Beautiful Hell: A Contemporary High School Bully Romance Page 25

  Margaret stares at me, eyes wide with befuddlement. “Elias…”

  “Please. Get him down here. Now.”

  “Elias, Mr. Malone isn’t home. And I don’t know where he went,” Margaret replies.

  “Where’s Kira?” I ask. I’m sure my voice is tight with panic.

  She takes a deep breath. “I just got here not too long ago,” she says. “Haven’t heard a peep from her. If she’s here, I’m assuming she’s in her room. But I was told by the guards not to let you in if you show up. What’s going on, Elias?”

  “I’m sorry,” I reply and storm past her.

  “Elias, no! If Mr. Malone catches you here, he’ll—”

  “I really don’t care anymore,” I say, rushing up the stairs. My heart is pounding, anguish gripping me by the throat. Longing simmers through my blood. I need to see her, now more than ever.

  “Elias, please!” Margaret calls out after me, but I’m not listening anymore.

  The door to Kira’s room is slightly ajar, the lock still broken and the wood splintered from William’s kick. I get angrier just remembering that moment. What a degenerate piece of trash…

  I hear Margaret gasp behind me. It must be the first she’s seeing what’s become of Kira’s room.

  I push the door open, but there’s no sign of Kira anywhere. Only a mess of clothes and shoes and tissues. I don’t see the pill bottle anywhere either, and my worst fears resurface, blaring like boat sirens in the bay. Oh, God…

  “Where is she?” Margaret asks, having caught up with me.

  “I don’t know. Where else could she be?”

  “I… Let’s check the other rooms,” she replies, proceeding to open every door along the corridor, from the east to the west side of the house. I follow her closely, my pulse racing.

  With every empty room and bathroom, my fear swells. There is something deeply wrong here. Something I might’ve been able to prevent, had I only stood my ground with William.

  We reach the ground floor. The lounge area is empty. The kitchen and bathroom, as well. Margaret is nervous, breathing heavily as concern darkens her eyes. She’s been like a mother to Kira, and I can only imagine what’s going through her head right now.

  “Did you see her at all today?” I ask.

  “No,” she answers, her voice shaky. “Tell me what’s happening, Elias.”

  “William Malone is happening,” I reply.

  Margaret stops, her hands shaking. She tears up, struggling to keep her composure. “What has he done, Elias?” I can see the guilt in her eyes, burning so hot that it might just torch her.

  I put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing as reassuringly as I can manage. “You can’t blame yourself for any of this. I think Kira’s done the best she could with what she was given. Unfortunately, we don’t get to choose the kind of family we’re born into. Otherwise, I would’ve had a say in my own upbringing…”

  She doesn’t say anything to that. She knows that my dad was no saint in this war between the Dressler’s and Malones, but she’s also not going to speak ill of the dead. I appreciate that.

  Who knows how my father would have reacted to today’s events? When he was alive, he never had a reason to believe Kira and I were anything but enemies.

  “Where is she?” I sigh, looking around.

  Margaret’s expression shifts, and she rushes out into the lounge room again. This time, however, she takes a sharp turn to the right, down a narrow corridor. I see a carved wooden door at the end. She opens it and sucks in a breath. “Kira…”

  I fly past her, but come to a sudden halt. The image before me is all wrong. Not what I wanted to see. Not something I would ever want to see. And yet… it’s real. Blue and black circle her eyes. Her cheekbone is swollen. Blood has dried on the corners of her lips all the way down to her chin.

  There’s a bottle of Oxy spilled all over the floor beside her. I’m not sure what the bigger perpetrator is here. Oxy sure has nothing to do with the bruises and the cuts. But Malone would never…

  I shake my head. Anger and fear and sadness grip me like nothing else.

  “Kira!” Margaret screams and falls to her knees, crying and trembling, no longer able to control herself. “Elias, please… Help her…”

  I run and slide along the floor, reaching Kira in the blink of an eye. She’s cold and pale. The rottenest of déjà vus hits me.

  Kira’s not breathing. Her pulse is barely there. I check her vitals, over and over. Maybe I’m imagining all this.

