Last Resort

Laura

“You bastard!” Kaida lunged at Kai with beastly agility, sending them both careening into the metal table.

The room erupted into chaos. Thumping of punches and crashing of metal against tiles boomed on every side, ensuing a clusterfuck of savagery.

“Stop it, you both! You'll kill yourselves!” Carlos rasped, but his voice was drowned out by the clanking of metal and brutal punches that filled the room.

“She's. Not. A. Used. Good!” Kaida spat, each word landing with a heavy blow as Leila called for security.

I flinched with each punch, guilt chopping my blood into thin crisps.

Leila was right; I'm a damn homewrecker. Kaida should have crushed my skull that night, at least then, they wouldn’t be fighting to death and Carlos wouldn't be—

He wasn't shouting anymore.

Dread hit me like a frostbite.

“Carlos!” I rushed to him. He was slumped sideways in the chair, cold and stiff as a rock.

“How long has he been like this?” the doctor asked as he turned to the two still fighting. “You morons! You're tearing each other apart while your grandfather is fighting for his life.”

Kaida sprang forward, nudging me aside. He knelt beside Carlos, cradling his face with blood-soaked hand. “Hey, Old man, it's your me… your Kaida. Look at me.”

He looked up, “Prof. Save him! Do something!”

“Save him?” The doctor scoffed coldly. “You know his condition; there's no saving him. Instead, you could have prolonged his life. If anything happens to him, your egos are to blame. Excuse me.”

Carlos was moved to a cart as nurses set up the procedure.

“He's having a cardiac arrest, get the defib now!” The doctor ordered, grabbing the intercom.

The room turned haywire, medical terms issued to one another, and nurses buzzing up and down like angry bees.

“We're losing him. Confirm code blue!” a nurse panicked.

“Code blue, come in. I repeat, code blue, come in.” the doctor repeated.

An oxygen mask was hung over Carlos's nose, his chest heaving with every press of the defib, as the monitor taunted the balance of life.

He stood by me when no one else did, now he's barely clinging to life, all because of me.

My body shook like a live wire, my breath hitching in tandem with the defib.

A squad of doctors wrapped in blue scrubs flooded the room, moving with surety, and grabbing various equipment.

“Please, you need to leave, we're about to start the procedure.” the nurse said politely.

I tugged at Kaida's sleeve. “Hey, Kaida, let's go.” I tried to help him up, but he was glued to his spot.

“I-I can't leave him, he's the only family I've got.” he continued stroking Carlos’ cheeks. “Old man… Please talk to me.”

“Kaida Crawford!” The doctor snapped. “Not long ago, you were raging like a wild dog and now you're weeping like an infant. If you keep staying here, how can we stabilize him? Leave!”

“Don't yell at me!”

“Don't make his life more miserable than it already is!”

“Don’t die, old man,” Kaida whispered, kissing Carlos’s forehead.

We both exited the room, our hearts in our throat.

‘Don't die.’ That was what Kaida said to me the night he saved my life.

Perhaps fate would be merciful this time too.

“Don't die, Carlos,” I murmured to myself as we peeked through the glass.

“You devil! If anything happens to grandpa, you're finished because I'll tell the media how Cute Bug went missing.” Kai snarled, gripping Kaida's collar. “Pray he survives, else, you'll join both her and your parents in their rotten graves.”

He shoved Kaida against the wall, taking Leila in her arms and disappearing from sight.

The color drained from Kaida's face— not from Kai's threat, but from the fear of losing Carlos.

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After waiting for what felt like days, the ER doors finally slid open, and the doctors scurried out, all wearing grim expressions.

Sweat beaded on my forehead as we rushed toward the professor.

“Thank goodness, Professor. He's fine, right? Can we go in?” Kaida asked with a darting gaze.

The professor’s eyes moistened with tears, but he held back, maintaining his professionalism.

“Congratulations, boys. You've successfully shortened his life,” he said coldly. “He was my friend… your grandpa and you—” he swallowed hard, biting down on his lips before moving past us.

My belly knotted, the unease rising up my chest.

They weren't to blame. I was.

“You what? professor, didn't you do your job? What do you mean shortened—” Kai bolted into the ER.

The Professor halted, sparing us a side glance. “He is in his last moments… Please, don't try anything stupid this time.”

With that, he walked away, but his words knifed into our hearts.

Kaida staggered, tears misting his eyes, and muttered under his breath.

“I'm the devil. Yes, I'm... Kai's f***ing right, I killed her, and I've done the same to him, he—”

His voice crackled with ragged sobs but was interrupted by the boisterous arguments coming from the ER.

“Get your f***ing hands off me! You'll lose your jobs, you don't know who you're dealing with!”

A loud slap rang from the room as a female voice boomed in. “You dare touch me with your filth? Do you know how much I—”

The door flung open.

My eyes bulged as Kai and Leila were dragged out by massive security guards down the stairs.

Kaida bolted to the room, and I followed suit.

He knelt beside Carlos, so did I. “Old man, you're—”

“Promise me you won't leave Sweet Pea.” Carlos blurted.

My gut flipped. The baby in my womb kicked as if warding off the thought.

Kaida slowly turned to me, sweat streaking his face, his gaze sharp and knowing.

“Promise me, Sweet Pea, you won't leave my boy.” Carlos coughed deeply, groping our hands. “Only then could I find peace, promise—” he coughed again, his grip loosening.

Promise him!

He was binding us against my will, using his death wish as a last resort.

I wanted to punch him, to say no and walk out the door without looking back. But I couldn't, not with his life slipping away with every breath.

My body tensed, teeth clenched, the sterile scent of antiseptic drying my throat— regret, anger, and guilt, all tangling in my mind.

I pinched myself hard as I uttered the words, “I promise.”

Kaida's face twisted in shock, but he quickly turned to Carlos. “I promise, I won't—”

A high-pitched beep pierced the room as Carlos’s head tilted to the side.

Then, suddenly – silence.

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Carlos's body was taken away, and discussions for his funeral were held. We headed toward the parking lot. Kaida pressed the car key, and a sleek Bugatti La Voiture Noire chirped in response.

“You’re walking fast, wait!” Kaida called behind, his footsteps drawing closer.

I shut my eyes, the words gnawing at my mind. “He killed her!” “Promise me!”

“Cute Bug—” He grazed my shoulder, but I smacked him away.

“It's Laura! Damn f***ing Laura!” I barked, shooting him a fiery stare.

“And… Cute Bug, what happened to her?”