Epilogue
NOVEMBER 4 – TUESDAY 11:11 AM
Nash
At nineteen, I had lived ten lifetimes of pain, or so I thought. These last three days, while we waited for the doctors to wake Ren, had taught me that no matter how bad I thought things were, there was always another low.
Vicky’s presence at the hospital was a headache we didn’t need. I thought for sure Myles was going to kill her when she started screaming that this was all our fault. She had no idea how right she was, and guilt was slowly eating me alive. I let Marcus deal with her but ensured that she never came near Ren’s room.
Everything was pushed to the side. I blew off school, my father, and—after updating Dimitri on the accident and her condition—I’d turned off my phone. I couldn’t deal with anything else.
Outside the hospital chapel, I paced the hallway until I finally worked up enough courage to open the door. A statue of Jesus was at the front, surrounded by candles. Some were burning while others sat waiting for someone to light them. Stained glass covered a small window and felt oddly right for the space. There were only eight wooden benches for seating.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped over the threshold and found myself on my knees in front of the statue.
“I haven’t spent a single day believing in you,” I said, glaring up at Jesus. “Why would I when you’ve never helped me? If you exist, you know what my father has done. Things I can never share, things I never want to think about but claw at me every day. You allowed that. Why?”
Shaking my head, I looked down at my blood-coated hands while my heart hardly beat from the scars.
“I understand why you would forsake me. I don’t understand how someone who is supposed to be this all-powerful, all-forgiving being could allow this to happen to a girl who is the walking embodiment of what you preach.”
Looking back up, I implored again.
“Why her?” The statue didn’t move. “Tell me, make this make sense.”
A tear rolled down my cheek.
“Because this makes no sense to me. You want to torture someone, then torture me. My soul is already black. I can take it, but hasn’t she been through enough? Leave her alone. I’m begging you, just leave her alone.”
“Have you considered that the reason she’s alive is because he was there in that car with us?”
When I turned, Mr. Genovese sat in a wheelchair just inside the door. I hadn’t even heard it open. He slowly rolled closer until he was beside me. We sat there, but I didn’t respond. He seemed to accept my silence for an answer.
“My mamma used to say, Edmundo, the good Lord will not always show his face, but you will feel his hand when you need it. I didn’t really understand that most of my life.” Edmundo looked away from the statue and stared at me. “Nash, I’m not going to tell you to believe in a god that you are obviously struggling to understand. But what I do know is that we went off the road at sixty miles an hour. The car was torn in two and exploded. We should be dead. Instead, we were thrown clear with really minimal injuries.” He gripped my shoulder. “There were wings in that car. How many wings have been around you when you needed them?”
I just stared at him, not sure what to say.
“Come on. Vicky will be back shortly, and I want to see Ren.”
Nodding, I stood.
“Do you want me to push you?”
“Sure, I’m not too proud to say that this is a hell of a lot harder than it looks.”
Turning the wheelchair around, I pushed Edmundo to the door and hit the automatic button. As I waited I looked back at the silent statue that still held all of it’s secrets. Edmundo might be right or full of shit. The only thing I knew for sure was that this world was a fucking disaster and I didn’t see it getting better anytime soon.
Reaching Ren’s door, I walked in, and the chatter died down.
“Guys, can you go grab something to eat for a bit? I’ll watch her and let you know if there’s any change,” I said.
Liam nodded, stood, and stretched.
“I could use some food,” he said, letting me know that we still needed to talk from his look on the way out. I’d gotten a reprieve with the accident, but I wouldn’t be able to hold them off for much longer.
The rest of the guys followed, glancing at me and then Edmundo as they left.
“Are you going to tell them who I really am,” Edmundo asked as the door closed.
“Yeah, once Ren wakes up.”
The door opened again, and two nurses walked in.
“She is doing very well, so we are going to extubate her now,” the one that I knew as Rosie said. She’d been the nurse on duty the night Ren and Edmundo arrived and it didn’t feel like she ever went home.
“What does that mean?”
“We’re taking her breathing tube out. She’s trying to breathe on her own, which is great news.”
Hope filled me as they began to work.
“Will she wake up right away?”
Rosie looked at me.
“She could, but it could also take an hour. Sometimes more if her brain decides it needs the extra time. Be patient. I know it’s difficult, but so far, she is progressing exactly the way we would want to see. Better than infact.”
I smirked. That was so Princess. Even unconscious she was kicking ass. I sucked in a deep breath, my heart pounding hard.
Come on Princess, wake up.
Ren
There was a loud bang, and I looked up from playing with my dolls. Mommy ran into the bedroom, and I jumped as she opened my closet door and pulled out my suitcase.
“Mommy? What are you doing?”
“We need to go away, baby.”
“A trip?”
She smiled at me. “Yes, a trip.” She pointed to my toys. “Grab your favorites, but only a couple.”
“Okay.”
Standing, I smoothed my dress like I’d been taught and walked over to my toybox. I grabbed Mr. Bunny, who I couldn’t sleep without, and my coloring book with crayons.
Mommy put the suitcase on my bed and began filling it. I’d never seen her like this before. She seemed…scared, and there was a black and blue mark on the side of her face. She stuffed the suitcase full and put my coloring book on top.
“Why don’t you hang on to Mr. Bunny?” She smiled. “Here, put on your jacket, baby, it’s cold outside.”
