Uncle Elias.

Serene stiffened beside me.

I turned to face him, but his eyes slid right past me like I wasn't even there.

"Serene," he said, all somber-faced and soft-toned like he actually gave a shit. He handed her a thick envelope. "These are the property papers. Your parents left the house and a little savings in your name. This'll help with… studies. Expenses. Life."

He gave her a half-hug and turned to leave without another word.

Didn't look at me once.

Didn't have to.

Because his presence was a memory I couldn't scrub out of my skull.

Serene sniffled, holding the envelope close to her chest.

I reached for her hand again.

Grounded her.

Kept her tethered.

And as Elias walked away, something twisted in my chest like a red-hot blade.

If he ever tries to take her away from me—

I'll kill him.

The thought was sudden. Sharp. Final.

And terrifyingly… easy.

But I buried it. Smiled softly. Wiped the corner of her eye with my thumb.

"Let's get you something to eat, yeah?" I whispered. "You haven't eaten all day."

She nodded slowly, like she was moving through water.

I guided her out of the graveyard, shielding her from the world with my body, my voice, my everything.

And just as we were stepping past the police station nearby to grab some food—something stopped me.

Two officers by the open hallway were talking just outside the door.

I wouldn't have cared. Would've kept walking.

Until I heard one word.

"Brakes."

My steps slowed.

"Completely cut. Not an accident."

"We'll need to run it as a homicide investigation. Poor girl doesn't even know."

My breath caught.

Cold sweat slid down my spine.

Cut brakes?

Not an accident?

I couldn't move.

Couldn't breathe.

The world—my world—tilted sideways.

Someone… did this?

Murder?

I turned slowly, hand tightening around Serene's without even realizing it.

Who?

Who the fuck would—

Why would—

My heartbeat thundered in my ears.

Serene's voice was soft beside me, barely audible.

"Ilay? Is something wrong?"