  “Call 911,” I tell Margaret. “NOW!!!”

  I hold Kira close. She’s limp… almost lifeless. I have never been so scared in my life.

  Margaret moves around us, reaching William’s desk. There’s a phone there.

  “Come on, Kira,” I whisper, my eyes stinging. “Come on, baby. Stay with me, please… Please, Kira. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere ever again, I promise. I’m sorry. Just… just stay with me.”

  I’m not sure if she can hear me, but I pray she can. I pray that my voice somehow keeps her anchored to this world, because if I lose her…

  29

  Elias

  The waiting room of a hospital is like a nightmare come true. The eggshell paint is glossy, capturing the neon reflexes that further amplify my anxiety. I pace around, my muscles tight with broiling anger. My fists are clenched, as I count my steps in a bid to keep myself awake and with enough composure to get through this.

  Somewhere down the hall, doctors are attending to Kira. This isn’t her first time here, but I’m terrified that it’ll be her last—and I don’t mean that in a good way.

  Margaret and Janelle sit in a couple of chairs. There are a few other people here, each worried for their loved ones, waiting to be allowed to go see them. I heard a couple of car crashes being mentioned, but my mind is unable to linger on anything for too long. All I can think of is Kira.

  Hours have gone by. The sun might be rising outside, I’m not sure. I’ve lost track of time.

  “Where’s Mr. Malone?” Janelle asks after a long and heavy silence.

  That is the last name I want to hear right now. I give her a cold, deadly stare, but she doesn’t seem all that impressed. Janelle’s got a pair of balls on her. Credit where it’s due.

  “What? He’s her father,” she adds, looking at me.

  “He did this to her, Janelle!” Margaret replies. Her eyes are puffy and red. She’s been crying ever since we found Kira.

  “I’m sure he’ll come running to make sure I leave, before he even looks for his daughter,” I say, gritting my teeth. I hate the man with the fire of a thousand suns. Above all, I’m terrified of what my reaction will be when I do see him. I might not be able to control myself. “What is taking them so long?” I mutter, staring down the hallway leading into the emergency rooms.

  Nurses rush here and there, zigzagging through doors. Messages are conveyed through the speaker system. Some doctor is being called into the ICU. Someone’s car is blocking the ambulance access outside. Jesus Christ, may I never see the inside of a hospital, ever again.

  Finally, the doctor who took Kira in comes out – he’s the same one who pumped her stomach after the party. Taking his mask and gloves off, he tosses them into a medical waste bin. I’m stiff as a plyboard as he joins us inside the waiting room, giving me a stern look. “There was no Oxy in her system,” he says. My heart sinks even further in my chest. I can feel tears pool in my eyes, hot and angered. “It seems she’s suffered a pretty bad concussion.” The way he’s looking at me makes me feel like he holds me responsible. “Who did this to her?” he asks. “The last time I saw you, you promised to take care of her.” It’s an accusation and one I don’t shy away from. He’s right. I did promise to take care of her. Yet, here we are now.

  “I tried,” my voice is barely audible.

  “Well, she survived. Again,” he replies. “The police have been called. We’re not sweeping this under the rug, Mr. Dressler. It’s one thing for a girl to ha
rm herself. It’s a whole other thing to have someone inflict the kind of damage that’s been done to her.”

  Janelle holds Margaret’s hand—the woman is falling apart at the seams, bursting into tears again. I can’t even comfort her. If I don’t kill William Malone, Margaret definitely will.

  “How is she now?” I need to see her. My very soul is aching.

  “She’s asleep. And I’ve put enough sedative in her system to make sure she stays asleep until the morning,” Dr. Connor replies. “You can all go see her, one at a time, but you have to let her rest.”

  Margaret stands up, her face red and her eyes glassy. “Can I go first? Please?”

  The doctor nods. “One of the nurses will let you in. I’ve got someone in there with her now, checking her vitals every thirty minutes,” the doctor says. “We’ll keep monitoring her until we’re sure she’s completely out of the woods.”

