Chapter 42
Shay-Lee
I opened my eyes to stare at an unfamiliar white ceiling, and it took me about five seconds to realize I was in the hospital. That’s right . Last night, I was involved in a car crash, but surprisingly enough, I was okay. To ensure that was indeed the case, I looked at my arms and hands. I didn’t have so much as a scratch, nor did I feel any pain. Still a bit suspicious, I moved my toes and shook my legs, which were also fine. Actually, not even my ankles hurt.
What the hell? Since when was I lucky?
My moment of happiness was quickly gone when I remembered how I’d gotten into that accident. Looking at the clock that hung on the wall, I saw it was 2:00 p.m., meaning I’d already lost too much time. I had to find Camilo. Now .
Pushing away the blanket covering me, I moved to stand up when the door to the room opened and an unwelcome guest stepped in.
“You’re awake,” Jordan gasped with relief while clutching the door’s handle .
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I snarled, infuriated over his presence.
The one good thing that came out of my car turning into a pile of metal was remembering what had happened the day of my attack. For the last five years, I couldn’t remember a single thing. But now? Now, I remembered it all, including how Jordan, sweet, good-hearted Jordan, my ex-fiancé Jordan, was there and had stood by while my father sent me into a mini coma.
“I’m still registered as your emergency contact,” he explained.
Oh shit, I forgot about that…
“I came the second they called me. Fuck .” He let go of the door. “I can’t believe you were in a car accident—”
“Fuck you and your fake concern, Jordan. I know everything,” I cut in.
His brows pulled close. “You know… everything?”
“You’re one lucky bastard, I’ll give you that,” I snorted, shaking my head.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about you, walking away after committing the perfect crime like you had nothing to do with it.”
His eyes widened as understanding crossed him, but before he could slide a word in, I went on.
“If I didn’t know you were incapable of coming up with such a plan, I would have been impressed. But please, as if a moron like yourself could actually plan shit.” My eyes narrowed on his pitiful face. “But everything worked out for you just fine, right? Me losing my memory, Camilo going to prison for your crime, and lastly, my dad dropping dead and taking your secret with him to his grave.” Bitterness fielded my mouth as I took another moment to think it through. “You know, I always thought you were a good guy. A really good, honest guy. Turned out you were nothing but an idiot who’d been in the wrong place and at the wrong time. But hey, at least you learned how to take advantage of the situation, right?” Unimpressed, I scratched my jaw. “Instead of confessing and crying like you would have done in high school, you actually learned something from me. Seizing the opportunity, you stuck to the role of the good guy and played the part for five fucking years.” I clapped my hands. “Bravo, Jordy. Bravo.”
“It’s nothing like that!”
“Sure thing.”
“Shay-Lee—” He paused, as if he’d changed his mind about what he was going to say, and closed his eyes. “I’m… I’m sorry.”
“You should be sorry. In fact, you should be rotting in jail for what you did to me.”
His eyes snapped to mine, and there was nothing but fear glistening in them. Fear for his own ass. Who knew, maybe he truly believed I was about to turn him in.
“Don’t worry, you idiot. I’m not going to tell anyone.”
“W-why?”
I sent my head back with a deep sigh and stared at the cracks in the ceiling. “Because I want to move on with my fucking life, and quite frankly, I don’t care enough about you to waste time on sending you to prison.” I then looked down at my hands, my eyes focusing on the IV they stuck in me. Not wanting to waste more time in here, I pulled it out and was ready to get up when Jordan stopped me.
“You can’t get up!”
“Lay your hands on me one more time, and I’ll break them, asshole,” I hissed, and he immediately withdrew.
“You can’t just leave the hospital after being in an accident.”
I brushed my fingers over my necklace. “I can’t stay here, so don’t stop me.”
“I won’t… but you need to see a doctor first. Just in case something’s wrong with you.”
“I’m perfectly fine—”
“What if something suddenly happens to you? I mean, you’ve been in a freaking accident, Shay-Lee. A doctor must see you before you leave… It’s better to be safe than sorry; that’s all I’m saying. ”
Annoyed by his hypocrisy, I let go of my necklace. “Now you care about my well-being?”
Hurt crossed his face, and he tucked his arms under his armpits while shifting weight on his legs. “If you’d just let me explain—”
“Give me your phone,” I demanded.
