There Goes My Heartbeat Novels & Stories

THBM EP 163 ~ALICIA~ The faint beeping sounds of an electrocardiogram machine seeped into the darkness that swallowed me whole a decade ago, sounding like a fractured, distant melody, ripping through the dark fog in my ears as it prowled its way into my head, intensifying by each beep after another.

My body didn’t agree. I walked to the window. Everything outside looked normal. Cars moving. People talking. Life continuing like nothing had shifted at all. That’s what bothered me the most. Because something had shifted for me. My phone buzzed. I almost dropped it. Unknown number. Again. One message. “He didn’t tell you everything.” My chest tightened. “No,” I whispered. I deleted it fast. But it didn’t feel gone. It felt like it already did what it came to do. I grabbed my keys.

Cameron was standing outside Marissa’s door, trying to build the courage to ring the doorbell. After a deep breath, when he was about to touch the bell, someone called from behind, causing him to have a mini heart attack. “Cameron,” “Fuck! Marissa, you scared the shit out of me.” He exclaimed loudly, one hand on his heart and breathing deeply. “I am sorry, but why are you standing outside my door?” She asked him curiously. Today, Marissa was late coming home as she had to run to the grocery store, so it was unusual for her to see her student uncle standing in front of her doorstep in all his glory.

NERO POV My heart is beating fast. Too fast. Not in the adrenaline-filled, thrill-throbbing-through-my-veins kind of way. But in the I’m having a heart attack, I’m about to drop dead kind of way. If it beats any faster than this, it’s going to punch right through my ribcage. I snatch up my phone, furiously scrolling through my contacts until I find Gareth’s name. I dial, and he answers on the second ring.

Take it early, let it build, and by midnight we lose ourselves completely in each other. I swallow my heart medication next, the bitter pill a daily reminder of my hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. My heart that can’t be trusted. The one that needs constant protection. Not tonight, though. Tonight is supposed to be perfect. But Nox is late. Very late. I call him once. Twice. Three times. It rings, but he doesn’t pick up. Worry knots tight in my chest, mixing with the first faint stirrings of the enhancer. I slip on my heels, grab my coat, and head out. The cab ride to his apartment feels too distant as my heart doesn't stop racing. Something is wrong.

I said nothing, and Kael finally met my eyes with a slight frown. "We're postponing the ceremony, not canceling it. You are still my mate-to-be. Nothing between us has changed." The burning in my throat had grown worse. The reaction was spreading through my bloodstream, and the silver markings around my wrist had darkened, but my voice remained calm. I knew the allergic reaction would make Astra deteriorate faster. Every minute I remained without the tonic narrowed our chances of survival. "All right." Kael blinked. "What did you say?" "I said we can postpone it."

My heartbeat thundered in my ears. Why had he left? What had he sensed?

His eyes were squeezed shut, his breath warm on my face. I gasped, my hands coming up to brace against his chest, to push him away, but he covered them with his own, holding them there, right over his heart. I could feel its frantic, heavy rhythm. “Jax—” “Elliot,” he whispered my name, and it sounded like a prayer and a curse all at once. “Get away from me,” I said, but the words had no force. They were a reflex, the last defense of a heart that knew it was already lost.

And for reasons I couldn’t explain— That made my heartbeat louder. Faster. Unsteady. Because something told me— This wasn’t going to be just a discussion

I'll get discharged from the hospital today. Daisy went off happily to help me settle the documents. Not long after she left, Corey sent me another message telling me how shameless I was to snitch on him. He even threatened to destroy my reputation. Corey has no idea that in this life, the one whose reputation would be destroyed was his.