Page 25 of Most Of All

Don nods at them and with a husky voice he says, “Howard, Rose.” They both nod back and smile, grabbing their cups as they head out. Once they get to the doorway, my mom takes my dad’s hand in hers, and looking up at him lovingly she says, “I’m so glad they found each other, aren’t you?”

“Did you hear that?” I say with a croak, glancing at Don.

“I did,” he replies, grinning smugly at me, as he pulls me down to lie down with him. We sit silently in each other's arms, surrounded in comfort. In this intimate moment, I can’t help but feel that this is the most incredible feeling ever.

The nurse comes in a few minutes later; she silently cuts her eyes at Don but doesn’t ask him to move. She gives me a full work up, telling me everything is healing well and that I will be discharged in a couple of hours. A knot of anxiety forms in my stomach at the thought of going back to my apartment. I hate it, I hate this feeling. I love my apartment, and because of Jack I don't want to return. Unexpectedly, or maybe because he can sense how unsettled I am, Don asks me to go back to his house. He tells me that he has already had a discussion with my parents about it.

He goes on to tell me Jack has not been found yet. He thinks that Jack is on the run. The police and Don’s men are looking for him, but haven’t found anything yet. He explains that it will be safer for me at his house, as he has security in place, he even offered my parents to stay but they refused. Even in the state I’m in, this man still sends my heart racing. I bite back the urge to straddle him and take him right here and now, but sadly it’s not the time or place. I wish it was though.

When my parents return, we tell them that I’m getting discharged in a couple of hours and will be staying at Don’s. They seem to approve, and even offer to head by my apartment. They discuss with Don what items I will need, and their smiles and laughter fill the room. I can’t help but notice how much they seem to enjoy his company, it genuinely warms my heart at their connection.

“Andhowlongwillthat take?” I yell down the phone to the dickhead that can’t follow simple instructions. “I was told they would be ready, what the fuck am I supposed to do now?” I hang up. For fuck’s sake! The new passports were meant to be ready. What do I do now? I can’t go back to the shitty motel I have been staying in, and I can’t go back to my place. They will be looking for me, and without the new passports, I can’t stay at a hotel. Luckily, a few weeks ago, I stashed some money and personal items at a secret location. It's a long drive from here though, and I need those passports first. I need to think. Think, think, think, God damn it.

Why could things not go as planned? Raine was supposed to come with me, I needed to take her away from him; from them. I lost my temper with her, I don't even know if she’s dead or alive. I panicked at what my temper made me do, and left her on the floor. To be honest, she would be better off dead than anywhere near that family. Why didn't I pursue her sooner? She was always meant to be mine; I promised my mom I would marry Raine. I was only fourteen at the time, but a promise is a promise. I thought it would all come in time, that I would get my revenge, then I would claim her. Revenge always had to come first, it was what I wanted most of all: for my mom and for my sister. I have lost all my research that took me years to gather, and I have lost my family, and Raine. So, I have nothing left to lose, but it can’t be over yet. I just need to figure out where I’m going. I need a new plan.

I wonder if the police are finished at Raine’s? I should be able to get in undetected, especially since I’m wearing a police uniform. Years ago, I bribed it off a very corrupt officer and it has come in handy a few times since. It will be a piece of cake, even if she is alive, it’s not like she would go straight back to her apartment, not after everything that happened.

There’s no one outside Raine’s apartment when I get there, but I stay hidden for a little while to make sure. Once I’m sure the coast is clear, I cautiously make my way to the door, stopping every couple of seconds to scan the area. The window has been boarded up, someone must have broken it to get in. Hesitantly, I try my key in the lock, hoping the locks haven’t been changed yet, and by a stroke of luck, they haven’t. I carefully creep inside, listening, but it’s silent, thank God!

I sneak into all the rooms one by one, searching through them carefully, and holy fuck, someone made short work of the bathroom door, it’s in pieces. I suppose I did lock her in there. With a malicious smirk, I shrug it off, and keep searching.

After searching the place high and low, I feel confident enough that the place is empty. You can never be too careful. A loud grumble echoes from my stomach, and I go to the kitchen to make something to eat, but before I can even open the fridge, I hear the front door open and close. Shit! I dash and hide behind the kitchen door, listening for the sound of footsteps, but they don’t head this way, whoever it is, is on the way to the bedroom.

I tiptoe my way out of the kitchen. Curiosity gets the better of me, could it be Raine? I couldn’t have imagined her returning, but it could be possible, and if so, I can continue with my original plan to take her with me. As I listen, I can hear whoever it is rummaging through the bedroom. I quietly come up behind them, it’s not Raine, but her mother. I’m taken aback for a second, is Raine dead? Did I kill her?

Rose hears me behind her, and turns around quickly, covering her mouth with a loud gasp. “Wha...what are you doing here?” She stutters, fumbling over her words. “You have no right; you should be locked up after what you did.” I stiffen, unsure on what to do. “You could have killed her; do you know that? After everything we have done for you, this is how you repay us, why, Jack?”

