Chapter 146 I Can’t Live Without Him

Chapter 146 I Can’t Live Without Him
I Can’t Live without him

Liam’s POV

I screamed his name again and again, shaking him so hard I was scared I might hurt him, but I didn’t know what else to do.

“Dylan… please. Please open your eyes.”

There was nothing.

His body lay limp in my arms, completely still. No matter how many times I called his name or begged him to wake up, he didn’t move. The scream ripping out of my chest didn’t even sound like my own voice anymore. It sounded like someone else’s pain, someone else’s nightmare.

“Rosalie!” I yelled, my voice breaking. “Rosalie, help me! Please!”

She reached us within seconds. The moment she looked at Dylan, her expression changed. I saw the truth hit her before she even spoke, but she pushed it aside and focused on me.

“Take him and go,” she said firmly. “I’ll deal with the rest. Just get him out of here, Liam. Now.”

I lifted Dylan onto my back, wrapping my arms around his legs to keep him from slipping. He felt so heavy, not because of his weight, but because he wasn’t holding onto me anymore. Usually he’d complain or laugh or tell me I was doing it wrong.

Now there was nothing.

I ran as fast as I could.

Some of Ethan’s men tried to cut me off, stepping into my path from both sides, but I shoved through them with every bit of strength I had left. I didn’t care if they hit me. I didn’t care if I got hurt. The only thing that mattered was getting Dylan somewhere safe.

By the time I reached the road, my chest felt like it was on fire. Every breath burned, and my legs were shaking so badly I could barely stay on my feet.

I forced myself to keep going.

I carefully laid Dylan across the back seat of the car, making sure his head was supported before jumping into the driver’s seat. As I sped toward home, I kept glancing at him through the mirror.

“Come on,” I whispered over and over. “Please wake up. Just once. Please…”

I waited for him to groan, to complain about my driving, to tell me to slow down.

He never did.

When I finally pulled up outside my building, I packed the car in front of my gate and rushed to the back seat. I lifted him into my arms and hurried toward the entrance.

Some passing neighbors came running almost immediately. One look at Dylan’s condition was enough for them to drop everything and help me carry him upstairs. They asked what had happened, their voices full of worry, but I couldn’t tell them the truth.

“It’s nothing serious,” I lied quickly. “Thank you.”

They didn’t look convinced, but they didn’t press me. After helping me get Dylan onto the bed, they quietly left, telling me to call if I needed anything.

The moment the door closed, my apartment felt unbearably quiet.

I rushed to the bathroom and grabbed every first aid supply I owned before hurrying back to him. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking as I knelt beside the bed. I soaked a clean cloth with water and carefully wiped the blood and dirt from his face, then moved to his arms, trying my best to clean every wound.

I kept talking to him the whole time, even though I wasn’t sure he could hear me.

“You’re going to be okay,” I whispered, fighting back tears. “You promised we’d get through this together. So don’t you dare leave me now.”

I grabbed my phone with shaking hands and called the doctor who had treated me before. The moment she answered, I gave her my address and begged her to come as quickly as she could.

“Please,” I said, struggling to keep my voice steady. “Please hurry.”

I sat beside Dylan the entire time, holding his hand, rubbing his cold fingers between mine as if I could somehow warm them again. I kept talking to him, hoping that somewhere, somehow, he could still hear my voice.

“You promised we still had so much to do,” I whispered. “You can’t leave me like this.”

When the doctor finally arrived, she was breathing hard from rushing over. She hurried into the bedroom with her medical bag in hand, but the moment her eyes landed on Dylan, her steps slowed.

The confidence on her face disappeared.

She looked at me with hesitation before turning back to him.

“I’ve only ever treated vampires,” she admitted quietly. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to help a human.”

My heart sank, but I refused to accept that.

“Just do something,” I pleaded. “Please… his heart isn’t beating.”

Without another word, she knelt beside the bed. She checked his wrist first, then pressed her fingers against his neck. After that, she leaned closer, listening carefully for any sign of breathing or a heartbeat.

The room was so quiet I could hear my own breathing.

Finally, she slowly pulled her hands away and lowered her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “He’s gone.”

