“Yeah, you stabbed him.”
“In the eye, yes, but I wasn’t the one who killed him. Asher put the bullet in the scum’s chest.”
I gasp then stop when pain shoots at the back of my neck.
As if being thrown into the depth of an ocean, my breathing disappears and I have to suck in air in order to feed my starved lungs.
“Is he…okay?”
“He’s at the station with his father.”
From what the doctor said earlier, I’ve been out for almost two days, so that should mean Asher has been away for the same length of time.
Oh, God. Does this mean he’ll be convicted of murder? I can’t have that fucker Ivan take another person away from me.
I try to sit up, but Reina makes me lie back down again.
“What are you doing?” she snaps.
“I have to go and help, I have to…do something. I can’t just sit here.”
“His father is with him. Alexander Carson is one of the best lawyers in the country, remember? He’ll get him out of this. Besides, I made a statement and told them it was self-defense. Just rest, Rai. I’m sure Asher will be out in no time.”
How can I rest when Asher’s fate is unknown?
I can’t rest.
The nurse has to sedate me so I’ll close my eyes and sleep for the duration of the night.
The following day, the nurse and Reina help me wash up. The face I see in the mirror is too disfigured to be considered human. Purple and green bruises are scattered all over my skin; it’s even worse than the previous time.
As I stare at it, I break down and cry. I hold on to the sink and let go of all the emotions I’ve been numbing for long years.
I cry for the little girl who had to run from one city to another, for the teenager who coveted someone she thought didn’t belong to her, and for the woman who lost him all over again.
Asher and I always miss each other. Like parallel lines, it’s almost as if we were never meant to cross paths. Whenever we do, a disaster occurs and we have to go back to that parallel existence, that helpless attempt to keep the order, and as a result, we become miserable.
At this point, I’m starting to think we’re cursed. Maybe Arianna did some black magic before her death and made sure we’d never reunite.
The nurse pats my back, telling me none of my injuries will scar, that in a few weeks, it’ll go back to the way it was.
She thinks I’m crying because of that, and it makes me cry harder. I don’t stop until Reina comes inside and helps to wheel me back to bed.
It’s then I notice the men in black standing in front of the door. In the beginning, I thought it was my security, but I don’t spot Gaige and the others amongst them.
That’s when I realize they must be Reina’s people. She really does lead a different type of life.
“Are you better?” She takes the glass away after I swallow the pain pill the nurse gave me.
I shake my head as I close my eyes. I’ll never be better until he’s better.
It’s crazy, but over time, Asher’s wellbeing has begun to feel like my own.
Why don’t they make a pain pill for the heart?
* * *
When I wake up again, it’s dark. My throat is scratchy and dry.