JARED’S POVThe streets were lit up by Jack-O lanterns. The worst kind of night to commit a crime. No one would see you, no one would care. I wasn't sure why exactly we celebrated Halloween. To me, it was just like 'purge'Some roads were jammed and it didn't even matter that I was yelling at everyone and everything."Damien, what do you have for me?" I stepped on the gas, going faster than the state speed limit."If we cut through this block, we should get there in 10 minutes." The foreboding feeling that had born brewing inside me since we entered Matt's house only seemed to expand as we got closer to Leah's old house.We'd looked into it and saw that the Hamiltons, Becka's parents had bought the house after Leah went to college but left it as is.It was empty after creditors had taken most of the things in the house but they left the house itself untouched.I wasn't sure why they bought the house and just left it alone.Pity? Empathy? Regret? None of that really mattered in the m
LEAH'S POV "Jared, what about Jared?" I was kicking and screaming, wanting to go back for him, but the hold these guys had on me was too tight that I was basically dangling in the air."You first ma'am, as instructed by Mr Deric." I almost headbutted Damien, right then and there."Matt is crazy. He'll... we can't leave him there." I kept looking back and they kept looking smaller and smaller."We'll go back for him once you're safe and secu..." All of us flew back from the noise of a blast.My heart sank into my stomach as I saw the building erupt in flames. The cuts from the scrapes after falling didn't sting.There was a ringing in my ear and my body grew disoriented. Maybe it was the force of the blast, maybe it was the siren of the police cars that had just arrived, but that wasn't what had my attention.It was the sea of orange that danced in the distance that had my full attention. As if my brain finally realised what was happening, I screamed at the top of my lungs. "No no n
I sat outside the hospital as thunder rolled. October was ending and rain should've been far far away.It only helped darken the already dead atmosphere. I'd always hated the hospital. Only bad memories existed there.I had two years of my life wasted in that space and I didn't even know it. Then I was forced into hospital rest for a couple if weeks before finally leaving.They said it was a miracle I survived but I thought it was a mistake. What happened to me off set so many wrong things in my life.I walked with the need to cover up because of my scars, the hanging feeling that I was solely responsible for what happened to me and a darkness that shrouded my life.A lot of people say they hate themselves but it's never really true. When you hate yourself, you can't bear the thought of you existing. I realised this when I could never bring myself to end it all.Or maybe I just hated myself enough to continue living in that hate.Whatever it was, I used to keep it hidden. It always w
"Damien, have you heard anything yet?" I hurriedly put some things of Jared’s inside a bag and tied my shoelaces. I was doing everything at once, just trying to hurry back to the hospital."Not yet." His place looked really empty. He'd been staying with us, in Aly's apartment, ever since the incident and only went back to his place to pick up his stuff.I sighed as I took one last look at his house and closed the door."Let's go."The drive back to the hospital was very much silent except when my phone chimed. I picked it up from his house and wondered who was texting at such an odd hour.I unlocked my phone and saw whom the text was from. There were countless others and the new one was just a follow up.I scrolled page after page. I knew a text wouldn't do. So, I called instead. It barely rang for three seconds before the call was answered."Oh my God." The breath of relief on the other end of the phone didn't go unnoticed. "Leah?""Jack...""What the hell man?" Was he crying?"Ja
There was no one waiting outside his door. Perfect.I checked around for any nurses or doctors walking around. When I found none, I entered his room.I almost gagged upon entering. The smell of burnt flesh.The doctors had said it was a miracle that he was alive, considering the fact that he was doused jn gasoline. Only his entire left arm was completely burnt and a small part of his face. Miracle? I'd say the universe was offering me an option to end his life in another way.I approached him. He breathing was a little rapid and I could almost see the dips his face, probably from being a pain.At least he could feel. Jared had way too many tubes running through him and he couldn't even express discomfort if he wanted to.I looked at the drip connected to the back of his palm. Doing what was barking at me in my head wouldn't wake Jared but it'd give me a whole lot of satisfaction. I moved closer to the drip, finding the part that connected the bag to tube. It scared me that I could
My heart dropped. “Jer, don’t you…” “You don’t recognise me?” Damien must’ve heard me shout for joy when Jared woke. “Damien?” My brows rose in confusion. “You remember Damien but you don’t remember me?” The doctors had said there could be complications after the surgery and memory loss was not off the list. My stomach churned and bile rose to my throat. I made a little choking sound as I held back my tears. “You don’t remember me…” I was about to call for the doctor when I saw Jared’s lips lift a little. “You fucking monster! How could you?” I was about to hit him and then I remembered he would still be in pain. That didn’t stop him from laughing though. “I fucking hate you.” I wiped my eyes dry. “I’ll go call the doctor.” I nodded at Damien and looked at Jared. While I was pissed at him, he was awake and he actually remembered me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry.” He found my hand and squeezed it. “Don’t ever do that again.” “I promise.” I bent down to kiss him o
“Not now but I have to, at some point.” “Oh…” “Someone needs to take charge of the company now that I’m old enough to do it.” I sat on the bed beside him and faced the floor. “You don’t sound too happy about it.” “It’s not that I’m not happy. I just thought there would be ample time before I had to return as the CEO.” “The CEO.” I muttered, still looking at the floor. I felt like I just got him back and now, he was going to be whisked away from me. “So, you’ll be gone all the time, like Aarav?” My palms pressed into the frame of the bed, holding tightly because I knew I’d fall over if I let myself go. Jared’s fingers touched my face and angled my jaw to him so I was staring directly into his eyes. “Leah, nothing is taking me away from you. I promise you that.” “But being the CEO, you’ll be quite busy and you won’t have a lot of time, even to yourself.” Even to my ears, I sounded whiny and like a petulant child. “You’re not wrong.” He leaned in closer to me. “But we’ll make i
Why was she here? Immediately she saw me, she stopped the conversation she was having with some guy and scowled at me. “Right back at you.” I muttered underneath my breath. “Didn’t think she’d be here. Thought she dropped out or something.” “At least I don’t need my mother begging for me to not actually drop out.” Her mum was no longer here so, I could speak to her anyhow I wanted. She gasped and someone behind me snickered. “How dare you?” “Settle down.” Someone walked in. I’d seen them around the staff area before. He was probably a T.A. By the end of the day, I was the only one left in the hall. Everyone else just had one test to do while I had extra. I walked out of the hall and yawned, feeling very exhausted. I hadn’t slept well in a while because I was studying for a whole lot more than tests. There were assignments and exams were fast approaching. “Hey.” I placed a hand over my chest, stifling the scream that lodged itself in my throat. “Why are you always lurking aro