Axel said nothing as he opened the car door, his movements precise, deliberate, like a man who had trained himself never to falter.
He extended the space for her, allowing Evelyn to slide in with Oliver pressed desperately against her chest.
The moment the door closed, Evelyn felt as if the world was collapsing around her. Oliver was unusually quiet, utterly unlike his typically charming and talkative self.
He was too pale. His tiny body sagged against her arms, his warmth slipping away with every second.
Blood, so much blood, was soaking through her trembling feet, staining her brown culottes, trickling down to her lap.
She tried to press on the handkerchief knot on his feet gently, but that only made the blood flow out faster, slipping between his fingers.
'God. No. No, please...' She screams in her mind, too frightened to see his wound.
This wasn't just a cut. This was a wound that struck deep, hitting something important; a vein, an artery.
