Chapter Fourteen
Alia
Shuddering, I glanced over my shoulder as I followed the nurse down the corridor.
Visiting hours hadn't long started so I hoped I was the first. However, I expected his friends to turn up at any moment.
If I saw them, I would bolt. I couldn't have the bug boys gang up on me when I was just trying to pay my respects.
“He's in here.” The nurse smiled. “He managed to persuade them to give him his own room.”
Rolling my eyes, I went to the door and peered inside. I hadn't seen Nate – no, it was Fly now – in years. I had no idea if the others hated me as much as Moth and I didn't want to risk finding out.
Fly was alone in the room, lying in his bed, reading a book. I nodded a thanks to the nurse and knocked on the door, going straight in so he didn't have a chance to work out who I was before I was beside him.
“Hello?” He fixed me with a quizzical stare as recognition crossed his face. “Oh, Alia.”
“You recognize me?” I asked, pointing to the chair next to his bed. “Can I sit?”
He placed his book on the small cupboard next to him and nodded, indicating that I take a seat. I plonked myself down awkwardly, so nervous, I didn’t correctly judge the distance between my butt and the cushion below it.
“Why are you here?” Fly's glare wasn't unlike Moth's when I'd first seen his eyes.
I crossed my legs and put a hand on my knee, clenching it to try and calm the bubbles in my stomach. “Brandon is my problem. I'm so sorry you got hurt by him.”
“The fucker has fast become our problem too.” Fly glanced at his leg where it hung in a brace. “So, don't you go worrying your pretty head about him.”
“I'm not worried about Brandon,” I bit back, dropping my gaze when Fly's snapped to mine. “I'm more concerned that Moth will end up in jail if he loses his shit and kills him.”
Fly tilted his head as he looked at me. He had spiky hair, a thick jaw and beautiful ice-colored eyes. His frame was similar to Moth's – wide shoulders, tall and muscular – except he had fewer tattoos.
“Don't be concerned about Moth.” Fly's lips quirked. “He can take care of himself, even if he is a little headstrong at times.”
“He was furious when he came to ask me for Brandon's address.” I sat forward. “He was going to do something stupid. It was lucky I managed to stop him…”
My sentence trailed off and I looked at the floor, my cheeks growing hot. Why did they make hospital rooms so warm?
Fly's chuckle echoed around the room. I looked back at him, shaking my head when he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Oh yeah. I know how that goes. Anyway, don't enjoy that too much. He hasn't forgotten what you did.”
“And has he told you what I did?” I snapped, getting to my feet and turning to leave.
I’d come here to sympathize with a patient, not to receive more grief. The visit had clearly been a mistake.
“Wait, don’t go. Stay!”
I paused and looked over my shoulder. “Why should I? You all judged me and swore revenge before you got the whole story. I'm done with it.”
He cleared his throat and frowned, gesturing for me to return to his side. “Has he told you what happened when the cops rounded us up that day?”
I had been ready to leave, ready to be annoyed by the men who had clearly not grown from their experiences over time.
However, Fly had caught my attention. Moth had failed to tell me exactly what had happened after that day. I'd assumed they'd been sent away to live with other family members. However, the dark expression currently sitting on Fly's face told me that I needed to learn more.
Treading slowly to stand nearer, I crossed my arms over my waist and waited for him to enlighten me.
He leaned his head back against the pillow, staring up at the ceiling. “Had you never wondered where we came from when we turned up to school at the age of eleven?”
Licking my lips, I shook my head, even though he couldn't see me. “No. I assumed you'd all just moved into town with your families.”
“Well, we had moved into town,” he went on, “but on our own. Our families were alternative. We didn't agree with their ways, so we ran away, and forged a life of our own.”
“Moth did mention that you couldn’t live with them. Why? And how did you get into school? Don't you need a parent to enroll you?” I hadn’t had time to consider what Moth had told me about them living alone or the implications of that.
Shrugging, Fly grimaced and tried to move. His leg swung slightly and he gritted his teeth until it stopped.
I moved closer to look at his pillows. “You need me to fluff them up or something?”
“Who do you take me for? ... Yes.” He smirked. “The answer is actually yes.”
Lifting his head, I shook the pillows about and stuffed them further under his broad shoulders. He groaned when I laid him back down, so I stepped away, only to narrow my gaze on him.
He was smiling like a Cheshire cat, snuggling down into the pillows. “Much better, thank you.”
“Good.” My reply was sharp and short.
