36. Blessing + Banister

Part 2/2. Go back and read chapter 35 if you haven't yet

Looking at Celeste's crumpled body and hearing Jayce's frantic, panicked cries for her to wake up... something inside me clicks on. Adrenaline sprints through me, washing away every ounce of drowsiness.

"Call 911," I tell Haven, surprised by how calm I sound. "Now."

I quickly glance around the kitchen. What was previously a bowl of soup is now splattered on the ground, no doubt the cause of the glass-shattering sound we heard from Jayce's bedroom. My mind puts the pieces together instantly.

"Move," I order Jayce, my voice full of knee-bending authority.

He scoots aside, looking like a scared little boy, but I don't get distracted with wanting to comfort him. All I can see is Celeste, and all I can think about is what I need to do to fix the situation.

"Yeah, um, hi, there's a lady here, I don't know what's going on..."

I kneel down next to her, pushing the sparkling statement necklaces off her chest. She's definitely not breathing.

Straightening her head and lifting her chin, I open her mouth and peer in, pressing her tongue down with my thumb... I can't see anything in the back of her throat.

"I-I don't know what happened, but I don't think she's breathing..."

I tilt her head back and pinch her nose closed. Sucking in as much air as my lungs will hold, I lower my mouth to Celeste's and give her two slow breaths.

No chest movement.

"Just get someone here, now."

I reposition her head, suck in more air and try two more breaths.

Nothing.

I place my hands, one on top of the other, on Celeste's chest, position myself directly over her and start compressions, counting in my head as I go.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5...

"Mom... mom, please wake up..."

13, 14, 15, 16, 17...

"Jayce, you need to call your dad."

28, 29, 30.

Finishing the compressions, I open Celeste's mouth and my heart leaps when I see something lodged in the back of her throat.

Taking the risk and fishing it out with my fingers, I toss a small piece of chicken aside and check her pulse.

...She has a pulse.

I exhale a sigh of relief.

"Thank fucking god," I breathe, slumping back as the adrenaline wears off and I watch Celeste's chest rise and fall. "She'll be okay."

I hear the wailing of sirens grow closer and soon, Celeste and I are surrounded by medics.

"What happened?" One of them barks as the other lowers a gurney next to her.

"She choked on a bit of chicken and passed out," I summarize. "She wasn't breathing, so I gave her CPR and was able to remove the piece from her throat. She started breathing on her own again after that."

Jayce helps me up while the medics do their thing. I lean against his bare chest, feeling the lack of sleep and weight of the moment that just happened. I say a quick prayer in my head, incredibly grateful that I'd decided to get CPR certified in order to make Party Princess seem more legit.

Glancing at the clock on the stove, I see that it's 9:34pm. I've officially been up for 39 and a half hours.

Moments later, Alexei barges in, $5,000 dollar suit and all.

"Where's my wife?!" He shouts. His striking green eyes are filled with absolute desperation as he searches for her. When he sees her, he's by her side, on the ground in a flash.

"Sir, give her space," one of the medics warns, placing a hand on his lapel and trying to get him to back up.

Oop.

That's a mistake.

"Don't you dare tell me to leave her," Alexei growls at the medic with so much challenge and ferocity that I shiver.

The medic removes his hand, looking terrified as he quickly nods and returns to his work. Alexei takes Celeste's hand in his, kissing the top of it.

"I'm here, my love," he whispers as he strokes her wrist. "You're going to be okay..."

As if on cue, Celeste's lashes flutter and her eyes slowly open. She gazes up at her husband, whose eyes fill with tears as he smiles down at her.

I think I've seen that same adoring look in Jayce's eyes, when he looks at me.

"Wha... what happened?" She whispers, trying to sit up, but the medics hold her down. "I was eating..."

"Ma'am, it's okay," a medic tells her. "You were eating, but you choked and passed out."

"I... what?" She sounds disoriented.

