The Unforgiven Fiancé

Harrison told me he was going to propose in the haunted house. The second I stepped inside, the main breaker snapped. The heavy steel door slammed shut behind me.

A deadbolt clicked into place. The childhood memories of the kidnapping clawed their way out of the dark, dragging my claustrophobia to the surface.

The air in the room thinned out into nothing. Invisible hands wrapped around my throat. My knees hit the concrete floor.

I slammed my palms against the door, the impact sending shockwaves up my arms. I pressed my cheek against the cold metal. "Harrison. Open the door.

Please." A laugh drifted through the steel. Highpitched. "I can't believe she actually bought that April Fool's crap about a haunted house proposal. You won the bet.

I'm all yours tonight." The remaining heat left my body. The voice belonged to Piper, the streamer Harrison had been obsessing over for months. Ten years of my life.

Reduced to a punchline to get another woman into his bed. But when I actually died in that pitchblack room, why was he the one crying? Chapter 1 My heart gave out.

I lay on the freezing concrete, watching my own soul pull away from my flesh.

Outside the heavy steel door, Harrison leaned against the wall, a careless smirk on his face. "You're just too jumpy, Seraphina. Build some character in there.

Once you get over this stupid phobia, you can finally join Piper and me for some real extreme sports." He chuckled. I drifted beside him. A phantom wetness slid down my face.

He forgot about my heart condition. He forgot that the terror wouldn't just scare me. It would kill me.

Piper angled her phone to frame the two of them, her livestream already running.

She flashed a practiced, bright smile at the lens. "Meet my male guest for the day, guys." She leaned into his shoulder. "We made a little bet.

If he could trick his girlfriend—the one with the bad heart—into a haunted house for April Fool's… then I'm all his for the night." [Bro is savage.

Torturing the main chick for the side piece.

Big W.] [We getting an Rrated stream tonight or what?] Piper ducked her head, shooting Harrison a shy, upward glance through her lashes. "What are you guys talking about?" she whined to the chat. "It was just an April Fool's challenge.

I lost fair and square. Not like I can back out now." Harrison grabbed her waist.

He pulled her in and crashed his lips over hers. "No backing out." I stood inches away, watching them swallow each other's breaths.

My physical heart was a dead lump of muscle on a dirty floor, yet a violent, phantom spasm tore through my chest. Just two weeks ago, our parents had pressured us about a ring.

Harrison had dropped to one knee right in front of me, swearing he'd build a home for us soon. I dragged myself out of bed this morning thinking today was the day.

The boy next door, the one I'd loved since childhood, was finally going to give me the flowers, the applause, the forever. Instead, he gave me a prank that stopped my pulse.

Harrison tore his mouth away and glanced back at the heavy steel door. The air was dead quiet. My agonizing screams had long since faded.

He popped an eyebrow at Piper and flashed a thumbsup. "Your exposure therapy worked. She's not even making a peep anymore." Piper tilted her chin, soaking up the praise. "Duh.

She's probably loving the adrenaline rush by now." The chat started spamming requests, begging Piper to take them through a haunted house next.

Harrison smoothly plucked the phone from her hand, adjusting the camera angle to catch her best side. They started walking. An invisible tether yanked my soul right behind them.

I tried to veer off toward the exit, to get back to my body. I made it ten feet before the force snapped me right back to Harrison's side.

He laced his fingers through Piper's and pushed open the doors to the next attraction. A mechanical ghoul shrieked from the ceiling. Pure instinct kicked in.

I dove straight for Harrison's chest, seeking the shelter I'd known for a decade. My ethereal form sliced cleanly through his ribcage.

I stood on the other side of him, a bitter smile twisting my lips. Right. I was already a ghost. What was left to be scared of? I turned around.

Harrison's large hand was gently cupped over Piper's eyes, shielding her from the strobe lights. "You don't have to act tough in here," he murmured, his voice a low, protective rumble. "I've got you." [Thirdwheeling this stream hard rn.

Too sweet.] I hovered right behind his broad shoulders. I watched him grip her hand, angling his body to take the brunt of every popout scare.

There was a time when that broad back belonged to me. When those hands blocked out my nightmares. The phantom tears started falling again, silent and useless.

Harrison tanked every single jump scare from the actors, safely guiding Piper out the exit and into the daylight.

Piper playfully swatted his hand away, sticking out her bottom lip. "Do you baby your girlfriend like this, too?" I stared at the ground.