“What?”
I stretched my hand and waved it. “Give. Me. Your. Phone.”
Jordan hesitated for a second before pulling out his phone and handing it to me.
“What happened to yours?” he asked while I typed in Camilo’s number.
“It flew out of my car.”
“It what?”
“Stop talking— fuck ,” I swore after the call went straight to voicemail.
“Where’s Diesel anyway?”
Ignoring Jordan’s question, I attempted to call again only to be sent to voicemail, again . Clearly, Camilo wasn’t about answering me.
He has every reason to ignore me.
“Here.” I tossed Jordan his phone back, and he barely caught it in time. “Go find me some doctor who’ll get me discharged, and then don’t ever show me your face again.” I turned my back to him.
“Shay-Lee—”
“Just… get out of my life, Jordan. Do us both this favor.”
The room went dead silent until I heard him sigh.
“I’m really sorry for everything.”
I waited until he stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him before I took a deep breath. To be honest, I was sorry, too. We wouldn’t have gotten into this place if not for me using him all those years ago. But that was then, and between high school and now, so much shit had happened that it didn’t even matter. Not anymore. Jordan might have had a perfectly normal life if not for me. But what had Camilo once told me? “What if” was the mindset of a brainless idiot .
Jordan
The sickening thuds only grew louder, and scared, I crouched on the floor and covered my ears with trembling hands. It was still not enough, and my body flinched with each noise that passed through the thin walls. Tears ran down my cheeks, and I attempted to hush my sobs, to no avail.
When I called Mr. Rogers here… I didn’t think he’d do that. I thought he’d help Shay-Lee, not—
Smack.
My eyes snapped open, and I looked ahead. On the other side of the room, spread on the floor, was the body of that nice lady who worked for them. Now, she had a bullet hole between her eyes, which I knew she didn’t deserve. Unlike that other man, the one I shot, she was a good person, I was sure of it. After all, she’d been so kind to me for the past month I was staying at Mr. Rogers’s house. While Orson, I think that was his name, wasn’t a good man. Mr. Rogers had told me his worries regarding his personal assistant. He told me how he suspected Orson, the same as Diesel, was hurting Shay-Lee, and he was right.
Shit .
How did I get involved in this? When Mr. Rogers first called to ask about my well-being, I didn’t think it was anything more than an act of courtesy. Happy for his sympathy, I talked to him, and when he suddenly offered me to come back to LA and stay with him, I said yes. I said yes because he promised it was the only way I’d be able to win Shay-Lee back. Mr. Rogers said that he truly believed Shay-Lee still loved me, but he also told me that, unfortunately, Shay-Lee had got messed up with Diesel. Mr. Rogers claimed that he needed my help to save Shay-Lee from Diesel, but now… Now Mr. Rogers was the one hurting Shay-Lee, probably killing him. And yet, I couldn’t bring myself to move.
The door opened and out walked Mr. Rogers. Since my leg was still injured, I used the wall for support and slowly got up. The entire time, my eyes focused on Mr. Rogers, who was using a handkerchief to wipe the blood from my crutch.
“There you go.” He handed it back to me .
Horrified, I stared at it, feeling drops of sweat sliding under my T-shirt before I looked up at him. Annoyance crossed his face before he shoved the crutch into my chest and walked past me. My arms trembled, and I hugged the crutch close to me while attempting not to drop it.
“Mr. Keller, I’m afraid we must leave before the police arrive,” he said, voice calm.
“T-the police?”
“Did I stutter?” He glanced at me over his shoulder, his cold stare leaving me in utter fear.
“N-no,” I gasped, then turned to look at the room where Shay-Lee was. “D-did y-you k-kill him?”
The speed at which Mr. Rogers turned to face me made my body freeze, and I stayed still, like a frightened animal, as he moved closer.
“Kill him?” His brows pulled tight, forming a sharp crease above his nose. “What sort of nonsense are you spitting? He’s my son. My beloved son who needed to be scolded back toward the right path.” His lips curled with disdain before he lifted a hand.
