Chapter 6
SIX
My nose adjusts to the stench of the hospital, the sterile scent of alcohol causing me to scrunch my nose a few times. It’s dark outside, and despite having spent the past seven hours in the hospital, it feels like an eternity.
Aria received a blood transfusion as soon as she was brought in, and they were able to stabilize her.
Currently, she’s asleep, but she should recover soon.
Mom hasn’t left her side since we arrived, and Dad came in shortly after.
Seeing his little girl in a hospital gown, surrounded by doctors, hooked on machines to monitor her heart broke him.
The man sat on the chair next to her bed for two hours and hasn’t stopped crying since.
It’s the silent tears, just like Mom’s — streaming down his face, his body shaking.
I’m sitting on the tiled floor in the next hallway, face buried in my knees. I haven’t moved in a while, and I can’t bring myself to. This entire thing has brought out feelings of hopelessness I’ve never felt before, and I’ve never felt quite as useless as I’m feeling right now.
Why?
Why did she do it? What triggered her to attempt to take her own life? Who the fuck dared to make Aria feel that way to the point of thinking suicide was the only solution?
Underneath all the pain, sorrow, and helplessness is a deeply rooted anger.
It boils my blood; it runs through me constantly.
I’m angry at the person who did this, and there’s not a single doubt I’ll find out who it is, and once I do, I’ll fucking kill them like the little pathetic pest they are.
But more importantly, I’m mad at myself.
I’m fucking furious I haven’t seen the signs in time. If I’d seen it all, I might’ve been able to give her the helping hand she desperately needed. Because I know Aria, and this was a cry for help. One that none of us were able to hear until it got to the point of no return.
I swallow a knot that forms in my throat, my sanity holding on by a thin thread.
There’s only so much more of this I can take, and I don’t know when everything will overwhelm me to the point of doing something insane.
By the looks of it, I’m nearing the edge of the abyss, and I’m allowing it to swallow me whole.
“It’s all our fault,’’ I hear Dad’s voice in the next hallway over, right outside Aria’s room. “We should’ve seen the signs.’’
His voice is defeated. The man hasn’t been like this in years. I don’t remember the last time I ever heard him sound so… broken. He’s known his strength, both mental and physical, and seeing him like this is just another thing that makes me worry.
“We failed her,” Mom admits, the crack in her voice making my heart sink to my feet. “We failed to protect our little girl, Hudson. Where did we go wrong?”
The way they’re both blaming themselves hurts. They are the best parents anyone could’ve asked for. Fuck, they accepted Blair into the family immediately and even did the same for Aria’s friend, Rose.
They brought us up with compassion, understanding, and both of us knew that we could always count on them.
They always took on our burdens with smiles on their faces, and not once have they stopped showing us their love and support.
Even now that I’m an adult, living on my own, and working, they’re still constantly checking in, even before Blair came into the picture.
The fact that they’re finding fault in their parenting style is gut-wrenching.
It wasn’t their fault; if it was anyone’s fault, it was mine.
I should’ve noticed it all, yet I didn’t.
I focused on finding one important person in my life, and I neglected the other.
This is something I’ll never forgive myself for.
I stand up, my footing wobbly from sitting down for too long.
I walk around the corner, then stop when the sight of Mom sobbing into Dad’s chest appears in my vision.
She’s in a state of distress, the same woman that never looks anything short of put together, composed, and, by all standards, perfect.
Yet, she’s a mess. She’s clutching Dad’s wrinkled shirt, trying to ground herself. He’s hugging her back, holding her as if he were holding onto dear life, his eyes closed. As if sensing me near, he opens his eyes, and Mom slowly pulls back.
“It’s my fault, I—”
“No,” Mom’s sharp voice cuts me off. Her eyes narrow, and although they’re red from crying, puffy and swollen, there’s a threat behind those deep brown eyes.
“None of this was your fault. She’s our daughter.
Our responsibility. We were the ones who failed to see the signs.
If anyone is to blame, it’s Hudson and me. Do you hear me?”
“No,” I breathe out, clenching my fists next to my body. “I’m equally to blame.’’
“Don’t make your mother repeat herself, Arlo.” Dad’s cutting voice makes me swallow, neither of them relenting. “It wasn’t your fault. You’re the best brother, and we’re proud of the way you’ve been protecting her.”
A bitter laugh slips from me. “If I were good at protecting her, this never would’ve happened.”
“Go cool off,” Dad orders, and I know better than to try and fight him on this. “Noah and I will be here. Come back in the morning.”
“I can’t just leave,” I whisper, looking down at my feet. Another wave of tears starts pooling in the corner of my eyes, and I have to fight back the urge to start breaking and hitting things.
Dad approaches me, his hand on my shoulder. He gives it a tight squeeze, and I lift my head to look at him. In one single day, that man has aged twenty years, and it breaks me to see him like this — both of them.
