The Last Hero (Villains & Monsters #2)

Chapter 52

Present Day

Jamie expected anger after he wrapped up his story. More hatred. More pain. More torture.

He didn't expect any crying.

He looked up to see Daija's eyes wet with unshed tears. When she walked into the cell earlier, he knew that something was different about her. Instead of wearing her suit, she wore a regular t-shirt and sweatpants. Her curly hair was still wet, indicating that she got out of the shower not too long ago.

"So, that's it?" she asked quietly.

"That's it," he confirmed with a small nod.

"You were going to kill Justin."

He thought back to that night, remembered the raw, rage-filled determination, and nodded again. "I was going to."

Two tears rolled down her cheeks, and her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard. "I almost died that night," she said after a while. "The entire time when I was in that shed, all I could think about was that my aunt and Violet would have to find out that I had been murdered, and that Simon would've lost someone else to you sick assholes."

"I never thought it'd get to that point," he said sadly as he met her eyes. "If I didn't look away, I would've been able to see that he was going to stab you, and stopped him from doing it. I'm so sorry, Daija."

"Even if he didn't stab me, you still would've hurt me and took me from everything that I ever cared about. You tell me that you did everything for me, but it wasn't for me. It was for power. If you truly cared, you would've never even thought of putting me through that kind of pain."

Her words were soft, but they still stung. For some reason, her crying and speaking softly to him ripped him apart more than her torturing him. He'd prefer her anger a hundred times more than this.

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

It shocked him more than her accusing him that he wasn't sorry.

There was a lost, heartbroken look in her eyes. Not a single hint of the rage that he had grown used to since he arrived in the lower units. "I would've never, ever done that to someone I called my friend," she said, and he wasn't sure if she was saying it to him or herself.

"End this," he whispered desperately as he looked up at her. "I don't want to hurt you anymore. Please just end this."

The cell fell quiet, and Daija stared out into space for a moment before wiping the wetness from her cheeks. For the first time in so long, he was dying to know what was going through her head.

She stood up, then without a word, she left the cell.

He released a breath, then finally realized that he had also been crying.

— — — — —

Jamie dug through his box in his car and rolled his eyes. He misplaced the letter to his moms. He was up late yesterday, and while he was looking through all of his materials and supplies, he made a huge mess on the floor. He sighed, put his jacket on and decided that he'll deal with the mess later. The sun was just starting to set, and he needed to hurry up before it got too dark.

When he left his train car, he smiled softly when Layla wrapped him in her usual hug and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Hey," she greeted quietly, and he heard the smile in her voice. "Heard you got caught trying to sneak out again, Mr. Jason. You really don't learn, do you?"