  I give Margaret a faint nod. My pain can wait. At least Kira is okay. For now, she’s safe. But I have to do more, while she’s still sleeping. Remembering Janelle’s phone in my glove compartment, I realize that I can actually keep William busy until she wakes up.

  When Kira opens her eyes again, I want her to find a whole new world.

  A better world.

  Less than an hour later, Sheldon reaches me at the hospital. Janelle and Margaret are taking turns to stay with Kira. I haven’t seen her yet. For all my longing of her, I’ve not found the courage to set foot inside that room. I can’t bear to see her like this…

  Maybe later. We’ve got a big-ass fish to fry, first.

  “Do you know where he is?” Sheldon asks. We’re close to a vending machine, keeping some distance from the people in the waiting area. They don’t need to know what we’re doing. Hell, I can’t let Janelle or Margaret know, either. It’s better if everyone is surprised.

  “He called Margaret. She made it seem like she hasn’t got a clue what happened. And that Kira had turned to Oxy. He’s on his way,” I say, chuckling bitterly. “You know what his first question was? He wanted to know if I was still here. The sick son of a bitch… He almost killed his daughter, and he wants to know if I’m still around.”

  “Had you not gone looking for her, Elias, things could have ended a lot worse,” Sheldon replies. “I’ve spoken to the PI. He’s sending a couple of off-duty cops over. They’ll wait outside. I’m assuming the hospital has already called the police.”

  “They have,” I say. William knows nothing of what’s going on, of course. He thinks he can pummel his daughter into oblivion and walk away unscathed. Maybe he’s even hoping that she’ll never wake up – never be able to tell her side of the story. Maybe he’s a hundred percent sure that she’ll keep her lips glued shut. One thing’s for certain, though, I know the last person he expects to see here is me.

  “Everything else is taken care of,” Sheldon says as we walk towards the main exit. “There’s an arrest warrant in the works, too.”

  “We don’t have enough for the Joe Fowler issue.”

  “Nope. But we’ve got him on Janelle’s phone. And for what he did to Kira. It’s enough to at least bend him over a little bit. Let’s start there, okay?”

  I nod slowly, as the cold morning air hits my lungs. The sky is still relatively dark, but I can see the burning pinks of morning stretching beyond the neighborhood. Ambulances sound in the distance. Hampton Heights is relatively quiet, but it’s not devoid of trouble, especially around the weekends, when Trinity folks come through.

  The squealing of tires makes me turn around. An SUV pulls up, a livid William behind the wheel. He jumps out and comes straight for my head. Two men tackle him from the side, before I can even react.

  “You son of a bitch!” William snarls, his face pressed into the asphalt.

  “Holy shit, they were already here,” I manage, feeling my eyes bulge as I stare at the two men. They’re wearing slacks and dark jackets, but I can definitely tell they’re cops by the speed with which they read William his Miranda rights, then cuff him.

  Sheldon’s eyes bulge, equally fascinated.

  “Where’s my daughter, you piece of shit?!” William shouts, then looks at the arresting officers. “And who the fuck are you? What is this? What are you doing?”

  “You’re under arrest for, aggravated assault,” one of the men replies, matter-of-factly. “And cellphone fraud,” the other adds.

  Sheldon hands me Janelle’s phone in a plastic bag, and I walk over to William with it, while the officers pull him up. He’s belligerent. It’s clear that he’s been drinking. His expression, all red and blotchy, is testament to that, along with his stinking breath.

  “I think you can add a DUI there, while you’re at it,” I say, smirking. Raising the phone for William to see, I deliver the final blow. “It’s not legal to clone phones, William. Didn’t your lawyer teach you that?”

  Sheldon joins me, while William watches us both, his words drowned in astonishment. “It’s also cause for the local PD to issue additional search warrants. I’ve also recommended a forensic accountant, since I’m positive that cloning a phone isn’t your first misdemeanor.”

  “And let’s not forget Joe Fowler,” I add.

  “I want to see my daughter!” William barks. His face is contorted with fury and shock. He’s never been in a situation like this before, and he has no idea what to do with himself. I admit, I’m taking great pleasure in seeing him struggle with the inevitable.