Her words hit me like a knife.

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “No… you’re wrong.”

Tears blurred my vision before I could stop them. I stumbled toward the bed and gathered Dylan into my arms, holding him as tightly as I could.

“You’re lying,” I choked out. “I can still feel him. He’s here. He’s not gone.”

I buried my face against his hair, my whole body shaking as sobs tore through me.

“Please,” I begged. “Please, Dylan… come back to me. You can’t leave me. Please…”

The doctor stood quietly behind me for a while before speaking again. Her voice was gentle, but it only made everything worse.

“It’s useless.”

Something inside me broke completely.

“Get out!” I screamed, my voice echoing through the apartment. “Just get out! Leave us alone!”

She looked at me with sadness but didn’t argue. She quietly packed her equipment, gave Dylan one last glance, and walked out of the room.

The front door clicked shut.

I stayed beside Dylan for what felt like hours, unable to let him go. With trembling hands, I finished cleaning the dried blood from his face and arms, wiping away every stain as carefully as I could. 

When there was no blood left to clean, I just sat there staring at him.

My tears wouldn’t stop, neither would the guilt.

Every mistake I’d made came rushing back at once. Every time I failed to protect him. Every decision that had led us here. I kept thinking that if I had been stronger, faster, smarter… maybe he wouldn’t be like this.

The weight of it crushed me until I couldn’t breathe.

Before I even realized what I was doing, I was on my feet. I slammed my fist into the wall with everything I had.

The crack echoed through the apartment as the plaster split beneath the force of the blow, but I barely felt the pain.

Nothing could hurt more than losing him.

I raised my hand and slapped myself across the face.

The sting spread through my skin, but I barely felt it. I stared at Dylan’s motionless face, hoping the pain would somehow pull me out of this nightmare. Maybe if I hurt enough, I’d wake up and find him smiling at me, telling me it had all been a terrible dream.

But the room stayed silent.

Dylan didn’t move.

I don’t know how long I stayed there before my body finally gave in to exhaustion. My legs felt weak as I forced myself out of the bedroom and wandered into the parlor.

Everything around me reminded me of him.

My eyes stopped on a small toy sitting on the shelf.

It was the one Dylan had insisted on buying during our trip with the team. I had teased him for wasting money on something so childish, and he’d only laughed, saying it would make here feel more like home.

With shaking hands, I picked it up and sat down on the couch.

I turned it over slowly in my fingers as memories came rushing back.

I remembered him laughing so hard he could barely breathe after one of our teammates told the worst joke imaginable. I remembered him dragging me from one shop to another because he wanted to “see everything.” I remembered the quiet moments too, when we’d walked side by side without saying much at all because we didn’t need words to enjoy each other’s company.

Back then, we thought we had all the time in the world.

Neither of us knew those memories would become all I had left.

The thought broke something inside me.

I lowered my head and cried until there were no tears left, my hands still wrapped tightly around the little toy.

After a while, I wiped my face and forced myself back to the bedroom.

The moment I saw Dylan again, my heart lurched.

His skin looked even paler than before.

A wave of panic hit me. I rushed to his side, grabbed his shoulders, and shook him gently.

“Dylan,” I whispered at first.

When he didn’t answer, I tried again, louder this time.

“Dylan… please.”

I kept calling his name over and over, my voice breaking with every word. I begged him to wake up, to open his eyes.

He didn’t move nor answer.

My strength disappeared all at once, and I sank onto the edge of the bed. My hands covered my face as sobs tore through me. My mind raced desperately, searching for something I hadn’t tried, some miracle, some impossible answer that could bring him back.

Then a strange feeling settled deep inside me.

It came so suddenly that I froze.

I couldn’t explain it, but it felt as though a voice I couldn’t hear was pointing me toward one final choice. Every part of me resisted it, yet another part already knew what I had to do.

With trembling hands, I reached for my phone.

I opened my messages, found Rosalie’s name, and stared at the screen for several seconds before my fingers finally began to move.

“I can’t take it anymore.” I said. “If I can’t live with Dylan in this world, then I can’t keep living.”