His Crime

Chapter Fourteen

Evidently vacant, the un-illuminated house sits in silence. With the engine still running in the car, the sound tears through the darkness and awakens the still neighbourhood. Only the headlights of the car and dim streetlights are the source of lighting in the row of petite houses.

"I didn't expect anything else. They've gone into hiding," Justin announces. Watching the deserted home, he places his hand on mine, resting it on my lap. "We'll figure out where they are."

"What if we don't?" Moving my stare from the peach house, I face him. "We don't have any clue where they might've gone. They left us stranded."

He chuckles, however. "Are you forgetting what I do for a living? Many people have tried to go into hiding from me, yet I still find them. Vanessa nor Austin have any expertise on becoming a ghost, so I don't expect them to be hard to find," he soothes.

Smiling, I say, "Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Moving closer, he brings his hand to my cheek, gently stroking his thumb against it. "We'll get him back, I swear of it."

Reluctantly, I lean closer to him, a strong desire to feel his lips against mine, to touch his hair and everywhere else. He reciprocates, leaning to me and igniting flames on my lips from his touch.

Delirious, I unbuckle my seatbelt to gain an advantage, to get closer to him and remove the empty space. Moving his hands to my waist, he hoists me over the arm rest that separates the chairs and onto his lap, running his hands up my back and pushing me closer to him.

I move my hand to his neck, cradling it and ensuring he can't slip away. With my other hand, I cup his cheek and reenact his stroking. Our lips still joined, he moves his hands to the hem of my jeans, unbuttoning it and forcing it down, desperate to fulfil his strong desires.

Copying, I move my hands to his jeans and zip it open, positioning myself onto him and feeling an instant surge of pleasure.

After fuelling ourselves and emptying our lust, I give him a final kiss before moving off of his lap and settling into my own seat. In silence, we begin the journey to the warehouse and refocus our thoughts.

Reaching our destination, he puts the car in park and switches the engine off. Shifting in his seat to face me, he says, "I love you."

"I love you, too." I just hope you still do after tonight, I add to myself. Selfishly, I want to act as if nothing will happen after I tell him, to resume our relationship as normal, but I know better. He will be devastated, not because I had a relationship after him, but because I chose the worse possible person to have it with, the person he hates the most.

"I will make sure to get our son back, no matter what," he promises again, desperation slithering in his voice which makes it shake, showing the importance it is to him.

"I believe you," I assure, which causes him to kiss me passionately, wanting to break the barrier of space again, but I deny it. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he answers, chuckling at the repetition, but sincerity floating in his honey eyes.

"I'm glad you're back," I admit, snaking my hand over his and intertwining our fingers.

"I'm glad you're here," he responds. "I was so scared you moved on, to someone new and better. I didn't think you would want to hear from me."

"I always do. No matter if it was five years, I would've come." He smiles, his pearl white teeth on display, a shine in his eyes.

"It's nearly midnight, you should sleep here tonight," he suggests, taking the keys out of the car.

"Erick will be here soon. I need to tell you before he does," I say, which strikes something in him.

"What is it?" The soft, happy gleam in his eyes evaporates.

"I did move on, at one point when you was gone. I got close with someone, which eventually lead into a relationship. It wasn't official, but it was one."

He raises his eyebrows. "Why are you telling me? Why would Erick need to tell me that, too?"

"It's not about that I got into a relationship," I explain, "but it's about the other person in the relationship."

He opens the door to the car, stepping out. "I don't want to hear about it," he snaps, slamming the car door close and hastily walking away.

Just as I exit the car, bright lights from another car blind me. Knowing it can only be one person — Erick, I urgently follow inside the warehouse, directly going to Justin. Sitting on his heels, he scrambles for the buttons underneath the wide TV, searching for the power button. "Justin," I call. "Listen to me."

Straightening up, he turns to me. "I imagined millions of other men for you, those who marry you and show you a spectacular life, treating you with luxury and as a queen. I do not need to hear about any of my imaginations coming into a reality," he explains furiously.

"I'm not changing my mind about you, Justin. I'm not telling you this to end up on a yacht tomorrow," I state.

"Then why are you telling me?" he yells, moving away from the TV and striding opposite, to the open doors. In the distant, I hear a car door shutting, alerting me of Erick's closeness.

"Because it was with Nick!"

Unbearable silence falls.

Erick stops his movements, peering inside. Justin freezes, remaining stuck to one spot. His eyes, most of all, don't falter. Glaring at me, I watch as his declaration of love minutes before become words of regret.

Noises from Erick shuffling closer seem to snap Justin from his reverie, reminding him that the woman he wanted to touch uncontrollably is now making his skin crawl.

"Nick?" he croaks, his jaw slamming shut to refrain from shouting further damaging words. Unable to say a word, I nod my confirmation. "The person who killed my best friend, broke us up, and remained an enemy throughout my life. That Nick?" he screams, stepping closer to me. Again, I nod.

Erick now stands on the threshold of the doorway, reluctant to enter. Justin, who doesn't seem to be aware of Erick's presence, pushes on, "And yet you still touched me, minutes before as evidence. You let yourself all over me, even today, while you wanted to tell me that you got with Nick. All this time I kept imagining and somewhat hoping you got with someone new, someone better that outranks me, because you deserved it. But, no, you get with a scumbag named Nick. 

"You go to someone who slashed my back multiple times, who wants horrible things done to me. Maybe you two deserve each other. You both betray my trust and ruin yourselves before my eyes. You tell me you love me, but you don't. You don't know what love is if it stared you in the eyes."

Scoffing, he continues, "I kept telling myself you deserve someone better, and I felt awful when I came back and declared my feelings for you. I didn't deserve you, yet I was taking you for myself again. But maybe I was wrong. I don't deserve you, because you're not worthy of it. You're someone I wholeheartedly love and undeniably trust, and you do this."

"Justin, listen to me," I demand. "It didn't mean anything to me. He was the last fragment of your life that remained. He was a world outside of you, but still was with you. That was the only reason I got with him, because he was you and wasn't."

He laughs, a sinister haunt in his eyes. "That's all, was it? That was all it was, to ruin this?"

"I —" He steps to me again, closing in on the wide gap between us.

"I hope he makes you happy, because I certainly won't make his life bearable." A smile plays on his lips, tasting the new imagination of ruining Nick. "Go," he hisses. "I can't stand the sight of you," he spits, moving to the side and pointing to the exit. "You done this!" he shouts after me as I move past him.

Erick moves to the side of the doorway to let me pass, and whispers, "Wait by the car," before proceeding to Justin, who whisks away from near us.

I remain stuck, hearing the thunderous roar of Justin and the muffled voice of Erick's. I allow the bubbling of tears to burn my throat and swallow my vision, hearing "And our son—" before I leave.