  “After what you did to her,” I spit, “you have some fucking nerve, William!”

  “I’m her father!”

  “You’re a fucking monster,” I shoot back, then shift my focus on the police officers. “Make sure he doesn’t get bail,” I mutter.

  I turn my back on William and walk back inside. Another weight is lifted from my shoulders.

  “You’re gonna pay for this, Elias! You’re gonna die! I’m gonna fucking kill you! You filthy piece of shit! You hear me?!”

  I suppose that’s one good reason he just gave for the absence of a bail option. Sheldon is quick to spot that. “Officers, you can both attest that Mr. Malone here is violent. He’s made significant threats against my client, as well.”

  “No! Let go of me! I need to see my daughter!” William protests.

  The man is a joke, that much is clear.

  30

  Kira

  For a moment, I thought I would die. That it would all be over.

  I’m alive now. I can feel it.

  My toes wiggle. My eyes peel open. My ribs burns. My head hurts. The monotonous beeping of medical machines doesn’t help. It takes me minutes of blinking through a blurry vision, but I eventually understand my surroundings. I’m in a hospital.

  I’m not alone.

  I hear other people moaning. Some are talking, comforting those in suffering.

  Someone’s holding my hand. Turning my head slowly, the image becomes clearer, and I see Margaret. She’s watching me, holding her breath, pain shining through her teary eyes. I exhale sharply, suddenly over the moon to be able to see her. Remembering the cold darkness, I am thankful that I didn’t die.

  “I’m so sorry,” I whisper, my throat coated with gravel. “So… so sorry…”

  “Oh, Kira, honey,” Margaret manages, her voice trembling. She gives my hand a hard squeeze. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

  “I scared you,” I say and she shakes her head, gripping my hands even tighter. I wonder if she knows what happened. I wonder if I’m strong enough, brave enough, to reveal what happened if someone asks me.

  Shame sets me on fire. I’m thirsty and hungry, but when I lick my tongue across my lips, all I taste are the remnants of blood and anger. I’m in need of a lot of things right now, and yet I want nothing except to curl up in a ball and cry my eyes out. How could he do this to me? My own father. I know what they’re all thinking. I had the bottle of Oxy on me, surely they believe that that’s in part responsible for my being here. But I don’t remember taking a
ny pills. I’m pretty damn certain I didn’t.

  I grip Margaret’s hand, somehow finding the strength to hold onto her as tightly as she holds on to me. “I have no one,” I whisper to her.

  “You have me,” she whispers back.

  “You have us,” another voice says. It’s Elias. His presence cuts through reality itself.

  I freeze, watching him walk towards my bed. Janelle is with him. I’m angry with her, but I’m also too. So tired. But I’m too tired. Much too tired. Elias, however, seems remarkably calm. The three of them are smiling at me—they seem genuine and loving, and it makes me feel even worse.

  “Margaret, Janelle, can I have a moment alone with Kira, please?” Elias asks.

  The ladies nod and head out, occasionally glancing back at me. Still smiling. I’ll see them again. Maybe they’ve got some answers for me. Janelle, in particular. There’s so much I don’t know yet.

  Elias takes a seat in the chair next to my bed. He sits up straight and stiff. His expression is quite difficult to read—though it might be because of my fuzzy, half-dormant brain. I need to take it easy. One breath at a time. I need to not worry about what happens when I get back home. Or if I even have a home to go back to.

  A few moments go by in silence. But it’s not the heavy kind. Nor awkward. It’s just silence.

  “Margaret and I found you,” Elias finally speaks, his gaze fixed on my hands. “You were on the floor, cold… You weren’t breathing.”

  “Elias—”

  He pauses, taking another breath, and all I can do is look at him.

  “We called an ambulance. I sat with you through the entire ride. Panicked. Afraid. Your father got to the hospital much later, but I made sure he couldn’t come in. He’s been arrested for what he did to you, as well as cloning Janelle’s phone. Drunk driving was thrown into the mix as well.”

  He stops, finally looking at me. I’m speechless, my brain trying to process everything he’s telling me. Cloning Janelle’s phone? What the hell does that even mean.