A slow, heavy shake of my head was my only answer. Chapter 2 The only time he ever truly cared for me was after the kidnapping.

I took a metal pipe to the leg so he could run, buying him time while they locked me in that pitchblack room.

When they finally pulled me out, he didn't leave my hospital bed for a week. But over the last seven years of dating? Nothing.

I'd catch a fever, and he'd be out downing shots with his boys. I got into a car wreck, and he called just to scream at me for ruining the bumper.

Even last year, when I went in for a heart transplant with a ten percent survival rate. I begged him to sit in the waiting room.

I was terrified I'd never open my eyes to see his face again. He never showed.

He was too busy throwing a birthday party for his ex. "No," Harrison had answered her earlier question, denying he babied me. Only then did Piper let him keep holding her hand.

The viewer count on her stream started to tank—nobody wanted to watch a couple just stroll around. Piper's eyes lit up.

She shook his arm, leaning her weight against him. "I heard you and your girlfriend are getting ready to tie the knot.

Take me to see the house you guys bought." I threw my arms out, planting myself right in front of him. "No!

My dad built that place with his bare hands!" Every single brick, every coat of paint—it was all my dad.

He blew out his lower back trying to give me the perfect bridal home, popping painkillers just to stand up straight. How the hell could Harrison let this girl trample over that?

I lunged at him, trying to shove his chest. My ghostly palms sliced right through his ribcage. He drove her straight to the house.

The viewer count on the stream doubled. [Holy shit, this is wild. Taking the side piece to the marital home? Bold.] [What are you talking about?

If he's taking Piper there, it proves she's the one he actually loves.] [True love wins.] Piper's eyes curved into crescents.

She leaned over the center console and planted a kiss on Harrison's jaw. "Exactly," she purred to the camera. "In a relationship, the one who isn't loved is the real third wheel.

Don't be too jealous, guys." A phantom tremor seized my limbs. I wanted to grab the steering wheel and rip it to the right, to send these two straight into a concrete barrier.

But my hands just phased through the leather. I could only stand there in dead silence as Harrison unlocked the front door.

Piper shoved past him, holding her phone high as she paraded into the living room. She ran her acrylic nails over the custom coffee table.

She threw herself onto the plush sofa. "So pretty." My dad had wired a custom projector into the ceiling. The second the lights flipped on, a galaxy of stars washed over the walls.

I threw myself at Harrison, screaming right into his ear. "Get her out! Get her the hell out of my house!" A sharp, violent shatter ripped through the room. I whipped around.

Piper stood by the display shelf, sticking her tongue out in a mock 'oops' expression. She pointed at the jagged pieces of ceramic scattered across the hardwood. "My bad.

I totally bumped it." All the air sucked out of the room. My knees hit the floorboards.

My transparent fingers shook as I clawed at the broken ceramic, trying to push the jagged edges back together. My mom made that doll with me and my dad.

It was the day before she died. She told me the doll would stay with me forever, so I'd never be alone. My throat closed up. Phantom tears choked me.

I hovered my hands over the shattered pieces, a silent, wretched sob tearing my chest wide open. Harrison barely glanced at the mess.

He grabbed a broom from the kitchen and casually swept my mother's last promise straight into the trash can. Click. The plastic lid shut. "No." He couldn't hear me.

And even if he could, he wouldn't care. I slumped against the baseboards, my vision hollowing out into nothing. I just wanted my soul to burn away completely.

I wanted to find my mom and beg for her forgiveness. I couldn't even protect the one thing she left me. A sharp, sudden ringtone sliced through the silence.

Chapter 3 Harrison glanced at the glowing screen. His spine went rigid.

He shot Piper a look, gesturing for her to mute the stream before hitting answer. "Mom, what's wrong?" His mother's panicked voice bled through the speaker. "Harrison, where are you and Seraphina?

Her dad just called me. He said her heart monitor watch sent out an SOS alert." I threw myself at the phone, screaming until my throat burned. "I'm locked in the haunted house!

He left me in the dark! Please, help me…" Harrison's head snapped in my direction. His brow furrowed.

His knuckles turned bonewhite around the phone as he forced his voice to stay level. "Mom, Seraphina is right here with me. We're on a date. Tell her dad to chill.

I've got her." A phantom blade twisted in my chest. I clawed at his collar, my ghostly fingers slipping right through the fabric. "Why are you lying?