“We had an adult friend who helped us enroll in the school.” He went back to staring at the ceiling. “Everything was done online; it made it a lot easier.”
I hummed a reply, not wanting to distract him from his reminiscing.
“Our parents’ had moved to a place where we couldn't live.” He rubbed the sleep out of the corner of his eye. “So, we ran away and set up our own home. The same home you burned down.”
He turned his head to sneer at me. Jeez, a girl couldn't make a mistake – or cover for one – at all, anymore? Okay, so it was their home and Wasp had died in the fire… My stomach churned as I looked into his eyes.
They had been a family. As hard as I'd found it, living with the guilt, I'd been able to try and get on with my life. Yes, I'd gone wild and done some stupid things, but I'd finally found some peace. It seemed the bug boys hadn't.
“It was an accident.” I rubbed my dry lips together. “I'm sorry.”
Waving a hand in dismissal, he let his head fall back again. “When the cops caught us that day, they took us to our families, who forced us to live with them.”
“What type of families would be so bad that five boys wanted to escape?” I asked, needing to know more.
My parents hadn't been the best in the world, but they'd bumbled along, making sure we were fed and clothed. That was the most important thing, right?
Fly chuckled and shook his head. “The type who do fucked up things under the guise of a fucking deity.”
The door opened behind me and I jerked away from the bed, going to the corner of the room as three huge men walked in, including Moth.
“Sorry,” one of them said, “were we interrupting something? How did you find such a hotty in this dreary place?”
Fly laughed along with his friends, not saying a word until Moth lifted his gaze and it landed on me. His eyes, previously brooding, darkened and he lowered his head, still staring at me.
“Moth,” Fly warned.
“Alia.” Moth’s deep voice slipped through my soul and I shuddered.
The gazes of the other two men snapped to me and an actual growl erupted from the one with the crew cut.
“Ant.” Fly reached for his friend, yanking on his arm. “Don't.”
Ant. Ah yes, the one who had always been the joker, the one who had been more intimidating than the others. If anyone tried to bully their little club, he would beat them enough to stop it instantly.
“I should go.” I went to step forward, pausing when the three men didn’t move.
They were blocking the way, their frames forming a wall between me and the door. I scratched my wrist, waiting for them to part in order for me to get through. All four of them stared at me, their gazes intense and, quite frankly, terrifying.
“I came to apologize to Fly.” I braced myself for an attack. “Brandon wouldn’t have hurt him if it wasn’t for me.”
Ant put his head to the side and looked me in the eye. “Moth didn’t help matters, I hear.”
Moth scowled at his friend before looking at me again. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“No.” Ant took a threatening step towards me. “You shouldn’t. However, you’re here now. Maybe it’s time we settle this vow of yours, Moth?”
I opened my mouth to tell him to fuck off. Before the words came, there was a flash of movement as Ant was pinned against the wall next to me, crashing into the posters advertising erectile dysfunction treatments. Huh. Ironic.
Moth’s hand was around Ant’s neck, holding him hard. “That has nothing to do with you,” he said, spittle flying from his lips, “You don’t go near her. Ever.”
“Moth?” Fly called. “Release your friend now. We swore to never fight over a woman.”
Pushing off Ant, Moth released him and grabbed my elbow, dragging me away from the others. My blood rushed in my ears as I went with him, looking for any escape from the room. Except, if I kept running away, I would never be free.
“Wait!” Yanking myself from Moth’s grip, I turned back to the room. “I’m sorry, okay?”
Throwing my hands out to the side, I opened myself up to their attack.
When no one replied, I went on. “I made a mistake that day that caused catastrophic events. I never meant to hurt any of you, I promise. I just wanted to scare you, to pay you back for my humiliation. However, it all went so so wrong. I did not kill Wasp, despite what you all think. But the things I did definitely led to that moment.” Taking a deep breath, I sucked in a sob that wanted to escape. “And I’m so fucking sorry for that.”
Moth took my hand and pulled me out of the room before they could reply. They stood staring at me as we left, the door blocking my view of them when it swung closed.
“Stop!” I tripped as I tried to wrench free from Moth.
He let go and I crashed to my knees, the denim of my jeans barely keeping the hard floor from scraping my skin.
“Are you okay?” a masculine voice asked as a hand appeared in front of my eyes.
Taking it, I let the stranger help me up. Except, it wasn’t a stranger. It was Josh, my delivery guy.
“Alia!” he exclaimed. “I didn’t recognize you down there. What’s going on? Do you need help?”