I was certain he’d hit me, but instead, he used his thumb to wipe away my tears. “That’s all I was doing, Mr. Keller. Giving my son a slight push in the right direction.” He smiled. “And you, sweet boy, are going to help me make sure he stays on that path, or so help me God—” His hand slowly slipped from my cheek to cup the back of my neck. “—you’re going to regret it.”
“Are you getting in?” someone asked, and I looked up to see a young nurse holding the elevator door open for me.
Realizing I’d got lost in memories, I quickly shook my head with an apologetic smile.
“Yeah, I’m sorry.” I stepped inside the elevator and pressed the parking lot floor.
“Are you here to visit someone close?”
“I’m sorry?” I turned to face the nurse, who smiled at me with warmth.
“I asked if you’re here to visit someone close? ”
For a brief second, she reminded me of Laura. This nurse looked nothing like Laura, but something about her attitude and the ease with which she started a conversation reminded me of her. It was funny how, eventually, I just ended up repeating the same mistake. With Laura, I was too afraid to speak up, which led to her suicide, and with Shay-Lee? I was also too scared to open my mouth. Only in his case, my crime didn’t end with just being silent, as I’d taken an active part in covering it up and blaming Diesel for the whole thing. At one point, Mr. Rogers even made me plant the gun I used to kill Orson in Diesel’s old room so the prosecution would use it as evidence. Was it wrong of me to do? Of course, but at the time, I was too scared for my own ass to do anything but follow Mr. Rogers’s instructions.
“No… not exactly,” I finally answered her question. Shay-Lee and I might have been close for a few years, but it was all over now. He’d asked me to stay out of his life, for both of our sakes, and I wasn’t about to argue with that. One could almost laugh over my pathetic ass—to still want a man who cheated on me, and with his ex, no less? Only his cheating didn’t come as a surprise, as I never truly believed he loved me. He was mine for a borrowed time, and while I sure hoped Diesel would never return, I knew that wouldn’t be the case. Shay-Lee’s rejection hurt, but I bet he also hurt when his dad smashed his head open with my crutch.
“Well, I hope they’ll be okay,” that nurse spoke again, and this time, I just hummed my response.
I was never good at talking to strangers, especially girls.
Thankfully, she got out on a different floor, leaving me alone in the elevator. Since I’d called for a doctor to go and check on Shay-Lee, my job here was done, and I was heading home. Once the ride reached the parking lot, I stepped out. While paying my parking ticket, I noticed a motorcycle parked beside the machine, which made me think of Diesel. It was odd that he wasn’t here, and when Shay-Lee asked me for my phone to call him… What was that about?
And while it made me curious, I couldn’t say I cared, as I genuinely hated Diesel with all my heart. He was always one cocky bastard who thought he was such a badass. Maybe he was; I mean, considering how I’d come here prepared for him to shoot me, it must have meant something, but still. He was a real jerk.
With my parking ticket paid, I was ready to track down my car when I spotted a familiar face. Squinting, I made sure I was seeing correctly before raising my arm and waving.
“Dylan!” I called, but he didn’t turn around.
Didn’t he hear me?
“Hey, Dylan.” I ran toward him until I was close enough to grab his shoulder.
Dylan turned around, his green eyes going wide with surprise.
“Oh, Jordy.” He smiled. “What are you doing here?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing, man.” I shoved both my hands into my jeans pockets while smiling at him.
“My aunt had open-heart surgery the other day, and I came to visit her.”
My brows drew in with concern. “Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that. Is she okay?”
“Hopefully.”
“Are you close to her?” I asked, and he nodded.
“Yeah… she practically raised me.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that. But thinking about it, I don’t know a lot of things about you,” I joked while brushing a hand over my freshly faded hair, only Dylan didn’t seem to find me funny. If any, I’d say he looked nervous. Feeling like crap, I reached my hand out and patted his shoulder. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude.”
Covering my hand with his, he smiled softly. “Don’t be, it’s fine.”
He had a beautiful smile that, over the last few months, gave me so much reassurance. We only met this year, but we became close immediately. Dylan was always there when I needed advice about my relationship, and it felt good to have someone so attentive in my life. I mean, he truly cared about me, always asking questions about my life and Shay-Lee. It was nice to have someone to talk to for a change, someone who was fully on my side.
“You still haven’t told me what you’re doing here,” he said when I dropped my hand from him.