She’s angry, with tears forming in her eyes, but I can’t answer her, I don’t know what to say. “I’m calling the police, right now!” She yells, pulling out her phone, but I can’t let her do that and I go to snatch it off her, but she grips it tight, and I struggle to get it. With a shove, she pushes me back and I lose my footing, tumbling over. She takes her chance and attempts to run. Shit! No! I can’t have her running her mouth to the police.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I jump up and chase her. Coming up behind her, I grab her hair tightly, just before she reaches the front door. I drag her into the living room, and she screams in pain when I grab the phone from her and shove her to the floor. My first thought was just to tie her up and leave, but she gets up and starts screaming. I’m unable to get her to shut up, so I punch her, but I must have put more power than I thought behind it, because she stumbles back. With the world starting to turn and spin, I watch as she hits her head on the wall, her body falling to the floor with a thud. No! No! What have I done? I take steps toward her, and bend down to check her breathing, hoping she’s not dead. There is too much blood, she’s just lying there with her eyes wide open. No! No! What should I do? Gently, I close her eyes and rise up. I have to get to Raine, she’s still alive and I have to get her to come with me before anyone finds out about this, I need to...Shit! I need to get to Raine.

I go through Rose’s phone looking for information on Raine. Thankfully, I see a text; it’s to one of the girls Raine works with, saying that she’s still in the hospital and will be getting discharged later. This is my chance, if I can get there before she’s discharged, I can take her with me. Yes! That will work. Pleased with myself, I chuck the phone onto the floor. My heart feels slightly heavy at the sight of Rose, yet the feelings vanish as quickly as they appeared. I look back as I leave, and whisper ‘Sorry Rose,’ before closing the door. Honestly, I never wanted anyone getting caught up in this, but I have to do what needs to be done in order to get this finished.

Wearecurrentlyjustwaiting on the final paperwork to get Raine discharged from the hospital. She's in the bathroom right now, changing into her own clothes, and I can tell she’s eager to leave this place behind. Truly, I can’t wait to bring her home; hospitals have always made me queasy. For now, she’ll be staying at my place, where we can take things slow and help her recover in comfort. I’m hopeful that one day, this will not just be my home, but our home together. My phone ringing pulls me out of my thoughts, and I answer it. It's Raine’s dad, Howard; he’s sobbing down the line and I can’t understand everything he’s saying, something about Rose and Raine’s apartment. With loud sobs, he tries to explain, but I can’t completely grasp the situation. I’m able to understand enough to tell him I’ll meet him at the police station.

As soon as Raine finishes up in the bathroom, I apologetically explain there’s some urgent business I need to see to. I refuse to stress her out, especially when it concerns her parents, and I don’t fully understand what’s happening myself to bring that burden down on her. Once I know more, I will inform her of everything.

At such short notice, I have no other choice than to leave the two idiotic men that work for my father to watch over Raine. I don’t fully trust them, but they are my only option. My father sent them to find me because he couldn’t get in touch with me over the last few days. I’ve left them with clear instructions, let’s hope they don’t fuck it up.

Nothing could have prepared me for this, Rose was murdered and Howard is a blubbering mess. Through sobs, he explains how he dropped Rose off at Raine’s apartment, before heading to the shop to grab a newspaper, but by the time he got back, she wasn’t answering her phone. Concerned, he parked and went inside to check. That’s when he found her dead.

The police go over everything with us, how they thought it might have been an accident at first, but evidence of a struggle was found, along with fresh fingerprints.

As we speak, the fingerprints are running through the dactyloscopy and they have officers checking CCTV from outside Raine’s apartment and surrounding areas.

They go on to ask us questions, like did we know of anyone that wanted to hurt Rose, and other crap like that. I know in my gut it’s that cunt Jack, I can feel it. Who else would it be? My heart sinks for Raine as I reflect on everything she has endured recently. I can't believe she now has to face yet another setback, it's heartbreaking to witness.

I offer to tell her to lighten the load, but Howard thinks it needs to come from him, and as soon as he can pull himself together, he’s heading to the hospital. I'm going to wait here for the results on the CCTV.

I want to be with her when he tells her. I should be there to comfort her, help take away her pain, but Howard's right, this needs to come from him.

It doesn’t take long for them to examine the CCTV footage, and it confirms that Jack was in the area at the time of Rose’s death, he was seen several times in the footage. Quickly, I send a text to Howard. I don’t want to call him and disturb him. He left about fifteen minutes ago to talk with Raine and he will probably still be driving.

Frustrated, I call Tony, to go over what I know with him. We need to get a hold of this fucker Jack, before the police do. It’s imperative that we check through all of the paperwork we got from Jack’s apartment as it could have vital information on his whereabouts, or even a clue as to why he’s doing all this. The best man for the job is Jeff, he has a good eye. I go over all of this with Tony and he confirms he will connect with Jeff about the job. Hopefully, he will find something; anything, that can give us a lead.

Just before leaving the station, the police give me a bag with Rose's belongings and carefully explain how the procedure for the investigation will go. They will be sending out a liaison officer for Raine and her dad, so I inform them that both Raine and Howard will be staying at my house, writing down all the details that they will need to contact if needed. With Jack still on the loose, I can’t settle with the thought of Raine and Howard being alone, it wouldn't sit right with me. With the added security I hired, there will be no hope in hell he will be getting anywhere near them while they’re at my house.

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