“You still have to find Blair,” he tries to reason. “And Aria is asleep. I’ll call you if she wakes up before you come tomorrow.”
“Fine.”
The night is hazy. I’m barely walking properly, and I called a taxi from the hospital to the base. It’s eerily quiet inside. The lights are shut off in most of the rooms, the upper bedroom having all the doors closed. Everyone’s either on missions, asleep, or out, leaving me all alone.
The sound of heels clicking snaps me back to reality, and I see Kaya leaning against the wall. Her blonde hair shimmers under the moonlight that’s sneaking in through the windows, her face as passive as always.
“Is she alright?”
“How did you know?”
“I was with Hudson when Noelle called him.” She pushes herself off the wall, approaching me.
She takes a seat at a respectable distance away from me, then pulls out a flask from her bag.
She hands it over, and I don’t even question what it is before gulping it down.
A gagging noise comes from the back of my throat, a grimace appearing on my face.
“What the fuck is this?”
“Plum rakia.”
“Whatever the fuck it is, it’s good.” I sigh, taking another swing. “Have you seen Cove?’’
“No, not today,” she hums. “Don’t tell him about why Aria’s in the hospital, though.”
My eyes snap to hers. “Why the fuck not?”
“I haven’t known your sister for that long, but I can read people well. When she wakes up, if she finds out you’ve told people who aren’t immediate family, she’ll feel shameful and embarrassed.’’
That gets me to pause. Kaya’s observation skills are freaky, but she isn’t wrong.
Aria wouldn’t want anyone to know, even less someone she’s barely spoken to — Cove.
He’s just my best friend in her eyes, and that alone is enough for this not to be shared with him.
She doesn’t know him well enough or trust him enough.
“You’re right.”
“Aren’t I always?”
I snort, clutching the flask. Her eyes flick down to the grey object in my hands, then back to my face. “You’re filled with anger.’’
“Yes,” I grit my teeth. “I’ll kill whoever it was that brought her to this point.”
“I may not know who it was, but,” she averts her gaze, looking at the wall across from her. “Only a man could do this to a woman, or a mean woman. But somehow, Aria doesn’t seem the type to let just anyone disrespect her.”
“It doesn’t matter to me if it’s a man or a woman. Whoever it was, the price will be their life.”
“In the meantime, how about you release some of that anger?”
I cock my head to the side. “Care to share your thoughts with the class?”
“We both know that Simmons won’t show up. He’ll have his lackeys in his stead. So, let’s not wait around.”
I lift a brow, silently urging her to continue. A wicked gleam is in her eyes that almost scares me, but when she opens her mouth to speak, I’m on board. The plan is flawed, reckless, and quite honestly, terrifying to execute in such a quantity, but at this point, I have nothing else to lose.
So, I go to the floor with bedrooms and wake up a couple of people. They don’t ask questions, not when they see the look on my face. Within an hour, everyone’s filled in on what we’re going to do, and each person takes a separate car, with Kaya and me riding in one.
We arrive at the location that’s on the high point of the city, far away from the chaos. It overlooks the entire city, the nightlights flickering. It looks beautiful from over here, and the cold air adds to my determination, just like fuel to the fire.
It’s two in the morning when everything is ready, and one by one the men start sending me messages. Everyone’s done their share of work and is ready for me to give further instructions. Kaya glances over my shoulder at my phone as it buzzes, then nods briefly.
Then, I give them the green light.
All of Alexander’s restaurants, all of Woods’ companies, all of Flint’s banks with the money inside, and all of the non-residential establishments that Adams owns burst into flames at the same time.
Fire slowly spreads, creating chaos within, eating everything in its path.
It’s like a force of destruction that screams my name silently.
A force to be reckoned with, one that they never saw coming.
My vision gets filled with wild, untamed specks of red and orange, and a flick of satisfaction fills me.
This is a threat. I’m done playing nice.
Everything they’ve worked so hard on, everything they’ve built on dirty money, on blood, is being burned to the ground, and there’s nothing they can do to stop it.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Kaya asks, her voice a hushed murmur.
I flick the cap of the whiskey bottle away, letting it fall down. The alcohol fills my system, the fire dancing in my eyes. By morning, all of it will be gone. Their empires that never should’ve existed, their reputations, and their homes.
“It’s cathartic,” I respond.
New York is burning down, and it won’t stop burning until they return my butterfly to me. For all I care, it can disappear tomorrow. It makes no difference to me. I’m no longer trying to go the nice route. The bastards had it coming a long time ago.
You’re coming home, butterfly.
Within the next five days, I’ll have Blair back in my arms, back where she belongs.
And I don’t care who I need to engulf in flames.
I’ll watch the flesh melt off their bodies, I’ll listen to the piercing screams of agony, and I’ll record them for later so I can replay them later on.
If need be, I’ll continue burning down cities, one by one, until she’s back.
And she’ll be back.
Soon.