Chapter 67- Taunting Hospitals

[] A M E L I A []

I felt like a teenager again. I couldn't stop the tingles in my body, the butterflies in my stomach, and I couldn't stop looking over to Leo every few seconds. He was driving now, and despite him being hurt still, he didn't complain about it. He had one hand on the wheel, the other clutching mine tightly.

Despite all of what happened today, I couldn't stop the smile on my face as I guided Leo back to my house. It wasn't far from here surprisingly, which just showed how poorly Jackson had planned all this.

Jackson.

A shiver racked through my body as I thought of that again. The gun pointed at my face. And most importantly, the truth of that night.

Levi didn't kill Brittany.

He didn't even touch her.

I'm sure of it now more than ever.

I think he and I faced the same problem all these years. We blamed ourselves for Brittany's loss. The difference in both of our sentences was that he spent his punishment behind bars while I lived it in the outside world.

And neither of us were to blame in the end.

I let out a deep breath, a few tears escaping me on instinct. Suddenly I felt a soft pressure on the back of my hand. I snapped my head up to the side, only to see Leo's lips pressing tenderly on my knuckles as he held my hand. A pleasant shudder ran through me at his actions.

He pulled back after a moment and turned to look at me. I had just noticed then that we had stopped in front of my house.

I turned back around to face Leo, and his eyes were already set on me this time. We didn't say anything. I just watched him as he ran his thumb over the back of my hand, pulling it to his lips every so often, leaving short kisses on it. He finally broke the silence, his gaze burning into my own.

"I'm ready when you are Moonie."

I let out a deep breath and faced the front. Slowly, I let go of Leo's hand and reached for the door. We got out at the same time, Leo quickly jogging over to my side. He then held my hand in his own, and started leading us up my driveway. I pressed closer to him for warmth, and he gladly pulled me under his arm, pressing a soft kiss to the side of my head. I let out a deep breath, finally releasing all the tension that was built up in me.

We walked up the driveway quickly, and once we were on my porch, Leo and I pulled away from each other. He looked down at me for a moment, smiling softly at me before finally letting go of my hand. When he did, I quickly pulled out my house keys and made my way inside.

"Mom? Dad?" I called out as I entered the foyer.

On instinct, I heard footsteps coming down the hall. A moment later, dad's face came into view. His eyes were red, his face blotchy with tears. My heart cracked as I saw him and without a word, I stepped forward and leaped into his arms. Leo's jacket that was still around me all this time, fell to the floor softly. Dad's arms wound tightly around me, his one hand patting my hair down.

"Amelia, oh honey. I'm so glad you're alright," he said into my hair.

I cried into his arms, all the events from today finally kicking in.

"It's alright Amelia, I've got you," he said.

A few moments later, I heard another pair of footsteps heading our way. I quickly pulled away from dad and wiped away at my cheeks, him doing the same. Just then, Mom and Gemma came bounding our way, both of them already in tears. When I caught mom's eye, her eyes welled up with fresh tears.

I quickly walked over to her and engulfed her in a hug, her arms wrapping around me too. I caught Gemma's eye over her shoulder and she only smiled a watery smile at me. Mom pulled away from me after a long time. When she did, she wiped away her tears and wiped at my cheeks too.

"I'm so glad you're okay sweetheart. I'm so glad you're safely home," she hoarsely said.

I nodded and let out a deep breath. After we all had calmed down, I introduced Leo to mom and dad, and to my surprise, mom said she knew who he was. When I asked how, she said that he was the friend that called along with Gemma and two others when I had gone missing over a week ago. To my surprise, she didn't seem very fond of him. She didn't comment on it, but there was something about Leo she didn't like, and whatever it was, I was going to find out about it and make sure she changes her opinion around. There was no way anybody could not like him. He's Leo.

After we all greeted each other properly, which went on for nearly an hour since Gemma couldn't stop crying when we hugged, which resulted in me crying, which started a chain reaction until we all calmed down again, we all sat down in the living room. We were all waiting to hear from the police, and soon enough, there was a knock on the door.

Dad was the one to get it, and unsurprisingly, three officers followed him inside when he made his way back to us. We all stood and made space for them in our living room, and soon enough, we were all sitting and waiting to hear what they had to say. Gemma sat beside me, dad on the other side and mom beside him. Leo was standing by the doorway, his eyes meeting mine every so often. He gave me a reassuring smile and I returned it gratefully before turning to the officers.

One officer spoke first. I had recognized her from when she came to save me from Jackson in the warehouse.

I owed her my life.

The one beside her was also on scene, and a third officer was someone I didn't recognize.

"Hello, I'm Officer Santana," the lady officer said.