Tell them!" I choked out. "My dad is going to lose his mind. I'm all he has left!" His mom started to say something else, but Piper hooked her arms around Harrison's neck.

She leaned in, her breath ghosting over his ear. "You're my boyfriend today. Keep talking about another woman, and I might just get jealous." Harrison killed the call.

He didn't even hesitate. Viewers flooded into the unmuted stream. [This is wild.] [Piper is a literal siren. The grip she has on him!] [Drop the masterclass, Piper.

I need a new man every day too.] Even with the phone dark, a muscle feathered in Harrison's jaw. He gave Piper a light pat on the hip and pulled up my contact. "Be a good girl.

I just need to call Seraphina and check. Her heart really is bad. I just want to make sure…" It rang exactly once.

Piper snatched the phone out of his grip and held down the power button. The screen went black. "No calls. You're mine today." She huffed. "Besides, she has hands, doesn't she?

If she's actually sick, she can call a freaking ambulance.

Why does she need to bother someone else's boyfriend?" Piper squared her shoulders, staring dead into the camera lens to drop some knowledge on her female viewers. "Listen up, girls.

If a chick calls your man instead of a doctor when she's sick? That's textbook pickme behavior.

When that happens, you make him turn off his phone and ice her out." I hovered in the dead air. A hollow laugh scraped its way up my throat.

Just last week, a vicious stomach ulcer flared up. Harrison had panicked, loading me into the passenger seat to rush me to the ER.

Halfway there, his phone lit up with a text from Piper. "Harrison, I slipped and cut my finger. It hurts so bad…" A photo loaded beneath the text.

Her manicured, perfectly intact finger, glistening with water droplets. Not a single drop of blood in sight. Harrison slammed on the brakes.

He pulled over to the curb and popped the locks. His brows pinched together as he ripped the steering wheel hard to the left, pulling a Uturn. "Piper cut her hand.

I need to go get her some BandAids. Grab an Uber to the hospital. You've dealt with this stuff for years, you're used to it. Piper is different. She's out here all by herself.

She needs me right now." It was 3:00 AM. The streets were dead. I dragged myself out of the car and collapsed on the concrete shoulder.

I don't know how long I laid there in the dirt before a stranger finally called an ambulance. By the time they wheeled me into surgery, my stomach lining had fully perforated.

Chapter 4 When I finally woke up in that hospital bed with a perforated stomach, I had screamed until my throat bled, begging to know if he even loved me anymore.

He dropped to his knees right there on the linoleum. He swore to God he’d never leave me behind again. A lie. I was always his last priority.

But staring at his face now, the anger just dissolved into dead air. I didn't care about his broken promises anymore. A different, sharper panic clawed at my chest. My dad.

When the cops finally opened that steel door and found my body, it was going to kill him. The chat recovered quickly from the interrupted phone call.

Comments flooded the screen, demanding a tour of the master bedroom. Harrison shifted his weight, hesitating by the doorframe, but Piper just tugged his sleeve and pouted.

He exhaled a sharp breath and pushed the door open. There, hanging in the center of the walkin closet, was the dress. My grandmother’s antique lace wedding gown.

The chat exploded. [Oh my god, is that handstitched?] [The pearl embroidery is insane. It looks like literal royalty.] Raw greed flashed in Piper's eyes.

She shoved her phone camera right up to the bodice, dragging her acrylic nails across the centuryold silk and beadwork. I screamed.

The sound tore out of me, raw and useless. "Get your filthy hands off of it!" That dress was my family's heirloom. From my grandmother, to my mother, to me.

My mom had held that lace in her fragile hands before she died, whispering that I’d be the most beautiful bride in the world.

I bit down on my spectral lip until phantom copper flooded my mouth. My transparent hands shook violently. I was nothing but air. I couldn't stop her.

Piper practically drooled over the fabric. She didn't just touch it—she ripped the silk hanger right off the rack. [Piper needs to try it on!] [Do a mock wedding on stream!

She'd look ten times better in it anyway.] Piper giggled, shooting a coy look at Harrison through her lashes. "Oh, stop it, guys. It's not mine.

I can't just try on someone else's wedding dress." Harrison stared at the lace. His Adam's apple bobbed hard.

A heavy silence settled over him, the muscles in his jaw ticking as if a sudden memory had just struck him.

Just days ago, I had told him I wanted him to be the one to zip me into that dress on our wedding day. To wear my family's blessing for him.