"We're gonna need to do some evaluations to make sure you're okay," the medic says gently as the other two lift Celeste onto a gurney.

"What?" Alexei asks, looking cross but never letting go of his wife's hand as they lift it. "She might not be okay?"

"It's routine, sir. Gotta make sure there won't be any further complications from the lack of oxygen or CPR."

"CPR?"

"Yes, sir," the medic nods. "If it weren't for that little lady knowing what to do," he gestures to me, "your wife might not be alive right now." They wheel her out of the kitchen and to the ambulance.

Alexei watches them leave, then slowly turns around, his gaze landing on me.

I feel my body stiffen involuntarily and Jayce pulls me closer to him. The last time I saw this man, he had nearly thrown me off a sculpture the size of a building.

Alexei's intense green eyes linger on me and... soften?

"Thank you, Fallon," he breathes, genuine gratitude coating every syllable. "Thank you for saving my wife's life."

"Absolutely," I nod, a bit confused by his authenticity. "I'm glad I was here."

"Me too," he agrees, glancing from me, to Haven, to Jayce. "What were you kids doing here, anyway?" He questions.

"Nothing," Jayce, Haven and I all reply at the same time.

Subtle. Real subtle.

Alexei raises a questioning eyebrow and scrutinizes each of us suspiciously, but changes the subject.

"I'm going to check on your mother," he tells Jayce matter-of-factly. Alexei's brow is crinkled as he glances at me a final time, before spinning on his Italian leather shoes, which are probably Testoni or something, and rushing to the front door.

We're all silent until we hear the front door slam shut.

"Holy fucking shit," Haven says, sounding exhausted.

Jayce grips my shoulders and spins me around, looking down at me with pure awe. "You are the fucking queen of my heart, Fallon Rhodes, and I swear I'm never letting you go."

"Dude. C'mon. I'm literally right here," Haven grumbles. I can practically hear his eyes rolling.

"Shut up, Haven," Jayce quips, his brown eyes never leaving mine. "You, Fallon, are, without a doubt, the most incredible woman in the entire world. You just whipped CPR out of your back pocket like it was nothing and saved my mom's life."

"You're sweet," I smile up at him, letting his praise wash over me. He's the best.

"Well, you're extraordinary," he grins, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the kitchen, "and I'm going to make out with you now." Jayce emphasizes the last part, clearly indicating for Haven to stay away.

Jayce and I race up the steps, laughing like we're five years old.

"Oh, hell no!" Haven shouts and I hear his heavy footfalls gaining behind us.

"Just because I told you I think you guys are good together doesn't mean I want to hear about you two sucking face!" Haven shouts as Jayce and I burst into his bedroom and Jayce slams the door behind us.

"Wait, you said what?" I ask through the door as Haven's footsteps come to a halt on the other side. "Open the door, Jayce," I tug on his arm.

"Fine," he sighs dramatically and twists the handle.

"What did you say to Jayce?" I ask Haven when we're face to face.

"I might've called him earlier," Haven grumbles, looking like he's regretting that decision. "And I might've told him I thought he was good for you, and that I might be glad you're together. That's when he told me we should come over to talk."

My heart melts into a pile of goo and I throw my arms around my brother, wrapping him in a hug. As much as I try to act like I don't care what Haven thinks, I really do value his opinion. And the fact that he gave Jayce his stamp of approval means more to me than he could ever know. Of course, the fact that Jayce was rubbing it in his face didn't help.

"Thank you, Hav, that means so much," I beam at him and he returns my smile. Then, I turn to Jayce and smack his forearm.

"Ow!" Jayce flinches while Haven roars. "That actually hurt."

"No more taunting Haven, got it?" I point an accusing finger at my boyfriend, who I swear acts younger than Aimee sometimes.

Jayce smirks and raises an eyebrow, studying me. "As you wish, my queen."

