Chapter 157: The Person I Thought Was Safe
All I could feel was this storm ripping through me.
I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to shake him until he got it. How wrong it was. How fucking insane, how unforgivable it sounded to leave someone bleeding on the side of the road.
But then there were his eyes.....those deep blue eyes. They looked like he was drowning In regret, I felt like I was sinking with him.
"Dom..." My voice cracked. "You... you knew she was hurt and you just... left."
His jaw tightened. His eyes dropped to his lap like he couldn’t bear to meet mine.
"I know." His voice broke as he finally raised his head. "I know, Ash."
"Do you have any idea how this feels? Sitting here, hearing this, knowing the boy I..." My voice faltered. "The boy I trust more than anyone... kept something this big from me?"
"If I could trade places with her, I would. If I could undo it, I..." He cut himself off, pressing his fists into the wheel.
And God, it broke me. My chest ached so bad I thought it might cave in.
"I didn’t want you to look at me like this," he whispered.
"Like what?" I snapped. The tears were already streaming down. "Like I don’t even know who you are? Like the person I..." My chest heaved. "The person I thought was safe... isn’t?"
He looked... terrified.
I turned my face to the window before I completely broke.
And that voice in my head, that cold, cruel one I hated...Mr. Blake was right. He’ll ruin you. He’ll break you down until there’s nothing left
"Say something, Ash," Dominic begged.
His eyes searched mine like I was the only lifeline he had left, like my answer would decide if he stayed afloat or sank.
"What do you want me to say? That it’s fine? That I forgive you? That this doesn’t make me sick to my stomach? You and your friends? I shook my head. My chest hurt so bad. "Because I can’t."
He dragged his hand through his hair, pulling like he wanted to rip it out.
I pressed my hands into my face, but then my words slipped out softer. "But I also can’t leave you. I can’t stop caring, Dom. Even when I hate what you did. Even when it makes me want to scream."
"Please Ash, don’t hate me."
The silence pressed in. It was suffocating.
"God," I whispered, shaking. "What the hell are we supposed to do now?"
He didn’t answer. He just reached out, fingers trembling, hovering over mine like he was terrified I’d pull away.
And I wanted to. God, I should’ve. But my hand stayed right there.
I swallowed, hard, forcing the words out. "Let’s go check on Liam."
His eyes widened like he’d just remembered Liam existed. "Shit! Liam."
He jammed the keys, the car roared back to life, and we sped into the night. Neither of us said a word on the way.
By the time we pulled into the hospital lot, it was past midnight. Ambulances kept flashing in and out.
I followed him inside, I felt nauseous immediately I entered the hospital hallway. The sterile brightness of the hospital didn’t made it hard for me to blink.
We reached the elevators, and Dom pressed the button for the 10th floor. His hand lingered on the button.
When the doors slid shut, he turned to me, with that same sad, guilty look on his face.
I couldn’t look at him. My eyes stayed locked on the glowing numbers above the doors. I couldn’t risk falling apart again.
The elevator dinged. The doors slid open. Dom stepped out first. I trailed right behind him.
And then..
A figure shoved past me hard enough that I staggered back into the frame of the elevator.
"Hey!" I muttered, but the guy didn’t look up. He just rushed inside, with his head down.
Something clinked on the floor.
He must’ve dropped it. A coin.
It spun once before settling, landed tails side up.
I bent, scooped it quickly, and turned, instinct making me call out, "Hey! You dropped this."
The guy was already in the elevator, back turned. But at my words, his head tilted just slightly.
And then I saw them. His eyes.
My chest froze. My stomach dropped so fast I thought I’d puke.
Those eyes. I knew those eyes.
He looked up. Tugged the mask down just enough, and smirked.
And even though the doors were already sliding shut, I saw it.
"I finished the job," he widened his eyes.
That’s what his lips said.
I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move.
The doors closed, sealing him inside.
I just stood there, digging the coin into my fist. My heart pounded so loud in my ears I couldn’t hear anything else.
What the fuck.
What the actual fuck.
"Come on, Ash," Dom called softly, glancing back. He didn’t see. He didn’t hear.
My lips parted.
My body wouldn’t move.
My brain kept screaming no, it can’t be him, it can’t. Maybe I was seeing things. Maybe my fear was inventing monsters in my head.
But those eyes...God, I’d seen them before.
Dom gave me that sad, haunted look again, waiting. "You coming?"
The coin was still digging into my palm when the words ripped out of me.
"Dominic... I just...." my chest heaved, "I just saw the guy that stabbed Liam."
Dom froze. His whole face drained. "What the fuck?" His eyes snapped wide, sharp, panicked.
"I’m not joking," I said, my voice cracking. "It was him. I swear to God, Dom, it was him."
"Where?"
I pointed to the elevator, my hand kept shaking. "There. He was just there. Hoodie, black mask..:those eyes. I know those eyes."
Dom didn’t hesitate. He slammed his hand against the elevator doors, smacking the button over and over. "We need to catch him!" he shouted, his voice echoing down the sterile hallway. "Open, dammit!"
The elevator didn’t budge. The numbers stayed frozen.
"Why won’t this door fucking open?"
"Shit!" Dominic cursed. He spun to me, already moving. "You wait for the elevator. I’ll take the stairs."
"Dom!" My voice cracked.
"We need to find him, Ash!"
And then he was gone, sprinting toward the stairwell.
I pressed the elevator button again, over and over, useless.
The elevator dinged at last, slow and too late. I stumbled inside, my hands shaking, my head spinning.
When the doors slid open at the bottom floor, chaos swallowed me whole.
I spun in circles, searching. My chest was burning.
The ER was alive with movement...nurses rushing, the wheels of ambulance carts screaming across the tile. It was really busy tonight.
Someone yelled "Clear!" In the distance.
And somewhere in the blur of it all....he was here.
The figure.
I started walking down the hallway.
"Dom!" I shouted, spinning in the chaos. For a second I thought I lost him.
Then I caught sight of him. His hair was damp with sweat, his chest kept heaving, eyes scanning every corner. He spotted me too, cutting through the chaos, and grabbed my arm. "Where?"
"I don’t know. I lost him, I swear I saw him..."
And then I froze.
Down the far hallway.
A figure. Hoodie up. Mask on. Head low.
My heart raced. "There!" I pointed, my voice broke. "It’s him. Dom, it’s him!"
We both took off. People turned as we tore past, but I didn’t care.
"Hey!" Dominic shouted. "Stop!"
The figure turned sharply into a side hall, but Dom was faster. He lunged forward, grabbed the guy by the arm, and shoved him hard against the wall.
The hood slipped.
The mask fell.