Bitter Kisses (It's Just High School #3) - Thandiwe Mpofu Page 0,78
place if he thinks I remember everything. But if I don’t though, I wonder what will happen.
“You’re unbelievable! You caused her amnesia years ago and now you want a repeat? What kind of monster are you?”
“Hey! I never meant for that to happen but hey, the results were spectacularly good for me,” Nathan says joyfully. “That was until your stupid sister and the man you both spread your legs for, my jerk of a stepbrother, John stepped in and messed everything up! All of you will pay! Every single one of you!”
“You won’t get away with this!”
Nathan laughs at that. “You think so?” I hear footsteps, then a door being opened, then, “Detectives, please come in. We’re ready.”
Detectives?
“What did you do?” I hear Nicky whisper, like everything depends on that one question.
“Well, it just so happens that the police know I’m a concerned father who doesn’t trust that boy, Julian, thanks to you and your failed attempt at trying to hide Mia from me. So now, they want to hear my statement.”
“Your statement?”
“That he really did kidnap my daughter when she was on her way to school, Nicky, keep up.” Jesus Christ. “I’m about to bury one of John’s heirs forever. The poor boy tried escaping, but not again. Steps were taken to ensure that this time, he’ll go away for a fucking long time.”
The steps he’s talking about, could it be the death of one of the Matthews bastards?
“You’re despicable. He’s just a boy! Pick someone your own size, unless you know you can’t beat John!”
Silence.
“He is not better than me,” Nathan lashes out. “I’m better and I’m going to prove it! I made a deal with Courtney, but that bitch is in this for herself, so as always, I will be two steps ahead every time. Don’t forget that, Nicky.”
“You disgust me.”
Panic is a strange thing, it brings out the worst in people and for me, it has brought out a side of me that has attracted trouble and danger to me like a freaking magnet.
Now, what do I do?
I need to do something.
I need to make a decision on how to deal with this.
I can’t have that man speak to the police on my behalf! Who knows what he’ll say? I need to find a way to get ahead of this and fuck up whatever plan he has.
So, as I hear the door opening and the sound of commotion, I choose that moment to start ‘awakening’ from my slumber as slowly as I can without making it see, dramatic.
Blinking slowly, my gaze immediately snags on to the one person I’d know from anywhere. The one who’s looking at me with a dark longing and worry that slams right into my chest.
He’s bruised and banged up, his right arm is in a cast and… he’s in a wheelchair.
My God, how badly was he hurt?
John is behind him, and I can see Liam and Cole peering in from the doorway, but they don’t come in.
All eyes turn to me, but I can’t look away from Julian.
Or the cops. And the pleased look on Nathan’s face.
Oh God, what do I do now?
Chapter Twenty-Five
Julian
The moment I meet Mia’s gaze, our eyes connect and hold instantly and a sort of alarm goes off almost in the same exact moment.
Freaked the fuck out, I look around, ready to launch myself at her if needed.
“What’s going on?” I demand. “What’s wrong with her?”
The alarms blares but Mia doesn’t look away, her beautiful blue eyes that I thought I’d never see again blinking slowly at me, watching me, seeing me, clinging on to me…
In that moment, everything becomes irrelevant. Nothing else matters as she looks at me, her eyes brimming with so many emotions flashing in their depths that tug at the thing pounding incessantly in my chest.
She looks as beaten up as I am, and I hate that.
I can face anything, I can walk through hell and be tortured there, but she shouldn’t have been in that hell in the first place!
That fucker, guilt has gutted me every which way these past two weeks which really feels like a forever, but I made it a point to hold on to the anger.
I let it consume me, letting the flames scorch me then spit me out every hour I’ve been forced to stay away from her.
They refused to give me updates on how she was doing. I was fucking losing my mind.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. I wasn’t supposed to be in here with her.