"Fallon!" Celeste's weak voice exclaims as she appears down the hall, gripping Alexei's forearm to keep herself steady. "Dios te bendiga," she gasps, rushing forward and wrapping me in a tight hug. "Mi niña me salvó. Gracias, ángel mío, gracias."

"Um, yeah," I mumble as I breathe in her vanilla scent, totally clueless as to what she just said.

"She said, 'My girl saved me,'" Jayce translates from behind me. "'Thank you, my angel, thank you.'"

"Oh," I say as we break apart, Celeste's tearful brown eyes taking me in. "No problem. Are you okay?"

"They checked me in the ambulance and said I'm going to be fine, thanks to you," Celeste regards me with kind, watery eyes.

"What's that?" Alexei interrupts the moment, gesturing with his chin, his eyes resting on something behind Jayce.

The contract.

Fuck.

"Just a paper for school," Jayce covers quickly. "Haven and Fallon were helping me edit it."

"You're a shit liar, son," Alexei drawls in a bored tone, rolling his eyes. "What is it?"

"It's, uh," Jayce runs his fingers through his curls, then exhales, giving in. "It's the ownership agreement for Duende."

Whoop, there it is.

I'm not sure what I was expecting. Maybe I thought Alexei would turn into the Hulk and throw us over the banister. Or, you know, at least show some sort of negative emotion. But instead, as his eyes dart between Jayce, Haven and I, his expression grows... sad.

"I see," he says lightly.

A tense, loaded silence falls over the five of us.

None of us speak.

I tuck my hair behind my ear.

Haven folds his arms.

Alexei shifts his weight from his left foot to his right.

Celeste looks at her husband, concern written on her delicate face.

Then, Jayce's intense voice asks, "Do you even know who started Rhodes Co, LLC?"

"I beg your pardon?" Alexei responds, instantly defensive. "How do you know anything about that?"

"Tom Jeffers," Jayce spits. "Tom fucking Jeffers and your attorney, Louis Duggan, started that corporation. Not Ben."

"You're lying," Alexei snaps.

"Talk to Raul if you don't believe me!" Jayce shouts, stepping closer to his father. "I had him look into it, something you obviously never thought - or cared! - to do. Clearly, assuming the worst in your best friend and threatening him until you got what you wanted is more your style. Isn't that right, dad?"

"Choose your next words very carefully, son," Alexei growls, his green eyes seething with fury.

"You were probably happy when he was murdered!" Jayce accuses, his eyes just as infuriated as his father's.

Alexei sucks in a sharp breath and I see his free hand curl into a fist. "You have no idea what you're saying," he says between clenched teeth.

"Oh, I don't, huh?" Jayce mocks, rolling his eyes. "Then, why don't you go ahead and explain to me why you hate Fallon so much?"

"I don't ha–"

"–That'll be enough!" Celeste croaks. Even though her voice is weak, she still manages to silence both Alexei and Jayce, her tongue slicing through the tension like a hot knife on warm butter. "We're all going downstairs. I'll order food and make tea, and then, we're going to discuss this through peaceful conversation. And, son? Put a shirt on."

The power in her voice makes doing exactly as she says seem like the only option. She speaks as though her word is law. I fucking love it. Except for the part where she told Jayce to put a shirt on.

Soon, we're all sitting around the dining room table with piping hot Japanese food in front of us, while stars twinkle in the velvety sky.

Technically, there isn't a Japanese restaurant in town that's open at 10pm, let alone one that delivers, but I guess that's just another perk of having the last name Solis. By now, I'm creeping up on 41 consecutive hours without shut-eye.

"Now," Alexei begins, his eyes distant as he stares down at his plate. He seems to be lost in memories, and he looks more tired and much older than he did a few minutes ago. "What have you three been getting into?"

