Eddie stood over Sammy's grave like a statue. His eyes were hollow, face tight, fists jammed into the pockets of his jacket. The flowers he brought were still clenched in his hand—half-crushed, like he couldn't bring himself to lay them down.
He wasn't crying. Not really. He didn't even feel like he could. Everything inside him had been drained and wrung out and dragged through the dirt months ago. Today, he was just… empty. Like all the blood and noise and chaos had finally died down into a dead silence.
He knelt down, slowly, and brushed a strand of grass off the headstone.
"I don't even know who I am without you," he muttered. "I thought I could find you again. In her. But she's not you. She's real. She's… she's real and I ruined her."
His phone buzzed in his pocket.
He checked. Maya still hadn't answered any of his texts or calls. But that didn't stop him. He sent another one.
"Please. Just call me. We can fix this. I can explain everything."
She didn't respond.
The walk back home felt longer than usual. Cold air slithered under his hoodie, and everything in his chest felt like it was sinking. When he stepped into the house, the silence hit him first—and then the storm.
Damon was sitting on the couch, both elbows on his knees, bouncing one leg like he was on the verge of exploding. The moment he saw Eddie walk in, his head snapped up.
"Where the hell have you been?" Damon's voice cracked like a whip.
Eddie ignored him and went straight for his phone again. "She's not picking up," he mumbled, panic brewing in his voice. "She's not answering, Damon—what the hell did you say to her?"
Damon didn't answer right away. He just sat there, jaw tight, eyes dark.
Eddie took a step closer. "Damon. What the hell did you do?"
Damon leaned back with a scoff. "Me? Oh, I dunno, maybe I watched her crumble into pieces because some sick bastard decided to make her entire life a f**king lie."
Eddie froze.
"What?"
"I mean, Jesus, Eddie." Damon stood. "She found out everything. You used her. You let her think she was loved—for who she is. Not for her goddamn transplant. Not because she looks like Sammy. But because she was Maya. And you ripped that away from her."
Eddie's voice was low, defensive. "I never meant for it to go that far—"
"She cried herself to sleep," Damon snapped, stepping closer, eyes wild. "She cried herself to sleep, Eddie. After realizing her entire life was a f**king lie. And you watched it happen."
Eddie flinched.
"I didn't know how to stop it."
"No, you didn't want to stop it." Damon's face twisted. "You liked pretending she was Sammy. You liked having her close. You used her like some kind of replacement doll—and you kept her in that delusion just so you didn't have to let go of the past."
Eddie's phone buzzed again.
He looked down.
A single message.
Don't you even f**king try. I know everything now. Don't contact me again.
Eddie's heart stopped. His throat dried up. The blood in his veins went ice-cold.
He looked up slowly. Damon was already watching him.
"You told her," Eddie said, voice shaking.
Damon didn't flinch.
"You TOLD her!" Eddie's hands balled into fists. "You piece of sh*t—you TOLD her!"
He lunged forward and shoved Damon hard. Damon staggered back but held his ground.
"You think you're the hero in this?" Eddie roared. "You think telling her helped anything?!"
"Someone had to," Damon growled. "Because you were too much of a coward to tell her yourself."
And then Eddie swung.
Fist collided with Damon's jaw. Damon stumbled but didn't go down. He grabbed Eddie by the hoodie and shoved him back into the wall, breathing heavy, both of them locked in a brutal standstill.
"She deserved the truth," Damon panted. "She deserved better than the f**king fantasy you built around her."
"You ruined everything," Eddie hissed.
"No," Damon said, stepping back. "You did."
Eddie's phone clattered to the floor.
The only sound in the room was both of them breathing like they'd just been dragged through hell.
Damon's words hit Eddie like a truck. "Vic is in a mental institution," he spat. "He tried to kill himself, Eddie. The pressure you put him through… Now, he's paralyzed. No future. A ruined mind. All because of you."
Eddie's stomach lurched. The words shattered his world, but no words came. He couldn't breathe. He wanted to speak, to defend himself, but there was nothing left. His heart beat so loudly he thought it would break his ribs.
Damon continued, each word heavier than the last. "You've fucked up everything. Maya, her parents, Jackie, Vic. Everyone. You think this was some kind of revenge? You've destroyed them, Eddie. And none of them deserved this."
Eddie felt his anger bubbling up. But it wasn't enough to drown out the guilt gnawing at him. He didn't know what to do with it—didn't know how to fix this mess. His mouth went dry, and his fists clenched.
"You're selfish. So wrapped up in your own pain you can't see what you're doing to the people around you." Damon's voice was low, full of disgust. "You're hurting yourself, hurting everyone. And you don't even care."
The words sliced through Eddie, the truth stabbing him deeper than any punch could. I didn't mean it, he thought, but the words felt empty. All the excuses in his head evaporated. He'd caused this. All of it.
Damon's eyes were dark with anger now. "Vic couldn't take it. And now Maya's gone too. She'll never trust a man again. She'll never love again. You're the reason for that. How does that feel?"
The question sank into Eddie like a weight, dragging him down. I ruined everything, he realized. I ruined her.
"Shut the fuck up!" Eddie screamed, fury exploding out of him, his fist slamming into the nearest table, splintering the wood. "You don't know anything!"
"I know enough," Damon retorted coldly. "You're sick, Eddie. You're so far gone you don't even see it anymore. You deserve what's coming to you. You should be locked up, just like Vic. You're a sick fuck, and you know it."
Eddie's mind raced, but his body felt numb. I never meant for this, he thought desperately. I loved her.
"You didn't love her, Eddie," Damon said, cutting him off. "You loved the idea of her. You loved Sammy's heart. You didn't love Maya. You never did."
The truth hit harder than any punch. Eddie staggered back, as if the ground had slipped from beneath him. I never loved her the way she deserved, he realized with gut-wrenching clarity. I loved the heart. I loved the connection to Sammy.
Damon's voice came like a final blow. "You think you get to make excuses? You think you can fix this? You're wrong. Maya's gone. She saw you for what you really are."
Eddie's chest heaved, pain flooding every inch of his body. He wanted to say something, anything. But he couldn't.
"Shut the fuck up, Damon!" Eddie shouted again, but the words rang hollow. He dropped to his knees, every ounce of fight gone. She's gone. I lost her. I lost everything.
Damon didn't stop. "She was never just a heart to you, Eddie. But you made her one. And now… now she's just gone. There's no coming back from this. You'll never get her back."
Eddie's heart ached. I don't even deserve her, he thought, the truth swallowing him whole. He stared at the phone in his hand, the message from Maya still there, taunting him.
Don't contact me ever again.
The words felt like a slap in the face. He had destroyed everything, and it was too late to fix it. He had lost Maya for good.
Eddie's tears burned as they began to fall, but he couldn't move. He was paralyzed in his own guilt. The mess he had made was inescapable.
The world around him blurred, but it didn't matter. It was all over.