~Chapter 46~
The silence of the entire two minutes had completely held my breath. And if my ears weren't ringing due to my fearful adrenaline, I'd have made out the contagious thumping of everyone's heart in that pin drop silence.
Shivaay took that opportunity to jump on his feet and dashed toward where Emika was being held between the two guards.
It took Mr. Miller less than a second to fire off his gun apprehensively and just at that instant, I heard a loud, agonizingly painful scream.
Maybe it was the sound of gun firing or maybe they were literally planning to enter at that moment but I saw the police finally rushing in to make the situation better.
Although, I didn't care about it. My eyes wandered to the one who was howling in pain and had doubled over within seconds. Shivaay!
Just as the NYPD was holding back everyone from the others, Shivaay was writhing and clutching his leg where he had been shot.
I wanted to go over to him but I was held back by someone. When I looked over my shoulder, I saw an intimidating looking middle aged man in his uniform, holding my wrists from behind. Glancing around, I saw that it was the same with every person present in the room. Then it dawned on me that the police couldn't tell who the criminal was.
I began crying as two men helped Shivaay outside the warehouse by wrapping his arms around their shoulders. Trying my best, I kept on getting out of the tight restraints of the intimidating personnel's grip.
"Stand still, ma'am," he ordered with a firm voice.
Slumping, I did as I was told to and a silent choke escaped my lips. It was all my fault and I just wanted to be left alone. Left alone to beat myself internally. At least that would make me feel better.
Before I could start hating myself any further, I saw my dad and Angela rushing inside the warehouse sporting frantic looks on their faces. The funny thing was that they were still wearing their wedding outfits.
With teary eyes and a poignant heart, I still smiled a little. Seeing them, I felt at home. I felt at ease. Even though I couldn't meet anyone's eyes, I knew that I could always count on them.
Just thinking about it, I began crying harder without holding myself back. I guess the weight of the whole situation was finally falling on me and I couldn't resist anymore.
"Dad," I whimpered and my scratchy voice croaked even more.
As soon as I said that, his head snapped in my direction. Our eyes locked before he closed and opened them back again which were now glistening with tears of relief.
Sprinting toward me, he flicked his wrist at the police guy behind me and I was free within seconds. Soon enough, they freed all my friends and took the rest of them, which included all the guards, Mr. Miller and Yousuf, outside the broken door of the warehouse.
The moment my dad reached me, I hugged him like I would lose him in the very next instant. I had almost been so close to my death twice today and I knew that it was a sign for me to let loose and let go. It was a sign for me to learn all those things I had considered as trivial during my childhood and teenage years.
But most of all, it was a sign… it was a sign for me to be grateful to every single person present in my life. It was a sign for me to hold onto them and understand how precious they are to me.
Never once did they question my motives nor did they back away from helping me even when they knew that the situation was nothing short of dangerous.
I pulled away from my dad and was bewildered to see his eyes pooling with unshed tears. "Aww, dad," I whispered, my own face mirroring his.
"Do you know how much your recklessness had me worried, had Angela worried, had Chase worried, had all of your friends worried," he told me in a low voice but I could tell that he wanted to scream out at me in exasperation.
I sighed, looking down with shame. "Don't you always tell me, dad, that… when the castle gets dark, you don't run away from it and come back in the morning. But rather you chase away all your ghosts and sleep it off. Like a warrior."
His lips curved up the teeniest bit because he was still trying to show that he was mad at me. He flicked my nose as a full fledged smile lit up his entire face.
"Oh, my God, Valerie. Are you okay?" It was Angela's frightened voice. She didn't wait for my answer and wrapped her arms around me. She began rubbing my back and it was so soothing that I forgot about everything and relished in her motherly touch.
Before I could tell what was happening, I felt like ten heavy sacks were thrown onto me. Looking to my left and right, I saw all my friends squishing me like an already squashed lemon. I was literally pressed against Angela who began laughing amusedly.
"I am so sorry, guys. I apologize for everything but cutting off my oxygen is the worst kind of death," I mumbled, grinning to myself.
I heard them all laughing as I tried to separate myself from the "sack" hug. They must have got the hint because I could finally breathe again.
"You're forgiven, Val," Ivan said jokingly.
I smiled at him widely before I felt the absence of three people. Skye, Emika and of course Shivaay.
Keith must have noticed me throwing worried glances everywhere because he passed me a small smile.
"What's wrong, honey?" My dad asked me.
"Just give me a moment. I need to see Shivaay, he… he is injured," I told him and he nodded his head in understanding. As I was heading toward the exit, I felt the presence of my friends following behind me closely.
Once I was outside, I saw him sitting at the back of the medic car, his one leg dangling freely while he was clutching the other one stiffly. Shivaay's tired and blotchy eyes met mine.
