"What did you do?" Devon heard and looked at the two woman in front of him.
Martha and Sierra told him to tell them everything as soon as they got home. And even though Devon really didn't want to, he knew he had no other choice.
"Devon." Martha frowned when her son didn't answer. They were all seated in the living room as Alejandro showed his mother the city.
He had no idea how to answer. He didn't even know what he did. Now that he knew his sister didn't mind, he felt angry. Angry at himself and angry at his sister. So he looked at her with a hard glare, shocking Martha and Sierra.
"How long did you know?" He growled at Sierra, whose eyes widened.
"Well, I-" She stopped, not wanting to upset him even more.
"Remember when I caught you two almost kissing at the beach house?"
"You were at the beach house?" Their mother asked the same moment Devon shot up from his seat and strode over to his sister.
"You want to tell me, you've known for months and you didn't tell us?" He asked her calmly and Sierra gulped.
"I-I didn't know how to tell you."
"A simple 'hey, I'm okay with you two dating' would've been enough!" He yelled at her.
"Devon, calm down. She just-"
"Calm down, mom?! She is the whole reason why I broke up with Ester!" He exploded.
"You broke up with-"
"Yes! And not because I care if you know it or not. But because Ester would feel like the worst friend and I know-" He stopped talking, taking a deep breath.
"I know how much you mean to her. And how much she means to you. I-" Devon shook his head and took a step back.
"I need to apologize. I need to- I-I have to-" Devon was out of the door without any further warning.
He jumped into his car and took off. He was going over the speed limit but had to slow down. He knew if the police would catch him again, he wouldn't be able to see Ester for another hour or so. So he reluctantly slowed down.
A few minutes away from his destination and his phone rung. He picked up after seeing Mason's name pop up.
"Make it quick." He ordered.
"So I let a friend analyse the picture you got from that person, since the police won't help. He found out the person used a phone. Most likely an iPhone seven. And from the angle the picture was taken, he assumes it was taken from a rooftop. If you want to meet up there now, we can see if the person left something behind. Or if we can find anything." Mason informed Devon.
"I can't right now. But we can meet there later today." Devon said.
"Okay, I'll look for people that still have an iPhone seven and a possible motive." His best friend said and the two hung up a few seconds later.
Devon stopped his car in front of Ester's apartment complex and got out to sprint towards it. He had to explain now. He had to make her believe that all he said was wrong and all he ever wanted was her. Not revenge, no fling. Just Ester.
He knocked on her apartment door and waited. Then he heard footsteps and took a small step back. Finally, the door opened but his face fell.
"What do you want?" Olivia asked with narrowed eyes. Devon figured she knew what happened between him and her roommate. He cleared his throat.
"I need to speak to Ester." He stepped forward, hoping he didn't have to shove her out of the way.
"Ester isn't here. She's at that cake tasting event." Olivia told him, crossing her arms over her chest. Devon frowned.
"No, she left two hours ago. She should be here by now." He said.
"Maybe she's at Sierra's." Olivia guessed but he shook his head.
"Sierra is at mom's place. We left together." He panicked. She should've been here by now.
"Have you tried calling her?" Devon almost snorted. She would never pick up once she saw his name.
"I'll call her." Olivia said, pulling out her phone and dialling her number.
.
.
.
Ester felt her phone vibrate in her pockets but didn't feel like picking up. In fact, she felt nothing. Her walk was taking hours and she didn't care.
It helped her clear her mind from everything. Especially him. She only had one more corner and then she'd see her apartment complex. But a honk next to her made her jump and pull her out of it. She looked to her right and squinted her eyelids in order to see who just stopped their car next to her.
"Ester, isn't it?" She heard his voice right before his face appeared as he stepped out of his expensive car. His face looked familiar but Ester couldn't remember his name. He smiled as he approached her.
"Jeremy. Or Jerry, as Stone called me when we met. Mason's party?" He came closer and Ester finally remembered him.
"Oh yeah. You poured your drink all over me." Ester said and Jeremy chuckled before stopping in front of her.
"Yeah, I'm still sorry for that. Would a coffee right now make you forget about that?" He asked as charming as he could. But Ester received a weird vibe from him. She suddenly became aware of the fact that they were alone and he was standing pretty close.
"Oh, no. Actually, my roommate is waiting for me. So, I should get going. But don't worry, I'm not upset. Accidents happen, right?" She stepped back, making Jeremy glance at her feet.
"You're probably wondering what I'm doing here." He smiled, taking a step forward.
"Well, I guessed you're visiting someone." She shrugged, now knowing something about him made the hairs on her neck stand up.
"Yes. Visiting someone, indeed." He nodded and then thrust his hand out in her direction.
"So long, Ester. Until our paths cross again." He waited for her to shake his hand and she did. Hesitantly, but she did.
Ester watched him get back into his sport's car. Once he was out of sight, Ester felt able to breathe again. That was uncomfortable.
But she simply shook her head and now picked up speed to reach her apartment faster.
And once she was there, she saw Devon's car parked in front of it and stopped. What in the world was he doing here? Did he want to rub it in her face again?
Ester straightened her back and raised her chin as she took slow but confident steps into the apartment complex. It was quiet in the halls and she thought Olivia had already invited Devon in. But to her surprise, once she reached her apartment door, Devon was leaning against the door frame and the door was closed.
"Ester." He straightened once he saw her and walked towards her.
"I don't want to talk to you." She didn't even look at him before taking out her keys.
"I know. But I need to explain to you-"
"I don't want any explanation from you, Devon. You made your point clear enough when I was at your place. And don't think I forgot about all the other things. Whilst I know now that to you, it was just a joke, I bet the texts you sent me can get me a restraining order." She put the keys in the lock.
"What are you talking about?" He asked her confused.
"Save it." She pushed the door open.
"No. Ester, please hear me out." He said, stopping the door from colliding with his face.
"I heard you loud and clear. Now you listen to me, Devon." Ester could feel her wall crumbling as she looked him straight in the eyes.
"You got what you wanted. Leave me alone, I don't wanna have anything to do with you. You hurt me and I'm not weak. I don't stay with people that harm me in any way. Now leave me alone!" She pushed against the door but it wouldn't budge.
Devon was angry and didn't know what to do. Obviously she wasn't going to hear him out. And he didn't want to talk to her when she was still so sure about his 'bad' intentions.
So he stepped back, trying to catch her eyes one more time. But she was looking at his shoes. And once they cleared the way. She slammed the door shut.
His heart hurt, he hated it. Right now, Devon felt the worst he ever did. And he had many bad days, not to mention the reason he was called 'the Killer Doc'.
Which reminded him, he still had to find out who threatened him. And maybe then, Ester would hear him out. He had to make her listen.
But right now, his main priority was finding the unknown sender of the picture.