Chapter Seventeen
Alexa
Trying to appear sincere, I continued to hug Abriana. “This is a good thing, Bri! Why are you crying?”
Pulling away from my embrace, my sister’s petite frame curled up into the fetal position and she began to rock back and forth.
“Mrs. Vega, perhaps filling that prescription now would be helpful,” suggested the doctor to my mother. “In the mean time, I’m going have one of the nurses administer a dose.”
Our mother’s complexion turned pale. “I can’t leave Abriana right now,” she said.
Rubbing Abriana’s back, I looked over at my mother and gave her an encouraging nod. “It’s okay, Mom. I’m here.”
A moment later, she nodded and scurried out of the room.
“Bri, it’s okay,” I said in a soothing voice. Don’t worry big sis, it will all be over soon. You’ll be six feet under and I’ll live happily ever after with Matías.
A nurse wearing light blue scrubs entered the room, interrupting my thoughts.
“Abriana, I have some medication that will help you calm down. I just need to give you a quick shot. Is that okay?”
She didn’t respond, instead she just kept rocking back and forth, back and forth.
The nurse walked over to the side of the bed and reached for Abriana’s shoulder. “I need you to be still for a moment.”
Instead of slowing down, Abriana’s body rocked even faster.
The nurse looked at me, her blue eyes full of concern. “I’m going to need to get some help. I’ll be right back.”
As she left the room, I cut my eyes at Abriana. Forever the victim, Abriana! Why do you always need SOOO many people to care and worry about you? Ugh!
A few moments later, the nurse came back with two orderlies.
“Please hold her down while I give her the injection,” she instructed.
I stood up as a man and a woman walked up to the bed. I wish they would hold her down while I smother her with a pillow.
Watching Abriana fight against the orderlies sent shivers down my spine. I love seeing you suffer, I thought to myself with a smirk.
Once she had been pinned down, the nurse quickly jabbed the needle into her backside. A few seconds later, she stopped flailing and the orderlies released her body.
“What’s going on here?” asked a familiar voice, full of disbelief.
My heart soared. Matías! Quick! Bring out the waterworks!
Pretending to sniffle, I turned toward him and buried my face into his broad chest. “It’s all my fault,” I cried.
He stood with his hands at his sides. “What’s happening to Abriana?”
“I told her Easton was dying and she freaked out. She started rolling back and forth and wouldn’t stop!”
Stepping away and leaving me off balance, Matías rushed to Abriana’s side.
Stop trying to rescue someone who doesn’t love you, I thought to myself with disgust. Hmmmm… Maybe I should have faked my own kidnapping instead of this elaborate mess with Abriana? Ugh! I could have had Matías all to myself by now!
Cursing myself, I watched as Matías knelt next to Abriana’s hospital bed and gently picked up her hand. Bringing it to his lips, he brushed it with a light kiss and then held it against his cheek.
I scowled as he closed his eyes and whispered a prayer. No one is going to be able to save her from me. No one!
“I’m going to go get some coffee,” I muttered as I headed toward the door.
Matías didn’t bother responding or even turning around.
You know what, Matías? You better lay off this pity party for Abriana. If you don’t, I’m going to make you pay for it, I thought as I stomped out of the room and into the hallway of the hospital.
***
Staring at my phone, I waited for Matías to call. I pictured what the conversation would sound like and happiness I would feel inside.
“Alexa, I need to talk to you,” he would say.
“About what?” I would ask with big doe eyes.
He would pause, building the suspense that was ready to detonate deep inside my body.
“I love you,” he would whisper.
“Pardon?” I would ask, pretending to be surprised.
“I love you,” he would repeat. “I always have and I always will.”
“What about Abriana?” I would ask in fake disbelief.
“I was just using her to get closer to you,” he would say, his voice choked with shame. “I know it was wrong, but I didn’t know what else to do?”
“Matías, I have to admit something too,” I would say. “I love you too.”
He would demand to see me and I would give in.
A smile would cross my face as he would pull up in front of the house. When Abriana would go to open the front door, he would rush past her and scoop me up in his arms. Smothering me with a passionate kiss, Abriana’s jaw would drop and tears would fall down her cheeks.
“Sorry, Bri,” I would say with a smirk.
“What’s meant to be, will be,” Matías would say with a smile before kissing me again.
“You okay?” drawled Detective Lock’s voice.
Shaking my head, the images of Matías’ lips meeting mine faded. “Um, yeah. I’m fine. Sorry, just day dreaming.”
“Kind of a strange place to be day dreaming,” replied the detective.
I shrugged my shoulders. How dare he question me!
I stared into his pale blue eyes. “So, what’s up?” I asked, trying not to sound suspicious.
“You’re mother and father told me that you witnessed a crash cart entering Easton Pierce’s room.”
“Yeah,” I responded. “Did the bastard die?”
Rubbing his chin slowly with his thumb and forefinger, he looked at me with furrowed brow. “Is that what you want?”
I frowned as I crossed my arms. “Excuse me?”
“Do you want Easton Pierce to die?” he asked.
Is this some kind of trick question? I thought to myself.
“He hurt my sister. He gets whatever is coming his way,” I spat.
Detective Lock leaned back and smoothed out his tie. “Don’t you want justice for your sister?”
I answered his question with a question of my own, “Don’t you think Easton Pierce deserves to die for what he did to my sister?”
“An eye for an eye, kind of girl,” said Detective Lock with a thin smile.
Uncrossing my arms, I reached for my cup of lukewarm coffee. Taking a sip, I scrunched up my nose. Needs more sugar.
Detective Lock cleared his throat as he watched me drink from the white ceramic mug.
Setting the cup down, I met his gaze. “So is it dead or what?”
“At this time, Easton Pierce is in critical condition,” said Detective Lock.
Anger flared up and threatened to boil over. Instead of screaming out in rage, I raked my teeth over my bottom lip. Why won’t you just die already, Easton? Now I’m going to have to figure out a way to get past those police officers and into your room, all so I can kill you, because you just won’t DIE!
The detective drummed his fingers on the table. “Next time you find out information vital to the case, perhaps you should run it by us before you tell your sister.”
“Excuse me?”
“Alexa, you have to try and understand. Your sister is beyond traumatized and bombarding her with this kind of information is dangerous to her already fragile psyche,” said Detective Lock.
Great! Now she has you under her thumb too! Ugh! That little…
“I thought it would help,” I said looking down at the table. That’s right, convince him you feel terrible about hurting Abriana. “I feel really bad…”
He nodded his head and then yawned.
“Tired?” I asked.
“I guess so,” he responded as he stared at me.
Why is he staring at me again?
“Strange,” he said.
Turning my cup with my fingertips, I responded, “What?”
“Most people yawn when they see someone else do it. You didn’t,” he said.
I frowned. “I guess I’m just not tired.”
“Guess not,” he replied.
An awkward silence filled the space between us.
“Any luck on finding this elusive other attacker?” I asked with hope in my voice.
He shook his head. “We still don’t have any evidence, besides what your sister has told us, that there was another person involved.”
“Hmmm,” I murmured.
“Alexa, do you think your sister shot Easton?” asked Detective Lock.
“Honestly,” I paused. “I want to say no, because that’s what she told me, but…”
Detective Lock leaned in closer, “But what?”
“But, when I think about it, I always come to the same conclusion,” I said.
“Which is?” asked Detective Lock.
“That Abriana shot Easton.”
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