Chapter 17
ALEX
Avoiding my sister for a week has been a fucking circus. More so, since I had to convince her to sell me her apartment immediately. I owe Sterling big time. He’s keeping her occupied. Apparently, leaving in the middle of my birthday party to take care of her friend—for her—isn’t a good excuse.
What does she want me to tell her?
I don’t have another answer. I still don’t know what got into me, but I knew I had to be here for Hannah.
Thinking of Hannah being alone after the news…not that she was alone. Her friends were there, for her—with her.
When I arrive at June’s apartment, I spot a couple lingering by Hannah’s door.
“May I help you?” I ask and take a step back when the man turns around to look at me.
Kaden Hades himself. I’ve seen his picture in Hannah’s apartment. Is it wrong to go into her office now that she’s not around? I mean, I have to look for Draco, who hides under her desk.
“Who are you?” he asks.
“Alexander Spearman,” I introduce myself, extending my hand.
He nods, shaking my hand. “June’s brother,” he says. “I thought she moved to Colorado.”
“She did. I just bought her apartment, and I’m moving in,” I announce, showing him the small box I’m carrying with me.
“Do you know where Hannah sent Draco?” the woman next to him asks.
I pull out the keys and smile. “I’m in charge of him,” I reply and extend my hand to her. “Sorry, I’m Alex.”
“Sadie,” she answers.
“Hannah’s mom.”
She smiles sadly and corrects me, “Stepmom.”
“Well, every time she talks about you, she says you’re her mom, so I assumed.”
“Give her time, Sadie,” Kaden says, and she nods, hugging herself.
Remembering the conversation, I heard through the other side of the wall, I take the liberty to say, “Hannah was hurting that day—a lot.”
“You saw her?”
“From afar,” I tell them, without adding that our walls are thin, so I heard a lot of what’s happening before she left. “Pain is a bitch.”
I nod toward Sadie and say, “Pardon my vocabulary. The point is that when you’re in so much pain, you can hurt your loved ones and yourself without caring because your mind is filled with endorphins that don’t let you think straight.”
“She’s not answering our phone calls,” Kaden says, pulling out his phone.
Not sure if talking to them is the right thing to do, but if these were my parents and one of my siblings had disappeared, I’d want them to at least hear the little I know.
“From what I heard, her mom wanted her to take care of her affairs. Her friends were with her.”
Kaden closes his eyes. “Do you think she’s going to go back to…”
“No,” his wife answers. “Trust her, okay? Alex, do you know who was with her?”
I shrug. “Tucker and Ethan for sure. I don’t know the name of the other two.”
“Zeke and Rocco,” Kaden grunts. “Okay, Tucker is with them.”
“Do you want us to take Draco?” Sadie asks.
“If you don’t mind, she left him with me,” I say, trying not to sound desperate. This is the only thing I can do for Hannah—and I want to do it.
Kaden looks at me and nods. “Thank you for being there for her.”
“Sometimes, you have to fall apart in order to put the pieces back together and create someone even stronger,” I blurt.
“What did you say?” Sadie asks.
“It’s something Mom said once when I...a few years back, I was going through a rough patch.”
“Your mother is wise.”
I nod.
“Kaden, we knew it was going to happen,” Sadie says, looking at her husband. “She’s been saving everything, keeping us away to make sure we’re not hurt. She couldn’t continue.”
“I hate this, Sade.”
I feel like I’m in the middle of a conversation that’s meant for just the two of them, yet moving away doesn’t seem right either.
Kaden pulls out a card, asks his wife for a pen, and scribbles on it. “Here, call if you hear from her or if you need anything. I trust you’ll be discreet with my private information.”
“Yes, sir.”
He looks at his watch. “If we call Duncan, maybe we can get a charter out of here before lunchtime.”
I check my watch and sigh. Mom’s going to kill me.
“My jet is ready to leave. You can take it.”
“Were you going somewhere?”
I wave them away. “Not really, let me call the pilot to change the route. You’re going to Seattle, right?”
“Please don’t worry about us, we can make a few calls,” Kaden says.
“Chartering out of here without a reservation takes at least five hours. Let me do this for you.”
Sadie looks at me and squeezes my hand. “You’re not soulless.”
“She’s mentioned me?” I ask, amused.
Sadie nods and smiles.
When I enter my new apartment, I sigh. There’re too many boxes to unpack. Maybe I can use this as an excuse to skip visiting my parents. But Mom is pissed at me for leaving last week. My ticket to Colorado left for Seattle.
My options are calling Sterling to borrow his jet or texting Mom. Instead, I call Dad.
“Are you okay, son?”
I shake my head and ask, “Can you run interference?”
He sighs. “What is going on with you, Alex?”
I tell him everything that’s happening with Hannah.
“Well, then I’ll tell her the truth. You’re in charge of this girl’s cat and won’t be able to come until you make some arrangements.”
“Can we keep this away from June?”
“How much do you care for this girl?”
“Not sure, I’m trying to figure it out, Dad.”
“Let me know if you need anything, son,” he concludes. “Your mom will understand.”
“Thank you, Dad.”
Golden Boy: Can I have Hannah’s email or her number?
Ethan: If you need to contact her, send me a message or a letter that I can forward to her.
Golden Boy: A letter? Like those things you handwrite and put in an envelope?
Ethan: Yep, that’s what she said.
Golden Boy: Fuck, she’s impossible. Well, send me the address where I can mail them.
Ethan: Just like that, you’ll be mailing her letters?
Golden Boy: She wants letters, I’ll send her letters.
Ethan: Not sure what to make of you two, but I’ll email you my address.
Golden Boy: Where is she?
Ethan: She’s planning on traveling around the world. That’s all I can say.