Edward
When the door closed, Michael was at my bedside.
"You woke up!" He gave my shoulder an enthusiastic shake. "Honestly, I was starting to worry."
Pain shot straight through my shoulder.
"Back off, you lunatic. Can't you see you're hurting him?" Kazuo barked.
Michael rolled his eyes with as much theatrical exaggeration as he could manage.
"Three days..." I murmured. "I was unconscious for three days."
Then another thought struck me.
"What happened to those bastards?" I asked sharply, looking from Michael to Kazuo.
They exchanged a glance.
Neither of them seemed particularly eager to answer.
"They were arrested, weren't they? The last thing I remember is the police catching them one by one. They're in prison now, aren't they?" I pressed. "Luka's safe now. Am I right?"
"Well..." Michael tapped the fingers of one hand against the other. "Yes and no."
I fixed him with a hard stare.
"Just spit it out," I snapped. The force of my own voice sent a sharp ache through my shoulder, making me wince.
"Alright, alright. No need to bite my head off." He raised both hands. "Long story short, while you were busy playing Sleeping Beauty, those idiots from the warehouse were arrested. They are behind bars. We gave our statements and told the police everything, but..."
He hesitated again.
"Um... Remember how they kept talking about their bosses? Well, now they're denying they ever said any of it."
"So what?" I shot back. "What difference does it make what they're denying? We heard them."
"We did. But our statements aren't enough. There's no evidence to back them up." Michael rubbed the back of his neck. "Instead, they've pinned the whole thing on your father."
He paused again, clearly expecting me to explode.
"So he's a wanted man now. Federal, at the very least. Possibly international. And the companies he was running have been placed under emergency management."
I stared at him.
"What the hell?" I murmured.
I let out a slow breath.
None of it made any sense.
"So that's it?" I asked. "That's seriously where this ends?"
"There'll still be hearings, then the trial and all the rest," Michael replied. "But right now the story they're pushing is that your dad was so desperate to protect the reputation that he hired a bunch of thugs to scare you away from the hybrids. They set fire to the bar first, then tried to get rid of the biggest threat."
His eyes shifted towards Luka.
"So that's where things stand."
None of it would fit together.
We had all heard those men.
So why had the police accepted this so easily?
It couldn't be right.
I had to get out of this hospital.
I turned to Michael.
"Do you have the number for whoever's leading the investigation?"
"I do." He reached into his pocket, then stopped. "But you're speaking to them after you've had a bit more time to recover. Deal?"
Luka squeezed my hand.
My attention drifted to him, and everything else suddenly felt distant.
His face was full of worry.
"Please," he said quietly, looking straight into my eyes. "Not today."
My chest tightened.
I breathed out.
"Alright."
Michael clapped his hands together.
"Right then. The doctor did say there are far too many of us in here. So… I reckon Kazuo and I will go grab some water."
"The hell are you talking about?" Kazuo frowned. "I'm not thirsty."
"Oh, yes, you are."
Michael caught hold of his sleeve and steered him towards the door.
"For God's sake, are you really that thick?" he muttered under his breath just before the door closed behind them.
Finally, Luka and I were left alone.
My eyes kept drifting over him.
I looked him over again and again, searching for anything I'd missed. A scratch. A wound. Anything worse. Any sign that he'd been seriously hurt.
But from what I could see, he was alright.
The tightness in my chest eased.
I let out a quiet breath and opened my mouth to speak.
"I'm sorry," Luka said, cutting me off.
I looked at him, completely bewildered.
"I'm sorry," he repeated.
His voice was barely above a whisper. It trembled with every word.
"This is all because of me. It's my fault. If I'd... if I'd..."
I tightened my grip on his hand.
"Hey. Don't say that," I said, refusing to look away. I wanted him to understand that I meant every word. "You've done nothing wrong. Everything that's happened to me, everything that's happening now, and everything that may happen after this has been my choice. Me being here is the result of my own decisions."
I held his gaze.
"Whatever you think you could have done differently, I'd make the same choice again."
I gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
"So don't even let yourself think that any of this is your fault."
Luka was quiet for a moment.
Then he gave a small nod and lowered himself onto the chair beside my bed.
"How are you?" I asked. "Are you alright? I don't remember anything after I passed out. They didn't hurt you, did they?"
"I'm fine."
I didn't believe him. The dark circles under his eyes told a completely different story.
Neither of us spoke for a while.
We just sat there, still holding each other's hand.
"Your father..." Luka said at last. "Is it true? Was he really the one who ordered our bar to be set on fire?"
I swallowed before answering.
"Yes."
The word left a bitter taste in my mouth.
"And if anyone should be apologising, it's me. If I hadn't started going there, none of this would've reached your doorstep." I glanced down at our joined hands. "I'm sorry… I tried to keep my distance so I wouldn't bring any more trouble into your life. Turns out I didn't manage it for very long."
A quiet, humourless laugh escaped me.
When I looked back at him, his eyes were filled with sadness. With relief. With exhaustion. With so many emotions that I couldn't even list them all.
Yet he never let go of my hand.
"It's alright," he said.
He drew a slow breath.
"I'm so glad you woke up." He lowered his head until his forehead rested gently against my hand. "I'm so glad. You've no idea."
We stayed like that in silence, even though there was still so much left to say.
So many explanations.
So many questions.
So much that still stood between us.
But none of it mattered as much as this.
We were holding each other's hands again.
And this time, I had no intention of letting go, whatever the cost.