No... this can’t be... it can’t be fucking real. Ali with a bullet hole in his forehead? No, no, no.
I rose to my feet, slapping my face as if to wake myself up. “No! Ali, please... no! This isn’t happening, this isn’t happening...” My voice cracked, barely above a whisper. A sharp pain pierced through my chest. It was like my heart was physically breaking.
I could hardly believe what I was seeing—was this real? My hands trembled as I cupped his cold face in them. “Ali... Ali, listen to me. It’s me, habibi. You can’t do this to me, are you... Ali?!” I couldn’t breathe. "You promised... this wasn’t the deal. The deal was... we were supposed to be there for Mom. We were supposed to watch her go, to be there when she took her last breath. Not you!"
I pressed my head to his chest, but all I could hear was the deafening pulse of my own heartbeat. I couldn’t hear him. I couldn’t feel him.