280 Chapter 280: She Was Dead (1/2)
Aiden was heartbroken. He walked over to where Ken was sitting. Ken had Khloe in his arms, and he was running his hands through her hair and kissing her forehead. ”Khloe,” he cried. ”Hold on. Stay with us.”
Aiden punched Ken in the face and took Khloe from him. He touched her face and whispered her name over and over again as tears streamed from his eyes.
Khloe tried to open her eyes so that she could look at Aiden and she said, ”Aiden, I am sorry... I am no good... I never was…”
”Don't say that,” Aiden cried. ”You'll be fine. I already called 9-1-1. They're on their way.”
Ken had temporarily lost consciousness when Aiden punched him, and as he came to, he was frantic. He looked into Khloe's bloodshot horrified eyes, at the bloody pool that was forming in her lap, and then he stood up, turned, and ran.
Stephen walked over to where Aiden and Khloe were sitting. He hunkered down and took Khloe's hand. He gave it a light squeeze and said, ”Stay with us. You will be okay.”
When Khloe spoke next, blood came up with her words, and they could tell how difficult it was for her to speak. The blood bubbled, popped, and splattered on her lips. From the exertion it must have taken to speak, they could tell that whatever she had to say was very important to her, so they paid close attention. ”The girl in the video wasn't me,” she gasped. ”It's my body, but Ken drugged me. I would never have behaved in such a way…”
”I'm sorry that I ever doubted you,” Aiden cried. ”If I get a second chance, I will treat you so much better.”
”Before I die,” Khloe moaned, ”please tell me the truth. Who do you love more, Kylie or me?”
Aiden turned his head and looked at Kylie, who was being guarded by Ethan. He did love Khloe, but he loved Kylie more. Normally he would have lied to her, but if knowing the truth was her dying wish, he felt like he owed it to her to tell the truth. That being said, if she was dying, he wanted her to go out peacefully. Just watching the distress in his eyes, though, she understood.
Kylie lowered her voice so that only Aiden could hear her. ”It's alright,” she said. ”Anyways, the person who saved you was Kylie. I'm sorry that I lied to you...”
Before Aiden could reply, Khloe turned her head and vomited up a mixture of dark red vomit and a black charcoal-like substance – and then her body began to shake. It was what the old folk called 'Death's Rattle,' and it was frightening.
As she shook, her body released the contents of her bladder and bowels, and, by the time the ambulance arrived, she was dead.
Meanwhile, in the background, the DVD played on…
***
So far, Ken was the only suspect that they had. After all, he was the other person that had been in the video.
When they were alone again, Stephen asked Kylie if she'd told Laurence yet. ”If not,” he added, ”you should. By all rights, he should be here…”
Kylie sighed and admitted that she hadn't. She knew that she should have, but she hadn't found the courage yet. Khloe was the biological daughter of Laurence. After some thought, she said, ”I can't do it, I will have the police inform Linda, and she can break the news to him.”
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Nate turned to Stephen and said, ”I heard that you moved into a new apartment. I would love to come over and have a look!”