“To be honest, Shay-Lee was in a car accident—”
“Oh my God! Is he okay?” Dylan gasped.
“Oh, God, yes,” I assured him with my hands held before me. “He’s actually perfectly fine if you can believe it. I mean, his car got completely wrecked, yet he came out of it without a scratch.” It truly was a miracle when you thought about it. Going through such an accident and coming out of it alive? Fuck—
“That’s a relief,” Dylan said, cutting into my thoughts. “So you being here… does it mean you two are back together?”
“No, not at all.” If only he knew how not back together we were. “I know we talked about it, and you told me you have a feeling we’d get back together, but I’m sorry to disappoint you; ain’t no way it’s going to happen. He and Diesel are, well, endgame.”
Dylan’s face fell, and he looked dead-ass disappointed. “I’m so sorry, Jordy. For some reason, I really thought you two would end up together.”
“Yeah…” I rubbed the back of my neck.
Dylan continued to look at me with those beautiful eyes of his when, suddenly, a thought occurred to me. “I was thinking maybe you’d like to do something later?” I didn’t know why I just said that, but I did, and it was too late to take it back with how he was smiling at me.
“Do something like on a… date ?”
My cheeks heated up, and I pressed my lips together. “I-I guess you could call it a date? ”
Dylan’s smile grew bigger. “I would love that,” he said, and I felt like a huge relief was taken off my shoulders.
“For real?”
“Yeah. But I need to go now, so how about I call you once I’m done here?”
Smitten, I nodded. “Yeah, for sure.”
He then pulled out his phone, and as he did, I noticed he had a new charm attached to it.
Dylan loved cute stuff like this.
“That’s cute.” I pointed over the small elephant when Dylan raised his phone and looked at it himself.
“Yeah, a friend gave it to me a while ago. Anyway, I’ll call you later. Okay?”
“I’ll be waiting.”
After he left, I moved my ass to my car. I’d never thought of Dylan in a romantic way, but now that Shay-Lee and I were over, it made sense to see an opportunity in Dylan. He was beautiful, funny, and caring. Maybe he’d help me finally move on.
Shay-Lee
I looked at the clock ticking on the wall one last time before I decided I had waited enough. Twenty minutes had passed since Jordan left. Twenty fucking minutes. How long did it take for one damn doctor to come here? Since I felt perfectly fine and had no more minutes to waste, I stood up and reached for my clothes, which were folded on the table beside the bed. With my back facing the door, I began stripping out of the hospital gown. Once naked, I reached for my shirt and then my jeans.
“Fuck,” I hissed as I slipped my fingers through a rip in my jeans.
They were brand-new.
But who had time to care about such things when Camilo was on the loose? With his current mental state, who knew what he might do to himself. The mere thought of him getting hurt sent a shiver through me, and ashamed of my behavior, I quickly put on my jeans. The way I’d acted was beyond foolish, and I should have done better, especially when I knew how much he’d been struggling lately. He was mine, and I was his, right?
Touching my necklace, I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart. Panicking wouldn’t do any good, and if I wanted to track him fast, I must stay composed. I might also call for help. Andrei wouldn’t hesitate to assist me, and with him, I bet the others would, too. A faint smile pulled on my lips with the thought of them, as it was nice to have other people to rely on for a change.
Fully dressed, all I was left with was putting on my shoes. Grabbing them, I sat down on the bed and began putting them on when I heard the door opening.
I rolled my eyes. Finally , the doctor had come.
“You’re rather late,” I hissed, not bothering to look back as I was busy with tying the laces. “No wonder public health services have such a bad reputation. I could have already died in the time it took you to get here.”
The door shut, and I heard steps getting closer. “I apologize, mister, for taking so long.”
“As you should.” I huffed. “I can assure you that this is the last time I—” I paused when a single word he said grabbed my attention.
Mister .
That little cockroach called me that.
I began turning around when I felt a sharp prick in my neck. It was so weird, but in a matter of seconds, numbness spread through me like a disease, and I struggled to keep my eyes open. Unable to hold myself, I fell back when someone caught me. First, I noticed the syringe in his hand, which explained the pinch in my neck, and then I saw his face.
“You’re in good hands, mister , I promise. ”
Green eyes and a vicious smile burned into my memory right before everything turned black.