He reached out, his hand wrapping around Piper's wrist. "You can't wear that," he muttered, his voice tight. "She'll lose her mind." Piper froze.

Genuine shock painted her face—she wasn't used to hearing 'no' from him. The chat immediately rushed to her defense. [It's literally just a piece of fabric.

Why is he being so weird about it?] [Just let her put it on for the stream! Nobody's gonna know.] Piper's eyes pooled with practiced tears.

A single drop spilled over, landing dead center on Harrison's knuckles.

She bit her lower lip, trembling. "Harrison… I've just never seen anything so beautiful in my entire life." Her voice cracked perfectly. "I thought you liked me.

Don't you want to marry me someday?" Before he could answer, she shoved his chest. His knees hit the edge of the mattress, and he tumbled backward.

Piper crawled over him, her hands already pulling at the hem of her own shirt. Acid burned up my esophagus.

I dropped to my hands and knees beside the nightstand, dryheaving into the hardwood. I picked out that mattress. I washed those sheets with my own hands.

That was supposed to be our bed. Instead, Harrison's hands buried themselves in Piper's hair.

He pulled her down, his mouth crashing against hers in a feverish, hungry kiss, flipping her onto her back.

Digital gifts exploded across the phone screen, lighting up the room. [Put the dress on her! Put the dress on her!] [Rrated stream let's goooo!] Harrison didn't stop her.

He helped her into my mother's dress. His hands roamed over the antique silk, tracing the curve of her spine before his fingers dug into the back of her neck.

He pinned her to my sheets and swallowed her moan. The phantom tears finally dried up. The violent trembling stopped, leaving behind nothing but a freezing, mechanical hollowness.

I watched his hands desecrate the last piece of my family. Harrison. I swallowed a mouthful of ash. I wish I never loved you.

Chapter 5 Harrison held Piper’s hand as they walked through a mock wedding ceremony. They locked arms and downed intertwined glasses of champagne.

Following the chat’s endless cheering, Harrison scooped Piper up into his arms and dropped her onto the center of the master bed. Piper’s eyes flicked to the nightstand.

She stared right at the framed photo of Harrison and me. The corner of her mouth hooked up into a sharp smirk. A silent declaration that she had won.

That any man would drop to his knees for her. I dug my nails into my palms until the skin gave way.

I turned my back to the bed, forcing myself to block out the heavy, wet sound of their intertwined breathing.

Right before the sheets rustled further, the bedroom door flew open with a violent crash. His mom stood in the doorway.

All the blood drained from her face as she took in the halfnaked couple tangled on my sheets.

She stormed right through my ghost and delivered a vicious, openhanded slap across Harrison's cheek. The crack echoed off the walls. "You bastard!

Do you have any idea what's happened to Seraphina?!" A harsh red handprint bloomed across Harrison’s jaw. He shoved himself off the bed, swiping a thumb over his split lip.

He glared at his mother. "Mom, can you stop playing along with her act?" He scoffed. "What could possibly happen to her? She's a grown woman.

Can she not take care of herself for one damn day?" My ghostly form went rigid. All this time. To him, my trauma was nothing but a cheap, attentionseeking performance.

Phantom tears slid down my face. A dense, corrosive ache chewed through my chest cavity.

Ever since I nearly died buying him time to escape that kidnapping, my claustrophobia had controlled my life. His mom always felt Harrison owed me his life.

Growing up, the second I looked even slightly upset, she would lay into him, demanding to know if he’d bullied me again.

And every single time, I would panic and defend him, swearing it was my own fault. But to him, my desperate defense was just part of the show. I let out a dry, hollow laugh.

I wiped the wetness from my eyes. His mom shook with pure rage. Her gaze snapped past his shoulder, landing on Piper, who was still sprawled out on the mattress.

Piper's head rested right on top of my grandmother's antique gown. The handstitched silk was crumpled.

The beadwork was crushed, the delicate threads snapped and fraying in several places. His mom's eyes went bloodshot.

She lunged forward, raising her hand high to strike Piper. "You shameless homewrecker!

Do you not know my son is getting married to Seraphina?!" A sharp smack ripped through the air. His mom stared in disbelief. Her fingers trembled.

Harrison had stepped right in front of the bed, taking the slap straight to his shoulder to shield Piper. I stared at the floorboards. Harrison knew exactly how to protect a woman.

He’d throw his own body in the way to take the hit for the girl he actually loved. But me? I was just a burden he couldn't shake off.