Emika was standing beside him, crying and hitting Shivaay on his shoulder every few seconds. While on the other hand Skye was standing next to him with a sombre face. As soon as they saw Shivaay's attention turned elsewhere, both of them followed his line of vision.
I jogged the distance between us and stood in front of him. Although before I could stop myself, tears were starting to stream down my cheeks. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen…" I grimaced, looking at his hurt leg as if I was in pain.
"Good. You should be," Shivaay said and I couldn't detect a single ounce of humor in his voice. I don't know how I looked right then but for sure, it was not anything pleasant. I was scared to lose him as a friend. "I was just messing around, VVJ. Why you being so serious?" He laughed, quoting the same words he had said to me the first time we had met.
I rolled my eyes at him but the smile on my face soon began blossoming like a flower. "I hate you, Shivaay," I muttered and he just winked.
Emika wrapped an arm around my shoulder and I was instantly relieved. I felt comfortable. Tilting my head, I saw Skye staring at me with a soft smile already. There was something in his eyes, the way his countenance was pooling with intensity that my heart skipped a beat and I looked away shyly.
"Are you okay, dude?" Ivan asked Shivaay, giving him a wolfish grin as if he was amused by the situation.
Shivaay passed him a dry look and didn't bother to give him a reply.
However Chelsea and Keith both began speaking at once, trying to be heard over the other. They sounded very worried and another strong wave of guilt washed over me. I tried to push it down though.
"Guys… guys… Keith, Chelsea. Guys!" Shivaay finally boomed, his lips scrunched up into an angry pout. "I am fine, okay? Plus, this is so badass. I'm gonna show this off like a prized trophy." He beamed, childishly wiggling his brows.
Emika slapped him on his head upside down and bared her teeth to show that she wasn't in the least bit amused.
"Not an ideal thing to show off, Shivaay," Keith reprimanded him.
"What, guys? Come on, stop being such poopers. You know how some warriors are so proud of their scars they got during the battle. So this is my thing now. Look, all my life, I've been deemed as some useless, good for nothing retard but now I finally feel like I am not. I feel like I have saved people - my friends, to be precise. Not gonna lie, not even copywriting has given me the same adrenaline rush as this incident today did. I finally felt like I smashed the cage I had so intricately put around me. So trust me when I say that don't worry," he explained to us without stuttering or hesitating even once. "This is my jam!"
I gave him a small smile even though I wanted to tell him that don't ever go out looking for danger. But I knew this was Shivaay Vyas and he did everything the sarcasm could allow.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and like expected, he began protesting. Nobody paid him any heed as Emika, Chelsea and Keith joined the group hug. I felt like it was becoming a thing for us. To always have a group hug. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Skye and Ivan glancing around awkwardly. I grinned at their stupid and clueless cuteness.
Untangling my arm, I waved at them both inside the hug. At first, they seemed reluctant but obliged when they saw the stimulating smile on my face.
And that was how I felt complete. I felt at home. I felt rejuvenated after days of moping around like a silly girl who drank away her problems. I finally felt at peace because now I didn't have to worry about someone looking at me to gather information. Even though I was still jobless, I did learn my lesson. I would learn something new and still try to pursue my dreams.
Once we broke the hug, I awkwardly turned to Skye to talk to him. Awkward because the last time we had stumbled across each other in the mall, I wasn't very… nice to him. However, his last words managed to make me blush even now.
Just as I had opened my mouth to say something, Mr. Williams approached Skye. There was a soft smile playing on his lips and my eyes widened because of how genuine it was. "Skylar, I need to talk to you, son," he said.
Skye nodded his head before sending me a quick, apologetic smile and a promising look that said 'we would talk later'.
Mr. Williams must have noticed me at that moment only because he was caught off guard. "Ms. Jones," he acknowledged my presence with a polite smile. "I hope you don't mind me stealing him for a few minutes?"
My fangirl moment was starting to surface and I wanted to gush and be all like, "hey, I am a fan and I don't mind it one bit because I am a huge fan and I admire your work and oh, did I say that I am a huge huge fan?"
"Um…" I mumbled, looking starstruck. "Sure." I blinked stupidly. Now, I did meet him before but the first time was me going through a bucket full of despondent emotions. And the second time earlier today was me being surrounded by my panicky energy and the fact that we hadn't exchanged a single word. Albeit right now, he was addressing me with a polite smile.
Skye chuckled at my stupidity and shook his head before they excused themselves. They were standing a good few feet away from me.
Sighing, I looked away to not be an intruder. I was about to go back to my friends when a crazy and frantic voice called out for me. "Ms. Jones!"