Jayce, Haven and I take turns explaining everything that's been going on for almost six months. We start with the note my dad wrote to Alexei. Then, we move to our meeting with Jeffers, followed by Jayce recounting breaking into the safe and discovering the faulty contract. Next comes the discussion with Arthur and Madeline at the Founder's Council dinner and Jayce's decision to get the family PI on the case. By the time we reiterate everything Jayce divulged to Haven and me, Alexei and Celeste share the same expression - it's a combination of confusion, shock and anger.

"I knew I never liked that nasty man," Celeste mutters with an angry fire in her eyes.

"Agreed," I nod, making brief eye contact with Celeste before moving my gaze to Alexei. "We have to take this information to the police."

"It's not solid enough," he sighs. "Unless we can get a confession from Jeffers, or somehow check the toxicology on a bottle of whiskey that's been missing for fourteen years, there's no way to directly tie him to Duggan's murder. I can't believe..." Alexei doesn't finish his sentence. He just shakes his head, like he's trying to clear the thoughts. "You really can't trust anyone."

"Dude, you're seriously not going to call the police?" Haven asks in disbelief, his eyebrows crunched together. "This guy literally killed someone just to make money. Who knows how far he'll go to keep himself from getting ratted out?"

"We will tell the police," Alexei shoots Haven an annoyed look.

"When?" Jayce presses.

"Soon," Alexei says firmly. "Just give me some time first. We need to be smart about this, and I want to have Raul do a little more digging on some things. I have some questions I need answered."

The seriousness in Alexei's voice and expression sends a shiver down my spine, and I'm sure Jayce and Haven are feeling something similar.

"Fine," Jayce rolls his eyes and leans back in his chair. "We'll wait. On another note," he leans forward again, pressing his elbows onto the tabletop, "I think you have an apology to make."

All eyes move to me.

My cheeks flush red and I look directly into Jayce's warm, safe brown eyes to feel grounded. It works.

"I don't know what to say," Alexei finally speaks after a full minute of silence as he pushes now-cold noodles around with his chopsticks. His brilliant green eyes move up to meet mine. "When I first met you all those months ago, Fallon, and you told me your last name... I was... well, to put it lightly, surprised. I never thought I'd have to think about Ben and his family - your family - ever again. When I heard your last name, it felt like I had stepped right back into the worst time of my life."

Celeste places a comforting hand on Alexei's thigh as she sips her saké.

"I can't even begin to describe the pain of believing your closest friend betrayed you," he continues. "Meeting you brought it all back to the surface and... and I was horrible to you because of it," he bows his head in shame.

Maybe he was replaced by a robot while we were talking. A robot would definitely be more capable of remorse than Alexei Solis. There's no way this is real.

"I had..." he swallows as a pained expression crosses his downcast features. "I had to protect my son. The last time I'd trusted a Rhodes, I'd been stabbed in the back. I immediately saw how fond he was of you, and I couldn't let the same thing happen to him... but, I was wrong," he raises his eyes to meet mine, and I can tell he's being truthful. "I was wrong in so many ways."

"You nearly threw me off a balcony," I remind him cooly. "And, you said I was a gold-digging thief."

"He did what?" Haven growls.

Even Celeste eyes her husband cautiously.

"I swear, I wasn't trying to hurt you," Alexei says, sounding almost pleading. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I wasn't thinking about you at all. I was only thinking about keeping Jayce and my family safe."

"From me?" I scoff.

"He's very protective," Celeste speaks up, defending her husband. "Our lives have forced us to be very private, and to question everyone."

"That doesn't excuse nearly throwing my sister off a balcony," Haven replies coldly.

"You're right," Alexei cuts back in and looks me straight in the eyes. "Fallon, despite what you and my son believe, and have every right and reason to believe... I don't hate you. I definitely held a grudge against you for what I thought your father did to my family, and I mistreated you. I probably made you feel very scared and worthless, which is inexcusable. There's no justifying what I did, because it was wrong. There's no way I could ever make restitution, either. But please... know that I am truly sorry."

The remorse in his words and the shame in his eyes is genuine. I still look at him with a hard, guarded expression, though.

