Chapter Twenty Three: Black and Mellow
“We do not choose violence. We face it when we must.”
Stephenie Meyer The Host
After the cops had arrived, I requested to go to the hospital. Three cops surrounded me and asked me if I was okay. They quickly cut off the rope that bound me to the chair. I watched as they helped me and then went over to help Gage as well.
I rubbed my wrists and noticed the red lines on my skin from the rope that dug into my arms. My legs were also tied together and it took a lot of energy for me to finally stand up.
“Are you okay?” One cop asked me again.
“Just take me to the hospital.” I uttered.
“Alright then.”
I looked over to Aliana and Chip. I remembered that officer Chip Willis was the one that denied me the right to go see my sister in the first place and I glared at him. If he had just let me go then none of this would have happened. Malory would probably be alive and maybe Jamanj would have gotten caught faster.
Jamanj’s sister and Chip were casually leaning against the wall in the kitchen. They were talking to another cop who had a notepad in his hand. He was ardently taking down everything they were saying. I figured Chip was telling him that everything that happened was my fault. The young police officer was feeding the other cops lies and there was nothing I could do about it; it was his word against mine.
On the other hand, Aliana seemed like the person that would tell the police officers the truth. She wanted Jamanj out of her life as much as I did. I sensed no malice in her sparkling blue eyes as I walked by her on my way out of the door. Her dark hair was scruffy and her makeup was running down her porcelain face. There were black bruises on her neck and I realized that I had actually hurt her a bit when we got into a fight.
“Liliana are you okay?” Gage questioned from behind me.
I turned around. “Yeah I’m fine.”
“Where are they taking us? The police station?”
“The hospital.”
“Let’s go then.”
Gage wrapped his arm around me and sort of carried me out of the apartment. His strong arms seemed to protect me as we walked away from the scene where a lot had taken place.
Things flew by as I walked down the hallway. There were more police officers in the hallway where Malory’s corpse laid on the carpet. They had put some type of blue tarp over her body. That was how they treated a dead body at a crime scene. I had the urge to go running back and remove the tarp just to make sure that Malory was dead. There was no way that lively Malory was dead.
I wondered how I was going to tell everyone that Malory was dead. How would her parents react? What would the people back home think about everything that happened? How would Charisse react? Malory was one of her best friends from Chicago and I couldn’t help but blame myself for her death. If I had never went to New York then she would still be alive.
Gage continued to lead me past the body in silence. Every step I took away from her body made me seem as if I were responsible and that I was turning my back on her.
We were now almost downstairs. There was a large ambulance in front of the building. The other cops had roped off the entire area with yellow tape that said “Do Not Cross”. It was scary seeing so much going on once I stepped foot outside. A police car was driving off and I assumed it had Jamanj in the back. Finally the crazy person that killed several people, including my friend, was being punished.
Jamanj’s last words echoed in my mind. He said good-bye, for now which meant that he was planning on coming after me again. How could that happen? The cops had taken him away and he was going to be locked up for a long time. Was he planning on breaking out of jail? Was he planning on someone to help him?
I pushed away the thought of Jamanj Reklats being capable of breaking out of a high security prison. He was going to be put away and I didn’t want to worry about him.
I walked closer to the ambulance and two paramedics came toward me and rushed me into the back with Gage trailing behind me.
“Are you okay?” The woman paramedic asked me as she forced me to sit down on the stretcher.
She was about the twelfth person to ask me that today. “Yes I am fine.”
The two paramedics made me lay down on the stretcher so they could examine all of my injuries. Judging by the looks the paramedics were giving each other, I guessed that I looked worse than I had thought. I could feel that there was bruising on my face and remnants of dried up blood on my head but the two paramedics were looking at me as if I were a zombie.
As I looked over to the window, I realized that it was dark outside. I didn’t know how long I was tied up in that empty apartment but it felt like a couple of minutes. How long had Jamanj held me captive? Minutes, hours, days? And where was everyone else? Bibiane, Avian and my father had to be around somewhere. I had to tell them what happened to me and what happened to Malory.
“Who did this to you?” The other paramedic asked.
“It was Jamanj and his sister.” Gage responded for me.
“We got in a fight.” I said dryly.
“Did she hit you with something?” The woman inquired as she examined my head wound.
“Yeah it was a fire extinguisher.”
The two began whispering to each other. I didn’t know whether to be scared or relieved. Were my injuries that horrible?
“Alright we are going to hurry up and get you to the hospital.” The first paramedic stated.
My head began to feel light as the paramedics starting hooking things up to me. There was something stuck into my wrist and I felt the pain subsiding. The medicine that I was given made me feel like I was going to be okay and that there was nothing for me to worry about.
“Was the other girl detained?” One of the paramedics asked.
I looked up and noticed that she was talking into her walkie-talkie.
“Um no.” Someone on the other line stated.
“Why not?” The paramedic growled.
“We had no reason to hold her.”
“Well I have a girl in here that says otherwise.”
“What do you mean?”
“The red headed girl says that she got into a fight with the other girl that was there.”
