I kept on walking, missing the rest of their conversation. My sole focus at that point was getting Ruth. “Jace, could you call the cops.” I threw over my shoulder.He said nothing but from the corner of my eye I saw him pull out his phone. We climbed into the car again and I typed in Ruth’s address into the gps. Pierce was in his car by the time Jace rolled out of the compound. I vibrated in my seat, as the seconds ticked by, checking the gps to make sure we were still going the right way. Once again, I opened the door and got out as soon as Jace slowed in front of the apartment building, taking steady steps towards the entrance. Two teenages lounged close to the door smoking, and looked at our little party inquisitively as I passed them. I hurried up the stairs ignoring the burn in my legs. Finally, I reached the top floor and stopped at Ruth’s door. “This is it.” I told Jace and tried the lock. It didn’t budge. “She can’t be gone.” I tried the door again. “Fuck!” I cursed and s
After finding Ruth’s body in her apartment, I stayed indoors for the rest of the week, just waiting; waiting to get my baby’s urn, waiting for O’Malley to call me in.Sometimes I would seem perfectly fine. I would be making coffee one minute and the next second I’m shoving the coffee machine off the table.That was something I had to repair now before I left the motel. I just had so much anger in me and sometimes it would boil over. Ruth was not supposed to be dead. She was not supposed to be liquified, in her bedroom, with a suicide note beside her.The note had been an apology. And not just to me. It said that even while she worked under a hospital, she had this weird need to poison mothers. She had said that she was twenty three when doctors told her that she could not have a child of her own, and she held that grudge, taking children from what she termed ‘undeserving mothers’.My Yvette was just one more kid in a line of deaths. It made me furious . But why would she kill herself
I dodged just in time, avoiding her knife as it slashed across my hoodie. Suddenly, the memory of the press assailant clicked into place - Sarah was the woman with the knife who tried to stab me. I didn't have time to process the thought, though, as her blade sliced through the air again. Everytime she missed, she let out a frustrated scream. I threw my bag in her face, and lunged, tackling her to the ground. We wrestled, my hands desperately trying to pry the knife from her grasp, and then her knee slipped between us and struck me with a sharp blow to the stomach.Wincing, I let go of her cluthef my stomach. That gave Sarah all the opening she needed. With a swift motion, she rolled on top of me, pinning my hands under her knees, her eyes gleaming with a sinister light.“You should’ve taken the deal.” She laughed, and drove the blade down towards me.Just as it reached my face, a hand came into view and the knife sank into it, stopping mere inches from my face. My rescuer growled in
I’d prefer we not talk at all, but refusing him could cause unnecessary drama.I led the way to the changing closet and shut the door, then moved to a wardrobe to keep the distance between us wide.“It’s good to see that you're back at work. Hopefully O’Malley hasn’t been working you too hard, what with the wound-““What do you want, Pierce.” I didn’t want to have conversations that sounded normal. I could not trust myself not to be pulled to him again. “Just wanted to check if you’re alright.” He removed his bandaged right hand from his pocket and scratched the back of his ear. “I know Sarah wouldn’t be dumb enough to find you again, but I couldn’t stop worrying.” I looked away from him, refusing to fall for his false display of emotion. Pierce always knew just what to say to keep me hooked while we were together. I wasn’t going back to that Myra. “I uhhh…. I also wanted to tell you that your dad is back in the penitentiary. He got into a bar fight with some old buddies of his. And
I stood at the hospital reception desk, my eyes fixed on the woman typing away on her computer. "Room or common room?" I asked, forcing my voice to be louder than it could go.She scrolled through the screen, her brow furrowed in concentration. "She's in her room today. She wanted to stay in bed."I nodded, settling back into the dull ache in my chest. I trudged up the stairs, and as I reached my mother's room, pushed open the door and stepped inside.It was dimly lit, I noticed a live plant in her room with wilting leaves. My mother sat in a chair, her legs swathed in a vibrant blanket with small flowery squares that I recognised as the project she had been working on. My lips tugged upwards briefly and my heart swelled. At least one of us was able to finish what we started.I swallowed hard, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill over. When I breathed out, it felt easier.“That looks gorgeous, mum.” I commented, and planted a kiss on the top of her hair. “You finally
I chewed on my lip and glanced back at the set. “I’ll have to decline. O’Malley’s is in the zone right now and could call me and Roberto anytime soon, I don’t wanna go AWOL on him.”Carter nodded sharply, his smile still bright and disarming. “Of course, I understand. Can’t steal the star of the show without warning. Maybe next time?”“For sure.” I smiled back. It felt good to smile.“See you around, Myra.” He gave a small salute in Roberto’s direction and walked away, my eyes still trainedbon his figure. I thought about how different he was from Pierce, with the charming easy smiles and calming demeanor. Carter still kept this boyish high school vibe, and he made it work.“Now that is how a rich man flirts.” Robert said. He had placed his hands behind his head and was smirking at me. The fabric of his shirt had gone up, exposing an inch of skin. I peeled my eyes away from there and focused on his words.“Flirting?”“Oh yeah.” I scoffed, “he wasn’t flirting with me, he’s just really
