Chapter 53
Kira
I held on to Seb a little tighter on the ride home.
With everything going on, I found solace in him.
After the funeral, we went to the apartment to get my camera, and then we spent the rest of the evening chasing the sunset around Brooklyn to get the best shot. We eventually stopped at the river to watch the final rays dip below the horizon before we headed home.
All in all, it was a pleasant way to end an emotional day. Just us, the sound of waves lapping against the shore, and the sunset as we said goodbye to a woman I never knew.
“I wish I had met her,” I said once Seb shut the bike off.
“I wish you did too. She was awesome…” Seb remained seated as he offered me his hand, helping me step off while I was still wearing a dress and heels. He cleared his throat as he pulled off his helmet next, revealing tears in his eyes. “Jesus, I thought I was done crying.”
“If you start, I’ll start too.” I removed my helmet, blinking widely.
“We need a distraction.”
I pulled whatever thought popped into my head first. “How about, I want to get my bike license?”
A beautiful smile spread across his lips. “Hell yeah, you should! I could teach you.” He reached over and pinched the front of my dress to tug me into him. “But I would miss my backpack.”
“We could take turns backpacking.”
Seb pressed a hand to his chest while his eyes glistened. “I would be honored to be your backpack.”
I stepped back, laughing softly as he got off the bike. His excitement over me getting my bike license continued to bloom.
“And we could go on a road trip to the mountains or something. Ditch the city and travel—We should get those fluffy bunny hoods for our helmets—”
“Seb—”
“And we could make riding videos. Like a vlog of our travels—”
“Seb, pause for a second.” I grabbed his arm and pointed to the police car several yards away. “Do they look…okay to you?”
He tilted his head and squinted his eyes.
“Are they asleep?” I whispered.
Seb shrugged and waved wildly at them. “Hello, officers!”
“We aren’t meant to interact with them,” I laughed.
Neither of the officers responded. They just sat there.
“Kinda rude but okay,” Seb frowned.
“I think they are asleep.”
“On the job? Lily’s dad won’t be happy.” He started for the car with a cheeky grin thrown in my direction while I waited by the bike.
“You’re going to get us in trouble,” I hissed, unable to remain serious.
Seb reached the window of the driver’s side, slinging an arm on the roof and peering in. Right as he went to speak, his radiant smile dropped and was replaced by what I could only describe as dread.
“Seb?” I was hesitant to move but approached him anyway. As I did, the windshield became easier to see through.
The officers’ heads were tilted at odd angles.
Seb staggered back from the window, and I stopped in my tracks, still unable to make out what was wrong.
But something was terribly wrong.
“What is—?”
“Get inside.” He covered his mouth, forcing down a gag before he walked straight at me and took my hand. Without stopping, he steered me across the street towards the apartment. “We need to get inside—They’re dead, like really fucking dead.”
“What?” I kept moving, ripping the swipe key to the building from my bag as we jogged to the doors. I tossed the card at Seb. “You open it, I need to take off these goddamn shoes.”
He practically dove at the card reader by the door, impatiently holding the card in front of it until the door beeped and he shoved it open. I trailed behind, half hopping as I kicked off my shoes.
Seb made for the elevator, but I grabbed his arm. “That thing is too slow. Stairs.”
We didn’t know why we were rushing. We didn’t know what we would find. I only hoped we weren’t about to have a repeat of last weekend.
I can’t lose a best friend.
Every flight of stairs felt longer than the last. My legs burned, but I pushed on. Round and round, up and up until we spilled onto the third floor and sprinted down the hallway.
Nothing looked different.
Nothing was burning or broken.
Seb had my keys and reached for the door handle, only for it to come off in his hand. As if someone had put it back to make it seem untampered with.
My heart rate increased. “Oh, god…”
He cautiously nudged the door open ajar.
“Wait here,” he said, taking a step forward.
I gripped his arm. “No. Not happening. We go together.”
“Kira—”
There was a soft click, followed by several other clicks. We paused and turned around as Susan, our nosy neighbor, pulled open her door, wearing the glare of someone who had been trying to sleep.
“I should make a complaint to the owners about how many people you’ve had coming and going from your apartment tonight,” she hissed, crossing her arms over her pink dressing gown.
I could’ve told her my moms owned our apartment, but that wasn’t important right now.
“Susan.” I stepped towards her. “What people?”
“All men too. You girls should be ashamed of yourselves.”
“Are the men still in there?” Seb asked.
Susan raised her eyebrows. “And I suppose you’re another one? Shame—”
“Just answer the fucking question,” I snapped.
Seb wasn’t used to me swearing, and his face briefly expressed that, meanwhile, Susan gasped in offense.
She raised her chin matter-of-factly. “There were a few of them, but it was hard to see, you rude girl.”
“Did you see them leave?” Seb said firmly.
Susan’s eyes narrowed, like she was finally catching on to something. “What’s going on?”
“Yes or no, Susan.”
Offended again, this time by Seb’s curtness, Susan bristled. “Yes, they left.”
It was all we needed to hear, and we pushed through our apartment door, leaving Susan to mutter under her breath.
I felt along the wall for the light switch, fumbling through the dark until my knees collided with something solid. But I found the switch.
The second the light came on, I slapped a hand over my mouth and stared in shock at the mess.
The solid thing in front of me was a turned-over kitchen stool, much like most things in the apartment.
Spilled plants, a broken lamp, and miscellaneous items and books from the bookshelf by Lily’s bedroom door littered the carpet, mapping out a trail from the living room to the hallway.
It reminded me of Aiden’s temper, and I could feel my body wanting to freeze. Everything I had learned in my Thursday meetings was fighting to keep me present.
He’s still injured. I’m safe. I’m stronger than before. Seb is here. Aiden isn’t.
“Dean? Lily? You here?” Seb moved carefully through the apartment, opening doors and turning on every light as he searched for our friends. But they weren’t here. I knew that before he had finished checking.
My eyes were fixed on the blood spots on the floor until Seb pushed open my bedroom door. Bella sprinted out as best she could with a cast on and sat against my foot with her tail between her legs.
I scooped her up, holding her close as she shook. The feeling of her soft fur seemed to regulate my thoughts again, and her shaking eased.
“They aren’t here,” Seb stated, stopping in the center of the mess. He dragged a hand over the top of his head. “Fuck—what do we do?”
Partially numb, I pulled out my phone.