There was a long pause. “We’ll see what we can do.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Were they letting Aliana go? Aliana was Jamanj’s accomplice. She had helped Jamanj find me and she was the reason I ended up tied up. How could the police officers just let her leave without questioning her?
“Hello?” The person on the other side of the walkie-talkie stated.
“What?” The paramedic did not look happy.
“So yeah we are bringing the other girl to the hospital as well.”
“What? Is she hurt too?”
“Not really but I think she should go to the hospital.”
“No!” I jumped up. “Please don’t take her to the hospital!”
I didn’t want Aliana anywhere near me or Charisse. Her intentions were unknown and she could still be trying to help out Jamanj.
“Why are you taking her to the hospital? If she is not seriously hurt then take her to the police station so she can be questioned.” The paramedic ignored me.
“No.”
“Fine then.”
The paramedic turned off the walkie-talkie and smiled at me. “Everything is going to be fine. Look we are already here at the hospital.”
Someone opened the two back doors of the ambulance. Gage hopped out first and then the two men that opened the doors pulled out the stretcher that I was on. I felt like I wanted to scream at someone to make sure that Aliana was not going to be anywhere near me.
“Gage!” I called out.
“Liliana?” Gage cried out.
“Make sure that Aliana doesn’t get anywhere near my room.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Please.”
One of the paramedics injected me with some type of medicine and I slowly drifted into a deep sleep.
When I woke up I felt like I was hit by a bus. My limbs were aching and I struggled to sit up. Once I noticed where I was, I began looking around to see if I was alone. Light was pouring down on me from somewhere. I sat up and looked around to see where the light was coming from. The bright sun shone down on me from the window that was to the left of me. I was in a hospital bed.
Quickly, I shoved the blanket off of me and stood up. The room was white and there was a table next to the window. I touched my forehead and noticed that there were bandages completely wrapped around the top of it. How badly was I hurt in the confrontation with Aliana and where was everyone?
The hospital bracelet on my arm said my name on it in all capital letters and the date I was admitted. How long had I been here? I took a couple more steps in the direction of the door. There was only one person I needed to see right now and that was Charisse.
“Liliana?” A voice whispered from behind me.
I whipped around and saw Gage sitting down in a chair next to the TV. Why didn’t I see him when I first got up? His dark hair was matted and mangled like he hadn’t combed it in days. Those green eyes of his revealed lack of sleep as his pupils were dilated and he had dark circles around his eyes. The clothes he wore were the same ones I saw him in before. He stood up and walked over to me.
“How do you feel?” He questioned.
“I feel fine. I just want to find my sister.”
“I went to see her and she is fine too.”
“Where is she? Take me to her.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because you need to rest.” Gage reached out and delicately touched the bandage on my head.
“I feel fine.”
“Liliana come on just go back to bed.”
“But I’m not tired.” I argued.
He walked over to the TV and turned it on. “Let’s watch television then.”
The news was on and I didn’t really care about what the people were talking about until they showed a clip of Chip on the TV. My eyes immediately shoot at the television as I watched him talk to the press about everything that happened at my father’s house.
“Yes the perpetrator is in custody.” Chip announced after a reported asked him a questioned.
The title at the top of the screen read, “Killer Teen From Chicago Is Caught By Young Police Officer”. Anger spread across my face as I realized what was going on. Chip Willis was taking credit for everything. His arrogant face smiled at the camera when someone congratulated him on finding me and Gage. He barely helped. My father was the one that called the police and he just happened to show up and look like the hero in the situation.
“How could he do this?” I asked Gage.
“Do what?” The brunette inquired.
“He’s taking credit for everything! Chip didn’t do anything! He didn’t even untie us when Jamanj had us tied to those chairs.”
“Liliana calm down.”
“I can’t.”
“Liliana, Chip isn’t the problem right now.”
“I know Gage but you just don’t understand.”
“Understand what?”
“Chip…..”
I remembered the words Chip said to me. He hated me and my father. Chip promised me that he was going to make sure that my father got what he deserved. I gulped as I realized that I didn’t know where my father was and I didn’t know where Aliana was. But Gage stood by me the entire time. I didn’t know how I could thank him for everything he did to help me.
“Are you okay?”
I didn’t realize I was crying until Gage wiped away the tears streaming down my face.
“No.” I sniffed.
“Everything is going to be fine. I promise.” Gage pushed back my hair that covered my face.
“I don’t think it is Gage. Nothing will ever be fine.”
Gage and I had been through so much together. He helped me get away from Jamanj countless times and he stayed in the hospital to make sure I was fine. Gage really was a good guy. I guess I had prejudged him when I first saw him with my sister.
“Gage thanks for this.” I stated.
“Thanks for what?” He questioned.
“Thanks for everything. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
He laughed. “I’m pretty sure that you would be fine without me.”
“I would be dead if it wasn’t for you.”
He lifted his hand up and touched my face. “I wouldn’t want that to happen to you.”
Before I could say another word, Gage leaned closer to me and kissed me on the lips. Kissing Gage just felt right. It didn’t feel weird or sickening like when Jamanj had kissed me. This time I didn’t push Gage away. I didn’t want to push him away. At that moment I didn’t care about Jamanj and all of my problems. I only cared about Gage and how much he had helped me.