“O’Malley is certainly working us to death.” Jace said as he collapsed on the ground in the part of the woods we were shooting. I was wearing a sleeveless shirt and would rather avoid the sand totally, but was too exhausted to mind. I joined him on the floor, resting my head on his belly. Sophia, Bianca, Roberto and the others joined us on the floor or rested their backs against the trees.“How’s your play date with your brother going?” I asked Jace.I felt him shift under me. “Perfect. We are supposed to have one today actually.”“Is it cancelled?” A little part of me wanted to see Carter. Roberto saying he was flirting with me had forced the idea i to my head and it wouldn’t leave. Was I really so stuck up on Pierce that I couldn’t tell when a guy was openly flirting with me?“I’m trying to figure out how to cancel.”“You don’t want to join your family’s company.”“I’m just not ready for that part of my life yet. If only my parents would let me be for a while.” “I think we did go
“This looks rather cozy.” I said, stepping a step back and hitting Carter. His hands went around my waist to steady me. “It does? I didn’t notice.” There was a hint of laughter in his voice. When I glanced up, he was smiling at me. “I hear they have good food. We grab a bite and then we leave, it isn’t a big deal.” He cocked his head to the side, “not unless you make it.”“No it’s fine.” I stepped away from him, relieved that his hands freed me easily. I wasn’t even dressed for that kind of thing. I looked out of place here and I liked it that way. A server stopped by us with a smile and spoke to Carter while I hung in the background. When they were done speaking, he led me to a booth not far from the entrance. A smart choice since it eliminated the cozy feel.“So do you checkout new restaurants often?” I asked after we had been given menus.The crinkles in his eyes deepened. “I do, actually. Jace has acting as a hobby and I fancy myself some kind of food critic.” I raised a brow. “T
Myra’s POV I slept soundly till the sound of my ringing phone woke me up. It couldn't be morning yet, could it? I wondered as I reached through the sheets for my cell. Three days had passed since the accident and I spent most of it in the house staying in a sour mood. Hannah had stopped by the day after the accident to ask if I really wanted Heidi. For the right reasons. I had gotten upset at the question, but answered sincerely. I had thought about it. And I wasn’t getting her as a replacement for Yvette, which I knew they all thought. Even Lily. All she did was sigh and told me she would help me, because she had contacts. So for three days. I had been hovering around the house, waiting. I took a second to check the time, sitting upright when I read the caller ID. “Hello?” I asked, all traces of sleep leaving my eyes. It was one in the morning and I was getting a call from my mother’s hospital. That did not hold a promise for good things. “Hi. Myra Thompson. So sorry for
Pierce‘s POVHe was driving, but he wasn’t sure where. He had had to keep moving. Far away. where she would not look at him like he was the last person she wanted to see on earth. Crazy how it wasn’t the first time, but this time, at that hospital it sank in. Maybe because he had seen how close she and Carter had gotten. Or the fact that she didn’t want to see him after her accident while he was on the edge of hysteria with worry. All he had wanted to do was touch her. To convince his frantic heart that she was still there. She was safe and out of harm's way, but she could barely even look him in the face. He had fucked things up, so bad. For years he had been in love with her without knowing what it was. He’d catch himself watching her while they were in the apartment. An escape, No, he was falling right at her feet with love. When he read that text message she’d sent about them being over he had sent him into a panic. One he had not been ready to admit to. Admitting to it, was ad
“Pierce…” his name slipped out of my mouth before Incould stop it. Hannah crushed me in her arms unperturbed.“I was so worried, when Carter called and told me about the accident, I thought…God I’m so hlad you’re okay!” I forced my eyes away from Pierce and focused on Hannah. “I’m fine I promise.”“What is he doing here?” Carter muttered. I was painfully aware of him approaching the bed. With determined steps till Carter blocked his path to me. “What do you think you’re doing?” He challenged Pierce. “I just need to make sure she’s okay.” He answered in a dejected tone. I swallowed, my chest felt like it was caving in at the weight of my emotions. On one end, I wanted to cry into anybody’s shoulder, really. But I also wanted to tell him that the reason my heart was breaking was because I watched a random stranger die. And even though she was a grown woman with her own child. The feeling that pounded in my chest was the same as how I felt when I was holding Yvette’s lifeless body in