Jordan
The second I entered my car, a thought occurred to me. I should send Dylan’s aunt flowers. After all, if she’d raised him, she probably meant a lot, and flowers would show I cared, right? Grabbing my phone, I typed “nearest florist” into the search bar and began scrolling down the results. Mom’s favorite flowers were tulips, so perhaps I should go for that? It took me a while to settle on a nice bouquet and a box of chocolates to go with it. Ready to put in my credit details, I realized that I had no idea where to send it to. Neither did I know Dylan’s aunt’s name.
Crap .
Would I look clingy if I texted him now to ask? We’d just said our goodbyes ten minutes ago, but then again, I could seize the opportunity to ask him if he liked Italian food so I could make a reservation in this cute restaurant— Yep . One hundred percent clingy.
After deciding not to text him, I tossed my phone on the passenger seat and leaned back against the headrest. “Take it slow, Jordy.” I took a deep breath and then another one. The last thing I needed to do was to get hung up on a guy the same way I did with Shay-Lee. After all, nothing good came out of that relationship, right? I was so consumed with him— still am probably —that it had completely blinded me from right or wrong. I was willing to look away from everything, including my own crimes, just to have my chance with him. And why? I wasn’t really sure, as I’d never given it too much thought. In the beginning, it was pure attraction that drew me to him, but later on, I just fell victim to his web of secrets and manipulation until I couldn’t see beyond. I foolishly thought I could save him, while I clearly couldn’t. And in the end, I was the one who ended up needing to be saved .
Even from myself.
But while our relationship was built on the ruins of his life, under the pretense of a bright future, the last few years were a nice illusion. I loved him because despite it all, Shay-Lee was a beautiful person. He was smart and funny. Sweet at times and ridiculous at others. And when he looked at me? Fuck, it was enough to put my whole world at ease—but not anymore. Shay-Lee had finally put the last nail in the coffin of our relationship, and all I was left with was a ballad of my broken heart.
Surprisingly, I didn’t feel like crying. Maybe it was because I’d already wasted all my tears in the months since he’d left me for Diesel, but either way, I felt somehow optimistic. It was almost as if a stone had been lifted off my chest. He found out the truth, which I knew he eventually would, and he asked me to leave. It sucked, but at least I still got my freedom. Shay-Lee wouldn’t give my name to the police, and that was more than I deserved.
Ready to go, I opened my eyes and turned on my car. The engine roared to life, and I grabbed the steering wheel when my phone buzzed. Hopeful it was Dylan calling for some reason, I quickly picked it up to see it wasn’t him but an unknown number. Ready to dismiss the call, I suddenly remembered Shay-Lee had used my phone to call Diesel. What if this was him calling back? The call died, and I didn’t plan on calling back, but wouldn’t it only be fair of me to tell Shay-Lee about it? He clearly looked stressed when he’d asked for my phone earlier, and Diesel not being there did seem odd…
Turning off my car, I grabbed my keys and phone and was ready to get out when all of a sudden, I saw Dylan walking between cars while pushing a wheelchair with… Shay-Lee in?
What the fuck?
They quickly disappeared from my sight, so I stepped out of the car and began looking for them. My pulse quickened after I thought I’d lost them between all the cars, but luckily enough, I managed to spot Dylan on the other side of the parking lot. He stopped next to a large black SUV and glanced around before pushing Shay-Lee into it and shutting the door behind them.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Had Dylan just kidnapped Shay-Lee?
My nerves kicked in, and I sprinted toward the van.
“Hold on!” I shouted, hand raised in the air and eyes focused on the car that had just reversed out of the parking spot. My heart rate increased to an immense speed as I ran even faster when another car showed up out of nowhere and hit me. My body crashed over the hood before I rolled down to the ground, face-first.
“S-shit,” I hissed as I slowly got up to my feet while the lady driving the car got out of it, screaming if I was okay. Her panicking definitely didn’t help, but what was worse was seeing Dylan’s van getting away. Not sure if it was the adrenaline running through my blood or mere luck, but I didn’t feel any pain, and so—
“I’m good, don’t worry,” I told the lady before I sped back to my car.
Without thinking it through, I turned it on and hit the gas.