Harrison gestured for Piper to grab her clothes and kill the stream. He turned back to his mother, his expression flat. "Mom, I'm marrying Seraphina in a few weeks anyway.

I just wanted to go on a date with the girl I actually like before I'm tied down.

Why do you have to ruin it?" His mom lifted her head, her voice cracking. "You… you don't love Seraphina?

Ever since you were a little boy, you swore you were going to marry her…" Harrison didn't bother answering. He scooped Piper up into his arms and carried her out the door.

The invisible tether dragged my soul right behind them. As I drifted past his mother's devastated face, a sickening wave of regret washed over me.

I never should have said yes to him. I never should have agreed to be her daughterinlaw. Harrison popped the passenger door open, gently lowering Piper into the leather seat.

His mom chased them all the way down the driveway, her voice tearing at the seams. "Harrison, stop! Seraphina's heart monitor has been flatlined for an hour! I am begging you.

Just tell me where you left her!" Harrison let out a heavy sigh of annoyance. He slid into the driver's seat and gunned the engine. He slammed his foot on the gas.

The tires screeched against the asphalt, leaving his mother choking on the exhaust until she disappeared in the rearview mirror.

Chapter 6 Piper booted up her stream again, sticking out her bottom lip in a practiced pout. "We were this close to playing house for real, but his mom walked in and ruined it.

I guess good girls aren't supposed to do bad things anyway." She turned the camera on Harrison, her eyes curving into perfect crescents. "Harrison needs to make it up to me.

Take me to the amusement park. I want to ride the carousel." I sat in the back of the car. Hearing her saccharine voice made my phantom stomach heave. I looked down at my hands.

The edges of my fingers were becoming translucent. The center of my chest felt completely hollowed out. Dad. Does he know I'm dead yet?

In the driver's seat, Harrison slammed a heavy palm against the steering wheel. He snatched his phone from the center console.

I leaned over the headrest, staring at the glowing screen. The notification center was empty.

Usually, if he dropped off the grid for even ten minutes, I'd blow up his phone, leaving tearful voicemails begging to know where he was. Today, nothing. Not a single missed call.

The chat immediately picked up on the sudden drop in temperature. Viewers spammed the comment section, demanding the lovebirds get back to flirting.

Piper leaned her weight against Harrison’s shoulder, pitching her voice up an octave. "Harrison, come on. Take me to the park." For the first time all day, he didn't lean into her.

His shoulder stiffened, and he subtly shifted his weight toward the door panel, breaking her touch. "Seraphina has been locked in that haunted house for three hours.

We need to go find her first." The second the words left his mouth, Piper's eyes brimmed with red.

Her shoulders hitched in a soft, pathetic shudder. "But you're my boyfriend today," she sniffled. "We only get this one single day together." "You have the rest of your life to make it up to her.

Do you really want to leave things between us with regrets?" I watched his knuckles turn bonewhite around the leather steering wheel. He stared dead ahead at the asphalt.

Then, his finger tapped the GPS screen. He cleared the route back to the haunted house and typed in a new destination. Amusement Park. I stared at the side of his face.

I knew exactly how his mind worked. He figured I'd never actually stay mad at him. What was a few more hours locked in a dark room? We were getting married soon.

If I threw a fit, he probably planned to just buy me off with a longer honeymoon. A faint, unconscious smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

He was probably thinking about that trip to Norway I'd been begging for to see the Northern Lights. In his head, a grand gesture would wash away anything he did to me.

The tires crunched over the gravel parking lot. Harrison laced his fingers through Piper’s and pulled her through the turnstiles. [This is getting boring.

Are there any actual dares left?] [You guys should kiss at the very top of the Ferris wheel, record it, and text it to his fiancée.] [That is toxic AF.

I love it.] Piper read the comments out loud, her eyes lighting up. She didn't even wait for Harrison to agree.

She just grabbed his wrist and dragged him straight into the line for the Ferris wheel. The rusted metal carriage jerked upward, the sprawling city skyline spilling out beneath us.

Harrison didn't look out the window. His gaze was nailed to the scuffed aluminum floor. His jaw clenched tight, a muscle feathering near his ear. His eyes glazed over.

I hovered in the cramped space next to him, tracing his empty stare. I knew this carriage. I knew this exact ride. This was where he had asked me to be his girlfriend.

I remembered how my face burned, how my heart hammered against my ribs when I blurted out, "I like you too." We had kissed right at the apex of the wheel.