We all nodded as the other two officers also introduced themselves as Officer Craigs and Officer Matthews.

"First off, we are terribly sorry for all that's happened over the years. We know it's not enough and it may never be enough, but it's what we can offer at the moment," Officer Santana said again.

I looked down as tears started threatening themselves down my face. I blinked rapidly and looked back up, not wanting to cry now.

"Unfortunately, someone from our own department had been hiding all the information on Brittany's original autopsy. It turns out that this traitor had been Jackson's accomplice in selling illegal drugs in the market," Officer Matthews said.

I gasped with this newfound information.

'How could someone do this?'I thought.

An officer, out of all people, was helping Jackson sell drugs to underage kids. Drugs that have killed them. How can they do that?

I was disgusted by them. By Jackson, by his accomplices, by the officer. All of them.

"We have recently found out something else."

I tensed as Officer Craigs spoke.

"The original autopsy was reported just about an hour ago. After viewing it, we found traces of drugs in Brittany's body. It was a lethal mix of drugs, something that no human her size or age could withstand. On top of that, we found that she was not penetrated the night of the incident. Amelia, your testimony stands."

We all sucked in a breath as she spoke.

"Levi Harrison, your brother, did not assault or kill Brittany Crawford."

My world stopped.

My mouth fell open in shock, numbness taking over me in that moment.

Levi didn't assault Brittany.

He didn't murder her.

And even though I had assumed it before, it felt different when an officer explained it.

But where was this explanation four years ago?

My mother blew up first.

Her anger was unleashed on the three officers in front of us, all who sat with their heads bowed, their hats in their laps. Her arguments ranged from them having an imcompetent department, to getting them all fired.

I agreed one hundred percent.

How did they not know that there was a traitor among them for four years? How much would've these drugs spread in the streets over that time? How many more people has Jackson killed?

The possibilities were endless.

Finally, dad had to put a stop to mom. He pulled her back into his arms, her back on his chest.

"Shh," he said to her.

She was breathing heavily in his arms, her anger diminishing slowly. At last, she calmed down and hugged dad back. Dad started patting her back softly, and I watched them with a deflating heart.

As I watched them, I suddenly caught Leo's eye from behind them. He was also watching my parents, a small smile on his face. When he caught my eye, his smile morphed into something only meant for me. It was that smile where one of his dimples popped out, his eyes shone brighter, and he just... he just looked at me.

Dad suddenly spoke, breaking me out of my reverie to turn to him.

"Cassandra, even we couldn't find out the truth these years. All because Jackson covered his tracks so well. We all failed, Cass. All of us. So we can't just balme the officers," dad said, eyeing the officers as he talked too.

I thought about his words, and finally came to the conclusion that he was right.

Either we were all to blame, or none of us were.

The officers had apologized profusely after that. They said that as soon as they work out Levi's case papers, they will release him. At the lastest, he would be out by tomorrow night. The thought had me nearly puking.

What would I say to him? What could I do to lessen his pain?

After they explained this, the officers took their leave. Just as they left, John had called me, saying that I should come to the hospital as soon as I was free. I then remembered that Andre was in the hospital. I felt like an absolute horrible friend that I forogot about him, so I quickly got Gemma to drive both Leo and I there. It took a bit of convincing to get mom and dad to let me go. But after I said that I'd be safe with Gemma and Leo, and even John and Jamal who were both at the hospital, they let me go.

When we got into the car, I had drifted off to sleep, my head falling comfortably on Leo's shoulder. I remember Gemma saying something about feeling like a chauffeur for fourth graders, and I had laughed before succumbing to sleep. After a while, a soft pressure to my shoulder woke me up. I opened my eyes groggily and ended up coming in contact with Gemma's sad eyes.

I quickly got out of the car, after dropping Leo's head to rest on the car door softly. When I got out, I brought my arms up to hug Gemma.

"He's going to be fine Gemma. I'm sure he is."

"You think so?" Gemma mumbled into my shoulder.

I nodded and pulled back to look her in the eyes.

"We all came this far, Gemma. We're not backing out now, and we're not letting anyone else back out either," I said.

She nodded, letting out one last sniffle before wiping her tears completely. She then turned to look behind me, and I followed her gaze to see Leo sleeping in the car soundly. He had one hand under his head, as he leaned into the car door for support.

"Let's let him sleep. It's been a long day for him," I said to Gemma.

She nodded, and both of us made our way to the entrance of the hospital hand in hand.

Once we found the room Andre was in, we made our way up the elevator to the fourth floor. When we got there, Jamal was waiting for us at the elevator door, his arms wide open for the both of us. We immediately walked into his arms, not caring that people gave us pitiful looks as we did so.

