Chapter 26

"This bag is heavy," Chase whined as he struggled to lift the bag from the floor. I chuckled at him and shook my head in amusement. The police had left the house shortly after marking some clues and receiving a call from a good friend of mine.

"I already worked on that," I said to him, and as if on cue, the front door opened. I made my way downstairs and saw Wesley walking inside, eyeing the mess with wide eyes.

"They sure went too far this time," he commented once I reached him. "Where's the bag?"

"Upstairs," I said, and he nodded before jogging that way. 

I followed him as he made his way into my room. Chase was sitting on my bed, looking around when we entered. 

Wesley looked at the opened storage room and sighed heavily, a frown etching on his face. "I hoped you never had to open that door," he muttered and crouched to grab the duffel bag from the floor. He lifted it with ease and draped it over his shoulder, making Chase’s jaw drop in the slightest. 

His mouth opened and closed like a fish, not knowing what to say, and I let out a laugh. "Come on, Brownie. Let's go before the police come back to investigate further," I said as I glanced at the time and noticed that it was almost two in the afternoon. I walked past the bathroom without glancing inside, not wanting to see the blood splattered everywhere a second time. The riddle written on the napkin had me thinking deeply, trying to figure out who the person behind that message was.

"Oh my God," Chase randomly said from behind me. "My mom is going to kill me!"

"What's wrong with you now?" I asked, turning around to look at him. We were currently standing in the driveway, watching as Wesley threw the bag inside the trunk of his SUV.

"I just skipped school. I've never done that! If she finds out, then I'm dead," he said, burying his face in his hands. 

Rolling my eyes at his innocence, I chuckled. "There's always a first time for everything. Don't worry, I’ve got you covered. Your mom seems to like me," I assured him, and he slowly looked at me. I gave him a faint smile and nodded to where my bike was parked. "I'll take you to your house, come on."

I gave Wesley a nod and he nodded back, before getting in the driver’s seat and leaving. I hopped on the bike and Chase followed suit, putting the helmet on in the process. Driving away from my house, I tried to keep my focus on the road instead of the events from earlier. I slowed down as I neared Chase's house and parked behind what I assumed was his mother's car.

I killed the engine and hopped off, walking to the front door and leaning against it as I waited for Chase. He took a deep breath and motioned for me to move once he reached me. I stood straight and stepped away from it, watching as he unlocked it and turned the knob. We were greeted by the smell of delicious food when we stepped inside, meaning that Sophia was cooking.

"Chase? School doesn't end until later. What are you doing here?" she asked once she saw us over the kitchen island. "Oh, Amelia?"

"Hi, Sophia," I said with a chuckle. 

She narrowed her eyes questioningly at both of us, motioning for us to sit down on the couch. We nodded and sat side by side as Sophia walked to the living room.

"Well? I prefer to hear it from you than receive a call later on that my son and his friend skipped school," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. 

Chase and I glanced at each other, and I cleared my throat. "I received a call from my mother before lunch time was over. She got into a bad...accident and got badly bruised. I was going to see her alone, but Chase stopped me and insisted on coming with me. He thought that being alone in a situation like that wasn't a good idea," I explained and gave her a sad smile. 

Her eyes widened at me and gave me the one look I really hated. "Oh, Amelia. I'm so sorry! I hope your mother is alright," she said. "Chase, darling, you did very well on going with her. Even though it's the first time you've skipped class, at least it was for a good reason."

Chase let out a sigh of relief and offered me a grateful smile. I gave him a small nod and stood up, shooting Sophia another smile. "I must get going."

"Why don't you stay here and eat?" Sophia suggested, but I shook my head.

"I need to take care of some things," I said, giving Chase a quick glance. 

She nodded slowly and gave me a smile, telling me to be careful before I left the house. I got on my bike and threw my helmet on, driving away to Danielle's house. I had settled in her house two weeks after I ran away.

I parked my bike and got off quickly, rushing inside the house with a spare key and going straight to the guest room. Grabbing my duffel bag from under the bed, I began stuffing my things inside. It was only a matter of minutes until Danielle got here, so I didn't bother tidying things up. Once I was done, I zipped the bag close and slung it over my shoulder as I heard the engine of a car in the driveway.

"Lily!" I heard Danielle scream from downstairs. 

Once I had everything ready, I hurried my way down, evading a very desperate Danielle. She rushed after me, her eyes wide when she noticed the bag.

"Don't even try it," I warned her, walking past her.

"Where do you plan on staying?" she asked, stopping me by grabbing ahold of my bag.

"I'll find a place," I snapped at her. "I still have enough money to crash the night in a hotel or something."

"Amelia, please don't do this," she pleaded. "We were going to tell you eventually. We know how much you hate that man, so we didn't want you to do something crazy."

"Since when did you know?" I asked, glaring at her. 

