An Ace Of Hearts (Book #1) (Completed)

Chapter 45: One Bed Crisis

AHVI TAKEDA

"Yeah, I ate lunch, Ren. I need to go now. I will talk to you later." I groaned into the phone. "Love you. Bye." I added before promptly hanging up.

"Your brother again?" Hailey asked, pushing herself off the wall of the alleyway we were standing in. I rolled my eyes which earned me a chuckle from her.

"He is being paranoid." I told her as I pulled a key from the pocket of my leather jacket which I had fished out of my closet for this trip.

"For good reason. You have a stalker, you are helping the sheriff catch a mob gang, and you are here in an alleyway, trying to see if a key from five years ago still opens the door to our haunt." She gestured at the crusty door in front of us. I shot her a dry look as I blew the dust off the key and inserted it into the keyhole.

I came to New Mulliton three days ago. With Hailey because when I told her about the stalker and what the sheriff wanted help with, she wouldn't let me come alone. Her business in London was almost done so she said that it would be fine if she came along.

Although I didn't say it, I was grateful to have someone by my side when I came back. New Mulliton had a lot of history and I wanted to be with someone who understood it the way I did. Sure, Hailey and mine stories were shaped differently but she was the only one who could understand what it was like for me here. She had been by my side as it happened.

The lock clicked open, pulling me out of my thoughts. I shot Hailey a wide-eyed glance before pushing the door open albeit reluctantly. A musty smell rose up to greet me as we stepped inside the room.

I looked around in the dingy room which was covered with dust, motes dancing in the sunlight that fell through two windows on my right. My steps were quiet and hesitant as I walked deeper into the room. The memories flashed in my mind, one after the other, most of them including Cam, Hailey, and me laughing and chatting. Some of them a little less happy, when we got into disagreements and one of us stormed off. I could almost see it happening in front of me, a silhouette of young me walking past me and out of the door, her jaw clenched and eyes full of anger.

"It hasn't changed." Hailey's voice snapped me out of my trance. She had walked ahead of me, sitting on one of the crates that we used as a table to lay down our earnings for the day and food that Polo gave us. She ran a hand over the crate's edges, her eyes fixed on the spot Cam sat on.

My heart ached sharply as I realized that although we were back, that we were here, some things would never go back to the way they were. Cam would still be dead. He wasn't coming back. The thought had me walking faster and taking a seat beside Hailey on a low, squeaky chair that I used to sit on as a kid.

I glanced at the door to see that Hailey had closed it behind us. I turned my attention to my friend, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"It's comforting that this room is still the same, isn't it? That it hasn't changed even though we have," I said. Hailey peeled her gaze away from Cam's hammock, her eyes filled with unshed tears.

"I would have liked it better if nothing had changed." She croaked, wiping the tears that fell in quick succession at her words. I swallowed and looked away from her.

"Life was hard back then. I think some things ought to change even if they come with a price." I answered truthfully.

"I agree but I am not a fan of the price being someone's life." She smiled through her tears, the curve of her lips bitter and sad. I nodded my head because I couldn't argue with that. I would have preferred it if Cam was still alive, too.