Chapter 49

He is still quiet. With one last glance at him, I quictly left the room.

As she walked down the hospital corridor, I felt the exhaustion return in full force. I had crossed so many of my own boundaries just in the past couple of hours. It made one issue of mine more evident:

Timothy and I were far from over.

I stumbled through the door of the apartment, my body weak with exhaustion and hunger. The events from the woods still weighed heavily on me, and I felt like I could barely stand.

Aria popped up from around the corner. As soon as she saw me, she came rushing towards me, her eyes wide with worry.

“Oh, my goodness, Evie! What happened? Are you okay?” Aria asked rapidly.

“I–I need to get his blood off of me,” I blurted out, tripping over my words.

They didn’t seem to register to her at first as she stood there and blinked at me for a few seconds.

Finally, it seemed to commute, and she backed away, holding her hands up.

“Oh! Yeah, go take a long bath,” she begged, clasping her hands together.

I nodded, already shuffling toward the bathroom down the hall. Just before I closed the door, she shouted, “I’ll make you some dinner!”

I stood before the mirror, my reflection a dark expression of my reality. My face was ashen, smeared with dirt and blood. My brown eyes, usually bright with determination, were red and strained.

With a deep breath, I tore my gaze away from the mirror. There was work to be done, decisions to be made, and I couldn’t afford to dwell on my appearance any longer. Besides, Timothy was in far worse condition than me.

I stepped away from the mirror and switched on the shower, already relaxing at the sight of the powerful streams shooting from the shower head. I peeled off my clothes and stepped in.

The water cascaded over me, mingling with the tears that streamed down my ။

hopen an cheeks I grabbed the shampoo and squirted it in my hair before working it in with my nails. The red film of blood on my skin washed away at my feet and swirled down the drain, erasing all evidence of its existence.

If only the water could wash away my thoughts. As the water flowed over my face. I couldn’t stop replaying the event of Bruce’s knife sinking into Timothy’s skin. Bruce didn’t even think Timothy would risk it, but he had been wrong.

My relationship with Timothy was a dangerous dance on the edge of disaster. He was my client, and I was his lawyer. Yet, there I was kissing his cheek in the hospital.

I could chop it off to pity, but I was just as pitiful for caving in.

I scrubbed my skin raw, breaking off the last remnants of debris until I was left with a sense of purification.

Wrapping myself in a towel. I stepped into the bedroom and caught a glimpse of myself in the body–

length mirror. I still looked weathered, and a bruise I hadn’t noticed on the side of my face was visibly purple. But I was clean.

I got dressed in some sweatpants and a large sweatshirt, the cold still clinging to me, before stepping back into the living room. Aria was at the stove, stirring pasta in a large pot as marinara sauce sizzled in the pan beside it.

The tangy aroma lifted my spirits ever so slightly and I drifted into the kitchen. As I slid onto one of the seats at the counter, the chair legs squeaked beneath my weight. This caught Aria’s attention as she then whipped around. spoon still in hand.

I crossed my arms over the table and hunched over. She looked ready to burst with questions, but I could tell she was holding it all in.

“I don’t know where to start,” I said, my voice quivering.

Aria set down the spoon, finally realizing she was dripping sauce everywhere, before walking over to me. Take your time, Evie. I’m here for you,” she said. soothingly.

She placed her hands on my arms and suddenly snatched them away. Without a second thought, she rushed to grab a blanket from off the couch, then draped it over my shoulders. She then brought me a glass of water that I wound up gulping 26 111 down in one sitting.

“Start from the beginning,” Aria encouraged, rubbing circles on my back.

“Bruce wanted money,” I said finally. “But I told him that I wouldn’t give it to him, so he got Timothy involved.”

Aria’s face turned pale. “That monster! I can’t believe he would do such a thing.” she seethed.

“He kept me tied up and taunted me until Timothy came. Then he-” I cut myself, reminded of Timothy’s pained cry as he collapsed. “I was so scared, Aria!”

Aria took my hand and held it tightly. “You’re safe now, Evie. He won’t hurt you. again,” she assured me.

“He‘ still out there!”

Aria grunted. “Then we need to call the police. They need to find Bruce and make sure he can’t hurt anyone else,” she said firmly.

“Because they’ve been so receptive before,” I said bitterly. “They’ll investigate, then say that there’s no direct evidence.”

“Evie, you can’t let him get away with this,” Aria said, letting go of me. “He kidnapped you, and he stabbed Timothy. He needs to be held accountable for what he’s done.”

