Sign Here, Here, and Here
Cocky hazel eyes collided with my own. There was no remorse or pity in them. All I saw in their honeyed depths were unrestrained hatred and triumph. A mocking smirk tilted upward a corner of his mouth.
Raking sobs rose from within and I quickly stifled them in my throat before they came out and embarrassed me.
"Oops. Looks like we've been caught." Hazel said, feigning regret poorly.
It made me absolutely furious, so furious that I wanted to rip him apart with my bare hands for daring to lay hand on Schneizel, knowing full well that he was mine. But I couldn't stand being near my 'boyfriend' right now; his had betrayal hurt, cut deeply.
"Aiden, it's not what it looks like." Schneizel pushed the harlot aside and took a step toward me. His beseeching blue eyes met mine and I saw regret in them –regret that he had been caught, no doubt.
I backed away from him, and when he reached for me, I pulled away. I couldn't bear to have him touch me after he'd touched Hazel. The sight of them was forever branded to the backs of my eyelids.
My heart squeezed painfully.
Growling deep in my throat like a wounded animal, I said, "You fucking bastard. You probably haven't even washed the taste of my ass from your mouth yet."
At that, the hazel-eyed bitch started wiping his mouth with the back of a hand.
"How could you?" I couldn't help it; there were too many tears to hold back. An unrestrainable waterfall cascaded freely down my face.
Here I was, running around like a madman, trying to share my last hours in the prison with him while he was out and about whoring. His betrayal poisoned my thoughts. Naturally, it made me question if every time we weren't together, he was out here fornicating with some guy or other.
This time, I really did feel my heart breaking, could feel the tendons ripping. The wrenching pain almost made me double over and cry out.
"It's not what it looks like." Schneizel insisted, and then said, "Please, Aiden, just let me explain." It was my first time seeing him desperate. He raked a hand through his already-messy hair and took another step toward me.
I couldn't breathe. I needed to get away.
Not waiting for whatever pathetic excuses he had to offer, I rushed out of the library as fast as I could, knocking down a few books of off their shelves on my way out. Schneizel wouldn't be denied, though. I could feel him hot on my heels.
"Aiden! Stop, please!" Schneizel called from behind me.
I passed by Cade, who started to call to me. "Hey, what's wro—"
I heard the distinct sound of two hard bodies colliding against each other and then falling to the ground. I quickly glanced over my shoulder to see both Cade and Schneizel sprawled on the floor.
I didn't stop. I ran. And ran.
"Aiden!" I heard him call out to me one last time before I rounded a corner and his sound faded away.
If only the memory of his betrayal would fade away as well.
I found an empty cell and huddled in it. Winded and completely out of strength, I went to the wall for support. I was still in a state of disbelief. With my back to it, I slowly slid down until I was sitting on the dirty ground. I buried my face in my hands and cried my heart out. Gasps shook my entire body as sob after gut-wrenching sob raked me.
I'd given him everything. I had even been prepared to stay in this wretched place for him.
I'd given him all of me, but he'd given me nothing of himself in return.
It was over. It was all over.
****
"Sign here, here, and here."
I signed my name and the date at the bottom of the final piece of paper, sealing the deal between me and Mrs. Williams. As consolation for my wrongful sentence, I was to have a condo in New York and one million dollars in compensation.
"On top of my client's offer, you'll be reimbursed by the government for the wrongful sentencing. I'm so glad you finally came to your senses and accepted the offer. Not that you had a choice in the matter, but you know what I mean." Julian said as he shuffled the papers and rearranged them into order, then started to put them in his Mont Blanc briefcase. He looked at me and added, "If he really loves you, then he'll be happy that you're being exonerated. What is it they say, oh yeah: if he loves you, he'll let you go."
Bitterly, I said, "You don't have to worry about him, Julian. Since he doesn't love me, it won't make a bit of difference to him."
Julian didn't say anything in reply, but I saw by how pity welled in his eyes that he understood what I was talking about.
He understood that I had been betrayed.
Every single time I thought about it, my chest tightened. Every single time I recalled the scene at the library, my heart squeezed. When would I stop hurting? Would I ever stop hurting?
I heard the room's door open and close. I looked over my shoulder to see Schneizel. I started to panic, not wanting to see him just yet when I realized a moment later that it was Schneider, Schneizel's twin brother.
"Hey," he greeted me. He then looked over my head at Julian, and his pupils suddenly dilated.
I saw something appear in his eyes that made me remember how Schneizel would look at me. It was a mixture of desire and adoration. Julian's soft gasp drifted to my ears. I looked back at Julian to see that, he too, was staring at Schneider with a healthy mixture of awe and lust.
I waited a full minute, giving the two sometime to complete 'admiring' each other, but grew increasingly impatient. I demanded, "Why are you here? Did Schneizel send you?"
Soon after I'd cried myself a river at the empty cell, I went to the payphones and called Julian.
"Yes and no" Schneider said.
"What does that mean?" I asked, annoyed. I was in no mood for riddles.
"It means I'm here for him as well as for myself. Schneizel has been looking everywhere for you, and he knows you're here. He's probably on his way here to try and get you to listen—"
"Listen to what?" I burst out, interrupting him. Schneider eyed me reprovingly, but didn't say anything. Ignoring him, I said, my anger seeping into my voice, "Is he seriously going to try and explain why he was kissing Hazel?"
The image of Schneizel and Hazel interlocked in a kiss flashed in my mind for what had to be the millionth time, and for the millionth time, my eyes teared up, my heart stung, my chest tightened, and my stomach churned and turned from both anguish and fury.
Schneider opened his mouth to say something, but I interrupted him again, "Don't. Don't bother making excuses for him."
"It wasn't what it looked like," he gritted through clenched teeth, clearly annoyed by my reluctance to listen to him and my constant interruptions. "Hazel jumped Schneizel the moment he heard you approaching."
"I don't believe you."
"There's a camera recording to prove it. Several, actually. From different angles."
I was silent for a very long time as I registered the information Schneider had just dumped on me.
Could it be? Could I have been wrong about everything?
Oh, how I wanted to hope! But hope was a dangerous, dangerous thing. I couldn't have my hopes shattered and my heart broken a second time.
But if what he claimed was true, there was apparently a very simple way to find out.
My eyes met Schneider's. "Show me."
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
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