When the medics came, I moved away from the car, my eyes still glued to the wreckage. Nicole had only passed out, I told myself. It wasn’t a big deal, they would get her out of there and take her to the hospital. A tiny body ran past me, and was grabbed by one of the attending first responders. “Mummy!” Heidi cried as she struggled in his arms. I tose to my feet quickly and walked up to them. “Take her to the ambulance and check her wounds, see if there’s anything major.” Another medic told the one holding her. “Give her to me. I’ll take her.” When I glanced at the car, I saw that the men working were placing a took under the car to keep it from collapsing further. On the other side, two men stood with a plier like object. They wanted to cut into it, I realized. “You’re the one the caller told us about? You got the girl out?” The guy holding crying Heidi asked. I nodded and reached for her. Her fingers tightened around the fabric of my dress, nearly pulling it off my b
As I opened my eyes a blinding light pierced through my skull. I winced and shut them, then shifted away from it when I realized that my body was pressed to hard asphalt. The air was thick with the smell of smoke and burnt rubber.“She’s awake.” Someone yelled as I moved up to my hands which were peppered with scratches and cuts. I could feel a blinding headache building in the back of my head, but ignored it as I looked at my surroundings. The cab I had been in was farthest from me, it’s front end pretty mangled with a broken and blood stained windshield. I looked on the ground next to me to find the driver, unconscious and bloodied, but his stomach rose and fell as he breathed so I knew he was alive.I let my eyes fall on the worse of the accident. The small car we had hit was barely recognizable with the bus parked on top of it. I rose up on unsteady feet and moved closer to the damage. “Everyone step back.” A man yelled, shoving the people closest away. “But there’s a kid in t
Myra’s POVThe rest of the evening went in a blur for me. The announcement, toasts, more introductions…I had retreated so far into my head that Carter had to remind me repeatedly to smile, or nudge me when to do something other than nod at people’s words. He had tired sometime later of reminding me to smile, that he began giving the excuse that I was very exhausted and had not gotten a good rest since my movie premiere. I just hummed and nodded in agreement to that too.“What’s wrong?” He asked in the car when I had not said anything for a while. “You just spaced out halfway through the evening. You didn’t even show any interest when I introduced you to Stuart Dewald. That man can place you just as high as O’Malley di-““When did O’Malley say he wanted me to stop acting?” I asked and turned away from the window. He glanced at the driver of the limousine through the rearview mirror before looking at me again. “What are you talking about?”“When we were chatting with your parents, you
Forget what I said about not being nervous. My heart pounded in my chest the farther he led me into the room. Why was I nervous? We were not officially dating. Everything’s cool. I whispered to myself, trying to play it off. I just chewed out a Blackwood, I should be feeling unstoppable.We approached a group of three and I relaxed at the sight of Jace. “Mother, father,” Carter said, slowing to a halt behind them. The couple backing us turned their attention from Jace. “I want you to meet Myra.”A warm smile was spread across both their faces causing mine to be more natural. Jace and Carter, were a carbon copy of their father. “Myra, this is my dad Gregory and my beautiful mother, Alicia.”“Oh!” His mother exclaimed, smacking Carter on his shoulder. “Don’t flatter me so much.” She chortled before turning her attention to me. “Myra. It’s nice to meet you. We’ve heard all about you.”“Hopefully It’s all good.” I joked.Alicia chuckled, “mostly, you work with Jace yes? I owe you congra
What happens when you’re angry and trying to find a restroom? You get lost. I passed the same medieval armor ensemble three times before I accepted my fate. Or what if it was a different armors?I narrowed my eyes at it. I wonder if that guy was a regular person who had gotten lost, died and was now part of the exhibit. “Todd would you mind pointing me in the right direction? I don’t wanna end up like you.” I muttered at the armor statue, before I glanced left and then right. I sighed and went back the way I had come from. At least the way I thought I had come from. I was sure I had not come across any of the pieces I passed. I stopped infront of two paintings of two men, one posing for the painting fully clothed in 16th century garb with a larger than life codpiece. In contrast, a nude man in the next painting done in Greek style, was reading a book, his own member barely there. “In my head, I think these two would’ve been great friends.” I said aloud my voice echoing down the h
I had never seen a much bigger building in my life. I looked at the building where the Dionet party was holding and felt truly small. The building was a lot larger than a stadium with a roof that slanted upwards, ending in a sharp point. And covered in dark glass from the bottom walls to the top. I felt like in the morning it would be very daunting, but tonight not only did it carry the air of superiority, but of mystery. It told me that it hold stories passed down for centuries that it was willing to share if I just went through it’s double doors. How had I stayed in this city this long and not know about this place?Carter placed his had on my bare back and my focus turned to him. “Just letting you know again that you’re absolutely stunning tonight.”I looked down at my golden silk dress which simmered in the low lights that brightened the small walkway, the material draping elegantly over my curves. The true showstopper though was the daringly deep backless design that plunged dram