“Is Daddy coming?”
“No, Daddy is too busy to go on this trip,” she said, and my lower lip pushed out. He was always too busy. “It’s okay, baby, we are going to have a great time. It will be our secret adventure.”
“O…kay,” I said and put my arms through the jacket.
Mommy locked the suitcase and bent down to zip me up. I could see her face easily now, and I touched the black mark.
“You’re hurt.”
Mommy smiled wide.
“I’ll be fine, I walked into the door. I’m so clumsy,” she said, but I pressed my lips together. I’d walked into the door before, and it hurt, but I didn’t have a mark like that. “Come on, baby, we have to go, or we’re going to miss our flight.”
I sucked in an excited gasp. “We’re going on a plane?”
“Yes, isn’t that exciting?” She grabbed my bag and then my hand. “Let’s go.”
We walked out of the room, but Mommy was walking faster than normal, and it felt like she was dragging me along behind her.
I tripped on the stairs going down, but Mommy held me up so I didn’t fall on my face.
“It’s too fast,” I said.
“Sorry, baby, we need to be fast or no trip, no plane.”
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, we ran past Daddy’s office, and I saw a hand on the ground behind his desk. No, Daddy needed us. I tugged away from Mommy.
“No, Lilya.”
I ran around the desk, and Daddy was lying on the floor with a puddle of red water around him. Mommy grabbed me and picked me up.
“No, Mommy. Daddy’s hurt.”
She didn’t say anything as she ran out of the house.
“Mommy, put me down. Daddy needs us.”
I struggled as Mommy tried to buckle me into my seat.
She grabbed me by the shoulders.
“Daddy will be fine. Trust me, baby, he is playing a game.”
I knew she was lying, but Mommy never lied to me.
“Please, baby girl, I need you to listen and trust me. Okay? Can you do that?”
I nodded, not wanting to upset Mommy anymore as tears fell down her cheeks.
“Okay, Mommy.”
She clipped me in, closed the door, and ran back into the house before coming back with my suitcase. She put it in the passenger seat beside her, and we drove really fast out of the driveway. I held Mr. Bunny to my chest, running his soft ear over my face.
It was snowing a lot. I couldn’t see the houses or any cars as we drove, but Mommy didn’t slow down.
“Shit.”
“Mommy, you said a bad word.”
She looked in the mirror at me. “I know, I’m sorry ba…Ah!” Mommy screamed as the car started to spin. It was almost like a fun ride, and I lifted my arms. Then we hit something hard, and that didn’t feel good.
“Ouch,” I whimpered, my lip trembling.
“It’s okay, baby, it’s going to be okay. I’m calling for help.” There was a ringing in the car, and then a man answered.
“Hello?”
“Uncle Dimitri, it’s me, Yulianna. I need your help.”
Nash
“I need to move up my timeline,” I told Mr. Genovese as we waited for Ren to wake up.
“My father will want me to start doing his dirty work more and more with Owen gone. The deeper he has hooks into me, the harder it will be to get away later,” I said, leaning on the bed and gently running my fingers up and down Ren’s arm. “I can only tell him to fuck off so much before he will find other ways to force me to do his bidding.” I looked at Ren.
“Nash, I understand that, but certain things need to be in place first. You’re almost there, don’t rush. That’s when we make mistakes. We will take extra precautions going forward.”
Edmundo was right. I knew that, but I also knew my father. Lawrence wouldn’t let me ignore him for much longer. He would know about the accident by now and who was in the car. Sighing, I let my hand fall beside Ren’s.
“Nash, I know that this is a difficult question, but I have to ask it.”
Looking up, I locked eyes with him.
“Did you sleep with my daughter?”
A cold sweat formed all over my body, and I swallowed hard. “Yes, Sir.”
“So you broke my trust already?”
I would rather be trapped in a room with a thousand FBI agents over this one man.
“Yes, I did…twice,” I said and his eyebrow rose.
My mouth ran dry. This was it, he could have me dragged out of here and killed or cancel our deal. The moment I slept with Ren it was null and void.
“You knew the consequences, went behind my back, did the one thing I asked you not to, and then kept it from me. Give me one good reason why I should trust or believe a single word that comes out of your mouth.”
My heart was in my throat, while he sat there calmly. His question felt like a knife hanging over my head. I looked away and stared down at Ren.
“Because I was already in love with her. I wish I could say that I’m sorry it happened, but I’m not.”
I had now confessed this to two different people and neither was who I expected. I looked up and locked eyes with Edmundo again.
“I love her. I have no other excuse.”
Edmundo sighed and looked away. He was quiet for a long time and I didn’t dare move.
“Alright, our deal stands. But before I speak to Vicky, I need to know. Will you honor the contract you signed no matter what happens from this day forward?”
Swallowing the lump in my throat and gazing at Ren’s beautiful face, I gave my answer.
“Yes, of course, I will,” I said, and then jerked when Ren’s baby finger touched mine.
I grabbed her hand and stood as her eyes began to flutter.
“She’s waking up,” I said, and Edmundo rolled his wheelchair closer.
Ren’s intoxicating, silvery eyes finally opened, and my heart began to beat again. She turned her head and looked at me. I smiled before pushing the button for the nurses.
“She’s awake!”