I looked up at Aria. “I know, but what if there’s not enough evidence? What if it’s just his word against mine? The police might not be able to do anything.”

Aria sighed and sat down beside me. “I understand your fears, but we have to at least try. We can’t let him continue to hurt you or anyone else.”

I shook my head, tears welling up in my eyes once again. “I’m just so scared, Aria. He’s already hurt Timothy.“.

Aria squeezed my shoulder gently. “I won’t let that happen. We’ll take every precaution to keep you safe.”

“But what if it’s not enough?” I sighed heavily. “What if he finds a way to manipulate the situation again? I can’t go through that again, Aria.”

O A Mar GC Aria’s expression softened as she looked into my eyes. “I promise you, Evie, you won’t have to face this alone. We’ll gather as much evidence as we can against him.”

I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. Aria’s words offered me some comfort.

“Just give me time to think about it,” I said finally, wiping away my tears. “But can I at least get some food before then?”

Aria gasped. “The pasta!”

The pasta on the stove, unbeknownst to the both of us, had been boiling over the whole time. Aria grabbed the spoon and began to stir rapidly, taming the frothy water.

“You will eat, mark my words!” she promised, and I found myself laughing at the absurdity of her words.

A few days had passed since the incident in the woods, and my concern for Timothy had become a heavy burden. I longed to check on him, to see how he was faring. I’d caught the news reports about his recovery, but nothing definite about him being discharged from the hospital.

His fans were camped outside the hospital with signs posted up that wished him a speedy recovery.

Others were holding peculiar rituals, vowing to curse the man. who had stabbed Timothy. As outlandish as they looked, I wanted their curses to work.

Of course, unlike his loyal fans, I had a front row seat to Timothy’s life. He would be back soon, but the fear of facing him, of seeing the pain I had caused him, held me back. That didn’t last too long.

On particular evening, as I was going to go check the mail, I noticed the light blink. above the elevator doors. When they opened, Timothy emerged, accompanied by another man. I watched from across the hall as he led Timothy into the room.

“My legs still work, you know,” Timothy grumbled.

“Can you just let someone take care of you, for once?” the man retorted, following Timothy inside.

The door was left ajar and I stood still, waiting for it to close.

|||

I bit my lip, torn between wanting to know how Timothy was and wanting to avoid him altogether.

Eventually, the man walked back out, saying goodbye to Timothy before shutting the door behind him. He stopped to check his phone and I decided right then to approach him.

“Hey,” she said softly, hoping my voice was low enough that Timothy couldn’t hear.

The man turned to me, offering a warm smile. “Hey there! You must be Evie. I’m Ethan, a friend of Timothy’s. He’s told me a lot about you.”

I managed a small smile in return. “Nice to meet you, Ethan. Is Timothy okay?”

Ethan nodded rapidly. “He’s doing better. A bit sore, but he’ll recover. You should drop by and check on him sometime. I think it would mean a lot to him.”

My chest constricted at the thought of seeing Timothy, but I couldn’t deny that I wanted to be sure he was okay. At least he still wanted to see me without being drug induced. “Yeah, maybe I will,” I replied hesitantly.

Ethan’s smile widened. “Great! I’ll be busy for a while, but I’m sure he’d appreciate your company.”

He waved farewell and started walking to the elevator, which I took as my cue to leave as well. As I walked back into the apartment, I told Aria about the encounter, and she listened intently.

“Maybe it’s a sign, Evie. You should go see him,” Aria suggested.

I sighed, feeling torn. “I want to, but I don’t know if I can face him after everything. He got hurt because of me.”

Aria placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “You can’t blame yourself for what Bruce did.

Timothy made his own choice to protect you. He cares about you, Evie.”

“Yeah, but I don’t know if I can face him so soon,” I groaned, throwing my head in my hands.

Aria huffed. “You won’t know until you try. Trust your instincts, Evie. If you feel like you should see him, then do it.”

I lifted my head back up, catching the triumphant grin plastered on her face. She 111 was looking at the oven then, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

“You know what would be a sweet gesture? Make him a cake,” Aria suggested, her eyes lighting up..

I blinked in surprise. “A cake?”

“Yes! It’s a simple yet thoughtful way to show him that you’re grateful for what he did,” Aria explained. “Trust me, it’ll mean a lot to him.”

I considered the idea. Making a cake was certainly a nice gesture, but I wasn’t really the baker type.

Fortunately, the wonderful world wide web could remedy that problem.

“Okay,” I said finally. “I’ll do it.”

Aria beamed. “Great! I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.” The thought of that brought a small smile to my face.