"I definitely still don't like you," I speak boldly and with full eye contact, miraculously unafraid of being totally honest. "But, I respect the fact that you were looking out for your family, even if your methods are way over the top and almost repulsively extreme." I cross my arms and feel my stomach rising into my throat as I let out my next words. "I get that being in the public eye brings a ton of fakers and posers who all have an agenda... but you might do well to have a little more faith in the sincerity and goodness of your fellow humans. Otherwise, you'll push even the genuine ones away, which, in the long run, could cost you a lot more than just money."

Alexei gives me a curt nod, while Jayce and Celeste beam at me, and Haven just looks confused. Alexei seems to be rolling my words over in his head. He looks as though he wants to bite back with an argument, but he succeeds in holding his tongue, which I find impressive, especially for him. I mean, he's a very rich, successful man who's probably accustomed to being right and being the one telling people what to do and how to think... he's probably not used to some five-foot-nothing, less-than-100-pounds-soaking-wet junior giving him a piece of her mind.

He leans back in his chair, the movement appallingly similar to Jayce's. One corner of his mouth flicks up into a smirk that I've seen hundreds of times, and suddenly I know how Celeste fell for this man. I used to think that Jayce got his smirk from his mom, but Alexei's current expression could be photoshopped onto Jayce's face and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference, other than their eye color. That damn Solis smirk... honestly, if they could figure out a way to teach it, even completely unattractive people would be able to score whoever they wanted.

"Son," Alexei says to Jayce through his smirk, "don't you dare let this woman go."

Jayce's expression transitions very quickly from confused to beaming, as he looks at me with pride. "I won't," Jayce confidently confirms, grabbing my hand under the table.

My chest swells from praise that I never in a million years thought I'd hear.

Celeste seems to be on the verge of tears as she softly kisses her husband's cheek.

Even Haven looks pleased.

Alexei ends the conversation by making us all promise not to go to the cops about Jeffers until he has a chance to talk to some more of his "people," whoever they are. We all grudgingly agree. Alexei even shakes my hand at the end of the night. He's a strange man, but I feel as though I've finally gotten a glimpse over the walls he's built around himself. At least we've made progress.

After what I think is probably the strangest, most intense and bizarre evening of my entire life, Haven and I drive home in silence, completely exhausted from the mentally and emotionally draining evening. Plus, there's the fact that I haven't slept in nearly 44 hours.

Pulling into the driveway a little after 1am and practically dragging my body onto the front porch, I feel myself falling asleep with every step.

That is, until we open the front door.

Mom is standing in the entryway. Her hair is pulled into a familiar messy bun, she's got a warm jacket draped over her shoulders, and there's small bag of luggage at her feet.

"Mom?" Haven breathes as he closes the front door behind us.

"I can't stop," she says, almost robotically, as she stares at us, unblinking. "I need help. You need to take me to rehab."

~~~

Aren't you glad that was a double update?!

LOVE ME for busting my ass AND LOSING HELLA SLEEP to make sure I wrote two chapters this week (while hubs and I moved into our house, I might add), JUST BECAUSE I WANTED TO MAKE SURE I DIDN'T LEAVE YOU HANGING THAT BADLY 💖 See? I really DOOO love you! And I'm not THAT evil. 😉

THE MYSTERY CONTINUES TO UNFOLLLLDDDDD ! I hope you enjoyed this double update! 🤗 FINALLY getting some CLAR👏I👏TY after all this time.

There's probably about 5-ish chapters left in this book, just so you know. :) I have several ideas in mind for continuing this series, but am not totally sold on any of them yet. But don't worry, I'll keep you posted ! I definitely don't want to stop writing about these characters, that much is for sure.

Idk if you saw but... I started crying the other day because... WE REACHED 100K READS!!! 🙌🎇😇✨🎉💓🍾🤗🥂💃🕺🎊🤩🎆😍

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