All because I had shown him some stupid internet post that swore couples who kissed at the very top would stay together forever.

Chapter 7 I watched his reflection in the glass window of the carriage. The careless smirk vanished from his face.

His jaw locked tight, his eyes staring blankly at nothing, as if a heavy, invisible weight had just crashed down on him. The Ferris wheel crested the top of its rotation.

Piper whipped out her backup phone, angled the camera high, and fluttered her eyes shut. She leaned in. Her lips met dead air. She blinked her eyes open.

Harrison was staring at her, his posture rigid. He took a deliberate step back, hitting the opposite wall of the metal carriage. "Sorry.

I can't kiss you." He swallowed hard, shaking his head. "I'm calling off the boyfriend challenge.

You're coming with me to find my fiancée right now." He pointed a stiff finger toward the camera lens. "We're going to explain that absolutely nothing happened between us.

I'm marrying her. I'm not letting her misunderstand this." Piper froze, stunned.

The chat exploded. [Oh, look who's playing the devoted fiancé now.] [LMAO bro folded at the last second.] He dragged Piper out of the carriage by her wrist the second the doors opened.

He shoved her into the passenger seat of his car. The engine roared to life before his door was even fully shut. His foot laid heavy on the gas.

He kept checking his rearview mirror, his knuckles white around the leather steering wheel, a frantic, jittery energy rolling off him as if he had just realized he'd lost something he could never get back.

He pushed the car way over the speed limit. But as we neared the amusement park's exit, a sharp, piercing wail ripped through the air. Police sirens.

Red and blue lights flashed aggressively near the haunted house entrance. Harrison slammed on the brakes. The car jerked to a halt, the tires smoking against the asphalt.

He didn't even put it in park. He threw his door open and bolted toward the flashing lights.

Officers in heavy tactical gear were ramming a crowbar into the heavy steel door of the attraction. Harrison's frantic sprint faltered.

He stumbled forward, his legs suddenly moving like they were poured with lead. His hands shook violently as he dug into his pockets, pulling out a ring of keys.

The rims of his eyes flushed dark red. "I have the key." The officers stopped, turning to look at him with deep furrows in their brows. They didn't ask questions.

They took one look at his face and quickly stepped aside. Harrison stepped up to the metal door. His hand trembled so badly he couldn't align the key.

The metal scraped and ground against the lock. Ten seconds. Thirty seconds. A full, agonizing minute of frantic fumbling. Click. The deadbolt gave way. The heavy door swung inward.

Harrison's knees gave out. He hit the concrete floor hard. There I was. My eyes were wide open, staring blankly into the pitchblack air.

My stiff fingers were still curled, clawing at the wall in a frozen plea for help. My skin was the color of cigarette ash. My lips were a bloodless, bruised blue.

A guttural, animalistic sound tore out of Harrison's throat.

He scrambled forward on his hands and knees, grabbing my stiff shoulders and hauling my corpse into his chest. "Seraphina, stop it!

Don't scare me like this!" His fingers dug into my icy arms. "Say something!

I swear to God I won't leave you behind again, just stop playing this stupid joke…" I hovered right above him, staring down at his pathetic, wet face.

The officers hooked their arms under Harrison's armpits, dragging him backward as he thrashed and screamed. A crime scene photographer moved in.

The blinding flash illuminated the dirty floor. White pills were scattered like snow around my dead hand. My phone lay beside them, a black, lifeless brick.

He was having a total mental breakdown over a corpse. A bitter, hollow laugh scraped its way up my throat.

Was he not the one who locked his heartpatient fiancée in a pitchblack box for a twisted bet with a streamer?

Did he not ignore my agonizing screams, brushing them off as exposure therapy until my heart literally tore itself apart? I wanted to grab him by his collar.

I wanted to scream right in his face. I'm dead. What the hell are you crying for? But a phantom spasm seized my chest. A ghostly tear slipped down my cheek.

An officer snapped on a pair of latex gloves and picked up my phone. He grabbed my cold, stiff thumb and pressed it to the home button. The screen glowed to life.

He opened my recents and hit the first number on speed dial. It rang exactly once. "Sweetheart?" Dad's voice spilled from the speaker, raw and frantic. "Did your watch die?

Is your phone broken? I've been trying to find you for hours, I've been going out of my mind…" The officer froze.

He stared down at the gray, lifeless body on the floor, his mouth opening and closing. The dead silence stretched out, suffocating the room