She looked taken aback, her shoulders tensing as her eyes darted around the room. She looked at me wide-eyed and cleared her throat, looking to the ground, ashamed. "Since freshman year," she whispered. 

I froze in place, not quite registering her words. Once I did, I stared at her in bewilderment. "How could you?" I yelled. "You knew it since then? Even before I joined that damn gang, you kept this from me?"

"Lily—"

"Don't you dare say anything else," I warned. "I can't believe you. You practically watched me go through hell these past years and you didn't even think about telling me? You knew I was looking for him when I joined the gang, yet you still kept your big mouth shut."

"I'm sorry, okay?" she yelled in frustration. "I didn't know how to tell you. Hell, I wish I never knew in the first place!"

"Six years, Danielle. Six years have passed since I helped you with that creep and lent you a hand. I broke my wrist to help you out of that situation because you were so helpless. Yet you watched how I got beaten up and got different types of bruises, all because you didn’t know how to tell me?" I spat, and my vision started getting slightly blurred.

"I—" she started, but couldn't get another word out. 

I snatched my bag from her hold then scowled at her loss of words, not entirely surprised. "Thought so. Goodbye, Danielle," I said, and with that, I walked out the front door. I secured the duffel bag and left with my bike as fast as possible. My jaw was clenched in anger as I drove past buildings and cars until I found a cheap motel and settled in pretty quick.

My phone began ringing, and when I looked at the screen, I noticed it was an unknown number. I narrowed my eyes at the screen and answered the call, pressing the phone against my ear.

"Good afternoon, is this Amelia Clark?" a woman's voice asked from the other side of the phone.

I could hear the sound of sirens in the background. "Yes, she's speaking."

"I am Officer Robbins. We found your number as an emergency contact of your mother. Your mother was found in critical condition about an hour ago and is now in the hospital."

"W-What?" I asked, pretending to be shocked and terrified.

"Forgive my straightforwardness, but I would like for you to come down to the hospital to ask you a few questions. Your mother has also been asking for you since she woke up, I think it would be nice for you to come visit her."

"I will be there right away," I said, and she quickly told me the name of the hospital. I threw my sweater on and hurried over to my bike. In less than five minutes, I pulled in to the hospital's parking lot. I parked as far away as possible, just in case they noticed and asked for my license.

I took my helmet off, hurried inside the building, and went straight to where a few officers were standing. They chatted away, either talking about the new case or some joke they heard from the streets. I stepped in front of them and eyed their badges, cursing silently. 

Just when I thought I didn't have to get involved with the police anytime soon. 

I cleared my throat, and they all looked at me questioningly. "My name is Amelia. An officer called me here. Is my mother alright?" I asked, my voice showing concern, no matter how much I hated it.

"Ah, yes. Amelia." A woman stepped forward and gave me a kind smile. "I'm the one who called you. Come with me, I'll take you to her room."

I nodded at her and she led the way to the elevators, with me following suit behind. We stepped inside and stood next to each other, waiting patiently for it to stop and open its doors. Once we reached the third floor, the doors slid open and we walked down the hallway.

"What's her room number?" I asked.

"329," she answered, and soon enough, we reached her door. 

I took a deep breath, preparing myself to face the sight of my mother in what could possibly be her deathbed. 

She gave me a curt smile and nodded for me to go on. 

I reached for the doorknob and twisted it, opening the door wide open before stepping inside. My eyes instantly found the heart monitor, the annoying—yet reassuring—beeping sound resonating through the room.

"Amelia?" I heard my mother ask, her voice barely understandable. 

I looked at her and my throat tightened up. IV’s were sticking out her arms and a tube ran from her mouth down her throat. One of her legs was bandaged up, and once I looked closely through the thin fabric of the gown, I could see the bandages in her torso as well. Her neck was bruised up and the side of her face as well, contrasting against her pale skin.

"Yes, Mom. It's me," I said, and her eyes welled up with tears. 

The sight made it hard for me to breathe. We may not have been in the best of terms most of the time, but she was the one who fought for me when my excuse of a father left us. She was my mother, after all.

Just then, my determination couldn't be any clearer. I wasn't going to stay in the shadows anymore and hoped I could live a normal life. My life was far from normal ever since I was born.

They could do anything to me, but my mother didn't deserve any of this. Whatever I did, she shouldn’t be involved, and I always made that very clear. No matter how sour our relationship was, I wasn't going to stand still and do nothing as she fought for her life. 

She may have made her mistakes before, but these weren't the consequences she should be going through. Bryce went too far with this, and whoever that riddle person was.

If they wanted me, then they sure had me.

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[Edited: September 2nd, 2020 by michh_44]

Danielle really shouldn't have kept such secret from Amelia. She could've avoided so much trouble if she simply told her. Now she has to see as her friend falls back into their claws in order to avenge her mother.

What would you do if you were in Amelia's shoes?