He reached up to brush her hair out of her face. "Seriously," he insisted. "You're so beautiful. Like.. God. How did I get to be with you?" He laughed weakly. "I'm dying."
She rested her forehead on his chest, taking his hand. "You're.. You're not dying. You'll be okay. You'll be okay."
He was quiet, struggling to speak. "I'll do my best," he said eventually, his voice quiet as he closed his eyes.
He chuckled, opening one eye to look at her. "Like mother, like daughter," he said weakly before gasping in pain, wincing. "Damnit. Damnit. I need to... I gotta go down. I'm sorry. I don't think..." He trailed off, his gaze unfocused. "I think I have to sit down."
She nodded, gently helping him sit, her eyes cautious with care. "Okay. It's okay. Everything's okay."
He laughed, shaking his head. "Anything stupid? I... I would never..." he said, trailing off as he closed his eyes, his face growing so pale that she could count the freckles that sprinkled across his nose.
She felt her heart stop, and her voice caught in her throat. She put her hands on his shoulders, her fingers pressing. "Jack? Jack?!"
He didn't respond and his head lolled forward, his body slumping over his wound as the sun came over the horizon.
Avice looked around helplessly, the fear in her making her forget anything else as she tried to keep him up, find that the words she wanted to speak wouldn't come out.