"My favourite girls," Jamal playfully said as we hugged.

"Yeah right. You mean your favourite people in general," Gemma replied.

I laughed lightly at them and we finally pulled away from each other. Jamal didn't say anything after, only nudged his head in the direction we assumed Andre's room was. We all walked quietly over there, not making a sound as we walked.

When we reached his room, we all stopped outside and looked at each other. At last, Jamal spoke.

"He's awake. When he first woke up, the first thing he looked for was a syringe. He was convinced that he just needed that and he'd be fine. The doctor had to sedate him becuase he started trying to poke himself with anything sharp-"

Jamal cut himself off then and ran a frustrated hand over his face. Gemma and I listened wholeheartedly, both of us feeling Jamal's frustration.

How could we not see what was happening right before us?

I let out a deep breath then and reached up to pat Jamal's arm.

"What happened then?" I asked softly.

"He woke up again. This time, he had no recollection of what was going on. When we explained, he said he doesn't remember ever taking any drugs."

Gemma and I let out soft gasps. We both understood that Andre had some serious issues going on. We both felt empathetic towards it. After a moment of silence, I turned to look at Jamal.

"Can I go see him?" I asked.

Jamal nodded.

"Only one at a time though."

I nodded and turned to face Gemma. She only smiled at me and nudged me to go forward.

I took a deep breath before entering the room. The room was dimly lit, only a lamp illuminating the space. Andre was lying soundly on a bed in the middle of the room, staring up at the ceiling quietly. He turned to me when he heard the sound of the door opening. His eyes caught mine a moment later.

"A- Amelia?" He said hesitantly.

I smiled and stepped into the room.

"Hey."

Andre started to get up then, and I quickly rushed over to stop him. I sat beside him on the bed, patting his shoulder down to get him to stop. He froze when I did that, his eyes watering. Without another word, I threw my arms around him.

Both of us survived this day.

I was proud of us.

I pulled away after a few moments, and despite crying nearly all day, I couldn't help the few tears that escaped me as I was hugging Andre. I wiped them away quickly, and found Andre doing the same. After a few moments, I turned to face him. He was sitting up now, and I sat in front of him by his legs, still facing him.

A beat of silence went by before he spoke.

"I'm sorry Amelia. I didn't know him or who he was. One day at a party, nearly two months ago is when I met him. I didn't know when he supplied something in my drink and then, I couldn't stop Amelia. I kept crawling back to him for more. It was like it happened again. He got to me, and God I'm such a fucking bastard-" he started pulling his hair, tears leaving him relentlessly.

"It's not until now that I realized that something was even going on. I felt like bits of my day have been missing and I couldn't remember anything. Jamal explained to me what was going on and it was like everything clicked. I just remembered everything, every single thing I did," Andre said, his eyes downcast.

I reached over for his hand in his lap, urging him to continue.

"He drugged me, then found out about you. It was an endless cycle Amelia. That's how he always knew where you were," he said, his eyes watering again. "I'm so sorry. I couldn't get out of it."

We were silent for the next few moments, until he spoke again. This time, his head rose as he looked up at me.

"But I swear I didn't know he was connected to Brittany in any way. Not until tonight. Even when we went to that guy's birthday party and he humiliated you, I never saw his face. I just wish I knew all of this sooner so I could stop it."

Without another word, I just clenched his hand tighter.

"I understand Andre. It wasn't your fault. He was the crazy one. All this time, it wasn't any of us," I said.

I cleared my throat and looked up at him again.

"But Andre, you can't let drugs consume you like that. You can't let the drugs take away who the real Andre is. The Andre who we all know and love. The guy who we can always rely on to show us the right way."

He sucked in a breath at my words, tears falling down his cheeks once more.

"Besides," I said with a smile. "There's someone I'm currently shipping you with and she hates the thought of you being high when you're together."

Andre tensed at my words, causing my smile to widen.

"She likes you for the real Andre. Not the one the drugs created."

On cue, the door opened revealing Gemma. I nearly squealed when I felt Andre suck in a breath at the sight of her, even swallowing loudly as he saw her enter the room.

I nearly fainted. My best friends need to get together.

I finally let go of Andre's hand and turned to face Gemma. She took in the sight of Andre, her eyes watering once more.

"Hey," Andre said in a soft tone.

Gemma mumbled a small greeting back. She then turned to me.

"John came. He was dealing with paperwork for Andre's release and he said we all are good to go home. Even Andre. He just needs to come back tomorrow for a follow-up," she explained, only keeping her eyes on me.

I nodded and turned to face Andre. He smiled at Gemma and then at me.

"Let's go home," I said.