𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄

ᴇɪɢʜᴛʏ - ꜱᴇᴠᴇɴ

THREE WEEKS LATER:
𝗥ayne stood on the edge of the porch balcony keeping her hands cool with an iced coffee she really had no intention of drinking. With the events that took place in Oregon, June was swallowed whole and now their lives rested in the middle of a steaming July with no real regard for what was to come in the future.

Her eyes studied the droplets of condensation that coated and slid down her glass whilst ignoring the glare the sun shot against them. Three weeks ago they had no time to canvas the area for forgotten enemies before the cops swarmed the area and took control. Helicopters above alerted the media to a mysterious building explosion in the middle of nowhere that held over sixty casualties.

They were lucky enough to get away without repercussions.

But in the back of her mind, that lingering threat of bodies they did not discover continued to eat away at the safety barrier put in place since the remaining group arrived home. No one knew what happened to Evelyn, Enzo, or Asher, and when a list of bodies was given to them—courtesy of Auden who was now acting interim Chief of Police—Rigo's name was not on it.

The wind that caressed the open back of her black dress was as daunting as ever.

As for everyone else, the news was fifty-fifty.

After they escaped the compounds, they immediately rushed to the hospital where they got wind of not only Blake's condition and Emiko's breakdown, but also of Kai's arrest. By the time they were informed, however, Blake was already under the knife, receiving a hysterectomy that placed her in a comatose state to this day—thankfully, her baby, born two months early, survived and is still in the NICU with no name.

Auden saved her life—it was nothing short of a miracle.

Emiko ended up being admitted to the psychiatric ward for three days under a mandatory hold for trying to kill herself in front of a group of doctors, but in the end, came out better than before. After all, her attempt had nothing to do with mental illness and everything to do with Blake.

It was as sad as it was beautiful.

Frantic with emotion, none of them had time to go to the police station until Blake was transported out of surgery and into the ICU, but by the time they got there, Kai had already been bailed out by his parents, none other, and disappeared to the UK with Caycee on his arm.

None of them knew what happened to Kaedyn—it was strange of them to not explain what occurred the night of the fight, but Rayne knew deep down that it probably had nothing to do with Kai or Caycee themselves, but his parents. Being the son of an empire like that, it was clear they wanted to announce his passing on their own terms—which is what they speculated happened to him after conversing with Emiko once she was released. 

And if those declarations weren't bad, their team was cut down from twelve to six within the blink of an eye. Blaine, Eden, and Franki were all hospital bound, but unlike the first two, and much like Blake, Franki had not regained consciousness, and based on the doctor's notes—it had become clear with each passing day that her brain waves indicated a vegetative state.