Coldhearted: First Book In The Series

Chapter Eighteen

Daniel
I walked through the glass sliding doors, Isaac sitting in a sleek black chair in the waiting room. I sat down next to him, his eyes on the ground. He was ringing his hands, the skin turning red from the amount of pressure he was placing on it. I grabbed his one hand, giving it a slight squeeze.

He looked up at me, swallowing down what looked like tears. His eyes were red and irritated. He looked tired. "Isaac? Why did you call me?"

"She's been hurt. And I couldn't just leave her. Not now."

Talia's face popped into my head. I knew she was going to bust that Mafia party, but I hadn't known she was shot. "What happened? Is Talia ok?"

Isaac looked back down, mumbling. "Isaac?"

"Not Talia."

I cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean, 'not Talia?'" Who else would it be? Isaac didn't really know any other person well enough to be here. Unless he's been cheating on Talia. I searched his face, his eyes plastered to the floor. Isaac wasn't the type to cheat.

"Who is she? Who's hurt?" I probed. He seemed upset. No, he seemed almost angry. His features changed from anger to sadness quickly, like he was dancing a fine line between holding hands with Satan or God. His behavior started to creep me out. My eyebrows knitted together in deep concern. "Who-"

"Colleen. Colleen Maddox."

What? Who the hell is Colleen Maddox?

The name was familiar. Probably had heard of it before in a file. "What happened?"

"She was shot. Straight through the stomach. God, this is my fault. If I would've paid more attention to her, if I hadn't been so awful to her, she wouldn't have been there. She wouldn't be here."

He placed his head between his knees, dark hair falling over his face. His hands wrapped around the back of his head, securing it. I opened my mouth to say something, when a doctor walked up to us, blood on her scrubs. "Are you here for Colleen?" She spoke.

Isaac shot up. "Is she ok? Did you remove the bullet?" The doctor sighed.

"Sir, I'm so sorry for your loss."

Isaac's body shook, his wails echoing through the room. His hand cupped his mouth, got tears free falling down his cheeks. He fell backwards and I had to slip my arms under his to keep him up.

The whole room was quiet, other then the torturous cries of a man who's heart just broke in two.

Colleen
My hands gripped the steering wheel as I pushed the petal down. My side hurt, but I had to just push through it. The thoughts that were swarming in my head drifted to Isaac.

Will he be ok?

Worry gripped me like a police dog's teeth.

What if he's not? What if he falls apart? What if—

No. Stop. Don't think like that. He's gonna be ok. He has too. You have to believe that too.

Taking a deep breath, I drove forward, the sign coming closer.

Welcome To Maine

~~~~~

I sat in front of a fire. It had been five days since I faked my death. I was in a small cabin at the very top of Maine, to the point where I was almost into Canada. Guilt had not been kind. It constantly made sure that it was present. My daily routine always had two hours of crying under the sheets in the bed.

I felt awful about abandoning them all.

Barbara would be crying all the time. My father wouldn't shed a tear, but he would be angry. More so than he already is. Steven would blame himself, and Liam would take it the hardest. Liam was the one I worried about. Not to mention Jason's death haunted me like a black cloud over my head.