Page 21 of Shattered Wings

“Calm down. Blake is fine. She’s still with your mom and Lena. They have been calling me nonstop to check on you. Blake is safe. They are taking excellent care of her. I spoke to her on the phone last night.” She visibly relaxes at my statement.

“Thank you, Lach. If you weren’t here, I wouldn’t know what I would do. I’m getting tired again. I think I need to go back to sleep for a bit.” Good thing she won’t ever have to find out.

Leaning over to kiss her on the forehead, I tell her, “Get some sleep. We can talk later. I think we still have a lot to talk about.” Ellie closes her eyes, and her breath evens out. I think the medication, along with her memories coming back, has sucked all the strength out of her.

Once I’m certain she’s deeply asleep, I step out of the room and into the hallway. Damn, the lights are bright out here. Remi had to leave late last night. He needed to go check on Ben. I haven’t heard from him since, so I’ve been a little worried. Deciding it’s best for me to call him just to make sure, I take my phone out of my jeans pocket. Pulling up his contact, I press call. It connects almost instantly.

“Hey, Lachlan. I was going to call you. How is Illiana doing?”

“She’s finally awake. Doing better than I would have imagined, honestly.”

“Listen, man. What I’m about to say is going to piss you off, but I need you to stay calm. Can you do that for me?” Just what I needed him to say right now. I guess he’s got news for me.

“I’ll stay calm, for now.” That’s all I can offer him.

“Calm for now, works. Don’t hate me, but I broke into Illiana’s house. It seemed like someone had been inside recently. I swear I could smell fresh mint and spice. But back to my point, I was able to get the condom out of her bathroom. I took hair from a brush on her countertop as well. The semen was a match for Ben and the outside of the condom was a match for Illiana. He did, in fact, rape her.”

“You know I’m going to fucking kill him, right? His death is going to be brutally painful. I’m going to fuck his world up for touching what doesn’t belong to him. He’ll be wishing for death when I’m done with him.” What a piece of shit! Who goes around raping women?

“You do what you need to do. I’ve got your back, Lachlan. Just be careful. Ben is psychotic. He won’t back down and if he feels like you’re standing in between him and Illiana, he’ll take you out.”

“I’ll keep you posted. I’m not leaving Illiana’s side while she’s in the hospital. Once she gets out, I’ll be moving her to my place. I’ll make plans then. Talk soon.” Hanging up, my body slides down the wall. He touched my girl, fucked my girl and put his marks on her. It won’t be long and he’ll have my marks on him. He will be black and blue, though. I’m going to beat his fucking ass and not feel one ounce of remorse. He deserves it. I won’t rest until I get revenge for my girl.

Echo

She thinks I didn’t know, but I knew everything there was to know about their relationship. They wanted to keep it a secret. After all, a middle-class girl from the wrong side of the tracks and a rich boy from a wealthy family would have been the talk of our small town. I followed her and stalked them from the sidelines, always watching, waiting for an opportunity to take what always belonged to me. And she belonged to me, even if she didn’t know it.

Illiana might think that her chemo treatments messed with her memory, but that wasn’t the only thing. My buddy Matthew from over at Beaufort Creek Academy was damn good at chemistry. Ether was his creation. There were various variations of the drug. In powder form, it was pink. It would make you high as shit. It amplified all of your sensations. It made you feel so damn good. Having sex while on Ether was the best feeling in the world. You could smoke it, snort it, just about anything. Matt even had a gas form. That was the shit if you use it right.

He created a special formula for me, for Illiana. It was a little powder that dissolved right into her drinks. It was colorless and odorless too. Honestly, it was the perfect combination. Matt called it EtherX. When given in the right doses, it had major impacts on the memory. Let’s just say that it made you think things happened that didn’t and vice versa. All of which was beneficial to me. On top of EtherX were the treatments that Illiana received. The combination was perfect in order to erase her memory of him.

Illiana didn’t know that I’d go to the ends of the earth for her. She was mine. And I’m an asshole, so I work and work until I eventually get what’s mine. I never intended for him to come back into her life years later. I should have put a stop to it then, but that’s where I fucked up. I realized my mistake when it was too late.

Now it’s time to make a decision. But in the meantime, I’ve got work to do. And I won’t rest until it’s done. I’m tired of fucking around. It’s time I finally get my retribution. And I know just the person to help me.

Echo: It’s time.

Matthew: Meet you there.

Echo: You got the package?

Matthew: What the fuck do you think?

Matthew: *Image Received*

Echo: On the way.

It’s time to go fuck some shit up.

Illiana

I have been at Lachlan’s condo for about a week now. He helped me get signed up for counseling services. I just had my first session yesterday. I’m hoping that it will help me. It’s like Lach walks on eggshells around me and I freaking hate it. Our relationship has never been like this. We’ve always been close, able to tell each other everything. There’s something he has been holding back. I can see it in his eyes when he stares at me. I don’t even know what to think right now. On top of losing Jaxon and getting my memories back, I’m a hot mess. It makes little sense that I lost an entire year’s worth of memories. And in their place were memories of Jaxon. How does that even happen?

It’s time for me to sit down with Lachlan and lay it all out there for him. He hasn’t pushed for answers about my overdose. He’s been giving me time, but if anyone deserves answers, it’s him. Since the memories came back, I’ve been confused about many things, but there’s one thing that I’m not confused about. When I remembered everything, I remembered how much I loved Lachlan. I see him in a whole new light. Maybe I’ve always seen him that way, but I was too scared to admit it to myself. I’ve loved no one the way I love him, not even Jaxon.

Blakely is still with my mom and Lena. I’ve been missing her like crazy. They are going to be bringing her home in the next week or two, and I can’t wait. Lachlan has a beautiful princess room set up for her. I know she’s going to adore it. When I saw my room for the first time, it took my breath away. I have this huge four-poster king-size canopy bed. Pale purple lace drapes over the top. My blanket is a slightly darker purple, with lush pillows in various shades of purple and teal covering the bed. On the wall, he has paintings of butterflies being freed from their cages. I’m assuming he intended to add those to the room. I see how they relate to my life, that’s for sure. On my nightstand, there’s a gorgeous lamp. Teal and purple butterflies freely float inside the birdcage shaped lamp. It looks like they are flying around. I’ve never seen something more stunning. There’s a walk-in ensuite, white marble tiles, a huge claw-foot tub, and the most amazing shower I’ve ever been in. The rainfall shower head is to die for. Lachlan has made his home a home for me and Blakely.

When I woke up this morning, there was a small black box sitting on my nightstand. When I opened it, I couldn’t help but to cry. A diamond encrusted necklace gleamed flawlessly within the box. I broke down, took the angel wing necklace off Jax had given me all those years ago, and cried my eyes out some more. Then I saw Lachlan had left me a note. I cried even harder when I read it.

---