Into the Stars (USC Series Book #2)

chapter twenty-nine

When pigs fucking fly.

The word no is on the tip of my tongue because everything about that statement is absurd. Kohen surely should know by now that any relation I have to Vaughn has been severed. Hell, I fucking told Kohen the last time I was at the prison we should cut all ties with him. But I think Vaughn has planted himself in Kohen's mind and manipulated him into thinking he has changed.

Instead, I find myself asking, "Why?"

Kohen sighs again. "Vaughn just wants to tell you something. I... I am not sure what he has to say, but he claims it's urgent."

Bull-fucking-shit.

I steady myself before I place my anger for Vaughn on Kohen again, closeting those words that will end with regrets constantly weighing in my head. That is something I have a lot of regrets about. When anger gets a grasp on me, there is no guarantee that I will reign in it before my words shoot to kill. Even if the person on the receiving end is innocent.

"Kohen..." I begin, "my next class doesn't end until this evening."

My message is coherent. I won't be able to make it. Though it may be a little white lie, there is some semblance of truth behind it. My next class is a seminar and I, typically, am always drained after those and there is no way I can do something so major like confront Vaughn in that state of mind.

"Please, Malachi." Kohen's pleas reach my ears and not long after, muffled sounds of commotion enter the phone speakers. "Shit, I have to go. Talk to you later."

・    ・    ・

In my life, I have made numerous poor decisions, but I think this one might just be at the top of that list.

Even from across the parking lot, I can smell the suffocating scent of bleach and cleaning products and I feel like the plain, sterile walls are already closing in on me. I mutter curses beneath my breath, questioning everything.

They say curiosity killed the cat. Well... consider me the cat and subsequently killed.

I swear, the only thing my mind kept going back to the entirety of my seminar was what the fuck Vaughn wanted. But among those distracting thoughts, I came to one conclusion. I do not care if Vaughn is on his deathbed or if some sort of life-saving miracle just so saved him. This is the last time I want to see him. The last time I want to interact with him and let him meddle in my life.

The fact that he awoke from a coma just mere days ago isn't beyond me, but I think this is the best time I could do it. He can sit there and simply listen to the wrecking ball I am about to drop on him and request he sends my thanks to the lucky bastard that got the honors of beating him to a pulp before me.

The tall building looms over me, casting a shadow on the parking lot and blocking it from the sunset. Blue and pink hues color the sky as the sun moves to hide beyond the horizon, and I acknowledge its beauty for a moment.

I shut my eyes momentarily, and despite my mental pep talk and my preparation, it would be nice to have some sort of... solace. Something to just... be there and provide a source of consolation and remind me that this is the right thing to do. When I think of a possible candidate, the first person my mind drifts to is Brinley, for some unbeknownst reason.

How she has worked her way into my life in the matter of just a week is outlandish. The other night altered the dynamic between us, but instead of fearing something I steered clear of for so long, I am choosing to embrace it. She is the first person I have ever told the complete story of my mother and her murder to and, knowing that, I know she isn't just a fuck buddy anymore. She is so much more than I deserve and what I could have dreamed of.