Penance - Uncovering the truth, Secrets and confessions, and Twisted pasts

Chapter 74

Grayson and Alison stood outside Harvard University, the night air brisk and chilly. They stayed quiet for a couple of minutes, their minds processing the odd conversation with the taxi driver. The driver had said his goodbyes as if their intense talk in the cab had never happened, which was just plain weird.

Grayson couldn't forget the grim news about Ruth's death on Hawthorne Island. It made him wonder how many other staff members had met the same fate while working. Adding to his confusion was the eerie feeling that the taxi driver looked strangely familiar, especially his glares.

"I never imagined my first date to be here," Alison broke the silence. She gave Grayson a small, closed-mouth smile. "How's my shoulder? Did my hair get burnt?"

Grayson appreciated her effort to change the subject, though he silently wished she remained oblivious to the driver's disturbing revelations. He reassured her about her shoulder and suggested using the school's sickbay. 

They didn't need to climb the gates like he did before, fortunately.  Alison led him to the back of the school and revealed a hidden passage through a hedge, a tactic that reminded him of something Jameson might do. She confidently slipped through it, and Grayson followed suit. Harvard's lax security hardly fazed him anymore; at this point, he wouldn't bat an eye if something sinister was on the other side, in fact, he expected someone waiting in the shadows to pounce on them.

Standing up, he brushed off the leaves and dirt from his jacket, but at this point, he didn't care much about his appearance. 

Alison and Grayson walked in silence toward the sickbay's window, knowing the doors would be locked at this hour. Alison insisted on breaking the window, and Grayson didn't object. With a well-placed hit, the glass shattered, and they carefully climbed through.

Once inside, Grayson reached for the keys hidden on the top shelves, his fingers brushing against the cold metal. He opened up a medkit while Alison sat on top of the teacher's table, bathed in the soft moonlight that filtered through the window.

Grayson began tending to Alison's injured shoulder, his movements gentle and precise. As he cleaned the wound and began stitching it up, a faint memory of Avery's cut from the time Skye shot her in Blackwood crossed his mind, but he pushed the thought away, focusing on Alison.

He poured a handful of alcohol onto a piece of cloth, gently dabbing it on Alison's shoulder to disinfect the area. Then, he began stitching the last bit of her wound in an unusual pattern.

Alison winced slightly at the pain but didn't pull away. Grayson finished the last stitch and gently wiped away the sweat and blood. She shuddered slightly, releasing a shaky breath. He wanted to say something, to break the tension that hung in the room, but the words eluded him.

Stepping back, he carefully examined the stitches he had made on Alison's shoulder, a hint of regret flickering across his features for the unusual pattern he had chosen. After a moment, he nodded and quietly declared, "I'm finished."

Alison turned to face him instantly, her eyes locking onto his. Just as the tension between them began to ease, Alison's face lit up as she remembered something.

Before she could speak, a sudden loud noise shattered the silence, making them both jump. The deafening noise hung in the air, and for a moment, Grayson and Alison simply froze, hoping that if they stayed perfectly still and silent, the danger would go away.

But the noise persisted, the harsh reality crashing back in. They couldn't stay frozen any longer; they had to decide quickly as Mason's voice outside got louder. "Ready or not, here I come!"

Grayson grabbed Alison's hand, pulled her down from the table and sprinted towards the door, dragging her with him. The noise came from the back entrance, so Grayson ran the opposite way, towards the entrance. 

Left. Right. Another left. Past the IT classroom, and the big wooden doors was in sight. Moonlight streamed through the windows, illuminating the entrance like a beacon of hope at the end of the hall. They neared the massive doors when, out of nowhere, a gunshot pierced the air. The bullet struck the left wall, barely missing Grayson as Alison froze in her tracks.

"Fancy meeting you here." A figure emerged from the shadows, a lady in her twenties dressed in black with high heels, her blond hair framing her dark hazel eyes. "I don't get paid enough for this," Cora heavily sighed.

Mason stepped forward from the shadows, his brown eyes blazing like fire under the moonlight. He too held a gun, facing down, and made his way to Cora's side. Grayson's silver grey eyes were ice cold and dark, matching the colour of Mason's revolver. But Mason wasn't looking at Grayson.

Mason had always seemed cheery and charming, but now, under the eerie moonlight, he looked entirely different. He'd lost that smile he usually wore for the public, replacing it with a stern expression. His lips were set in a firm line, and he carried himself with a quiet, commanding authority, and the gun in his hand looked like a natural extension of his arm.  

Grayson hated that he felt a little respect for the man. Mason had built his empire from scratch, a remarkable feat for someone his age. The only problem was that this empire was built on corruption and deceit, and Alison was at its core.

Mason's words cut through the tense silence, and his gaze never left Alison. "Found you."