I turned to the source of the voice only to find Yousuf, the cameraman, being dragged by two officials toward the police car. Narrowing my eyes, I glared at him because I didn't like him calling me.
"Ms. Jones! Hear me out. Please… please hear me out," Yousuf said as his desperate eyes begged me to listen.
I saw my friends looking at him but Yousuf didn't seem so fazed by it. And I could see strong fear swimming in his dark eyes. Exhaling loudly, I walked up to him but kept my distance. No matter what, he was still a creepy stalker following me around with his camera, orders or not.
"Thank you! Thank y-"
"What is it?" I asked him bluntly, not caring about being kind with him.
"Look, miss. I did not want to do this. I needed the money and I was promised some real good rich dollars and I accepted it because my job doesn't pay me much," he told me and even though he had a good build, he was shaking incessantly.
I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "You could have done something else, something much better."
"I didn't have the time! My mother… my mother, she-she's in a hospital bed fighting cancer," he began, saying the word "cancer" with utmost disdain. "And Mr. Miller could not have come at a better time. I know what he did was wrong but to me, he's a Messiah. And even if she can't be saved, at least I won't have to carry the guilt of not being able to spend my time with her last days or moments. But-but I apologize. I apologize for everything I did to you. I am so so sorry." There were tears in his eyes and he was almost on the verge to even beg on his knees.
I stuttered because of the intensity of his truth and I instantly felt bad. Pursing my lips, I looked down at my feet. "So…" I glanced back up at him to see his tear stricken face. "What do you want? Just my forgiveness?" I asked him that because I knew that he was asking for something more. Something along the lines of 'not wanting to go to the prison.'
"What's going on here?" It was Skye.
I looked over to my shoulder to see him standing really close to me. My back was just inches away from his front but I could still feel the tingles everywhere. As I averted my gaze back to Yousuf, I felt Skye's hand on my back and he came to stand beside me.
"Please let me go…" Yousuf pleaded, this time his words were directed at Skye. "I was blinded by desperation. Desperation to save my mother."
Sighing, my shoulders slumped and I saw one of the police officials already staring at me expectantly. Nodding my head, I told him, "Let him go."
Both the officials obliged before Yousuf began laughing in disbelief. "Thank you! Thank you so much, Ms. Jones. I owe you one and-"
"Yeah, that's enough. You can leave now," Skye remarked belligerently.
With a sly smile, I turned to him but he avoided my eyes. From the looks of it, he was jealous and somehow that was adorable.
Yousuf didn't need to be told twice as he scurried away. Skye's gray eyes trailed him as he continued to not look at me.
I stood up on my tip toes, biting my lips to stop myself from laughing out loud. "Are you jealous?" I whispered.
He jerked away, noticing our proximity but relaxed within seconds. "I-"
"Oh, you have no idea, Val." Ivan suddenly appeared in front of me. When he was sure that he had caught our attention, he continued, "Skye might seem all shy, quiet, soft and all that but it's always the quiet ones who are freaky. If you know what I mean." He winked weirdly.
I choked on my saliva and I could feel my face getting all warm.
"Ivan…" Skye warned.
This, however, didn't scare off Ivan as he beamed widely. "What? That's the truth. I tell you, Val, he is a very jealous guy. Remember that first time when he got drunk-"
Skye just had to take one step forward and he was right behind Ivan. He pressed his hand on his best friend's mouth while also twisting his arm behind his back. "Shut up, you fuc- urgh, just shut up, dude!" He said frustratedly and his thunderous expression softened a bit when he saw my amused face. A few seconds later, he retreated his hand back. "The hell!" He screamed suddenly.
I could only assume that Ivan bit his hand because Skye began rubbing it against his jeans with disgust clear on his face.
"Yeah, so he got drunk because he was jealous to see you talking to a guy in the club!" He spewed out the words while trying to refrain himself from laughing. He quickly turned to see Skye's angry expression and before he could tease him more, he ran out of there.
Growling, Skye chased after him. If it were any other time, I would have laughed but right now Ivan's words kept echoing in my head. He had been jealous that day and I had been so oblivious. A goofy smile lit up my face because I didn't know if I should slap him hard across his face for getting drunk over such a petty issue or be happy that he got jealous.
I was brought out of my trance when I heard Mr. Miller's livid words howling along with the cold winds. When I looked over at him, he was struggling against the police officials. "This isn't right! What you're doing ISN'T right! I am gonna come back and when I do, I'll see to it that-"
"Shut up, you old man!" Shivaay hollered, laughing. "We'll think about you coming back and taking your revenge… maybe in the multiverse!"
That made us all sputter out with laughter. The last look he gave us before he was pushed inside the car was priceless. He was mortified.
That was the moment I felt accomplished. Everything was perfect and I was happy after weeks and weeks of feeling miserable.