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Aiden was right. As much as I wanted to argue with him, we didn’t have anything additional to tell them. Matthew was dead and couldn’t be a witness. We’d be in a worse predicament than we were now. We had nothing.
All I could do was sob. The sadness was overwhelming. I’d lost Matthew. My best friend. Aiden comfortingly stroked my back. I was alive and in Aiden’s arms. Matthew was dead.
Aiden whispered soothing words, “I know, sweetheart. This is fucking killing me.” As I shivered, Aiden moved his hands along me, trying to warm me up. “I want nothing more than to put all those slimy bastards away.”
Sirens approached. As the cops got out, Aiden spoke to them. A paramedic looked me over.
“Ma’am, are you hurt?”
My voice was hollow. “No, I was trying to stop the bleeding when I saw he was shot.”
“You’ve been through a terrible ordeal. Let me look you over.”
All I could do was nod as Aiden led the officers up the trail. I didn’t want to go back up there and see Matthew’s lifeless body. He’d sacrificed himself for me and there was nothing I could do to stop all that had happened.
There were no words to describe the . . .
Pain.
Loss.
Guilt.
FINALLY, THE POLICE allowed us to leave. Aiden gave them our contact information. The police had suggested we remain anonymous. As I’d sat in the back of the ambulance, while they checked me over, I’d seen the bodies carted off the mountain. I knew which one was Matthews and it took everything within me not to tell Matthew how sorry I was this had happened.
The Keeper had a license on him that named him, Peter Peppington. Abraham or Matthew hadn’t had any identification. We didn’t have last names at The Society. We were simply known by our first names. No two people had the same name. They’d identify the bodies soon once they found someone connected with Peter or whatever his real name was.
My whole body shook as I stared out the window. People roamed the streets and played about as if everything was okay. It wasn’t. After what seemed like hours we came to my apartment.
Aiden spoke, “Wait in the car. I’m going to get us some clothes. I don’t know if anyone else is here from The Society. We’re going to stay somewhere tonight until I can make sure we’re safe.”
I nodded. When was the nightmare going to end? Hadn’t there been enough loss to last a lifetime?
The door reopened and Aiden threw a bag in the backseat. He had on a clean shirt that wasn’t smeared with Matthew’s blood. At least Brooklyn was out of town. Driving to the edge of town, Aiden pulled into a motel. I looked at myself and I was covered in Matthew’s blood. Matthew. Not even two hours ago he’d been alive with endless possibilities in front of him. Now . . . he had nothing.
The paramedics had tried to clean me, but it hadn’t gotten rid of everything.
After going into the front lobby, Aiden came back with a key. “We need to get you cleaned up. I got the unit at the end.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off my hands as the dried blood stared back. My hands couldn’t stop shaking. There was so much blood. Matthew’s blood. Aiden ran to the door and opened it. He threw a blanket around me before he brought me inside.
“Let’s get cleaned up, sweetheart. Then we’ll rest.”
“Okay.”
The door opened. Bright orange carpet got my attention. There wasn’t much to the hotel room. Locking the door behind us, Aiden took me straight to the bathroom. The water was turned on. Stripping both of us out of our clothes, Aiden got me into the shower. Deftly and efficiently he washed me under the lukewarm water, then himself. Soon the water changed from red back to clear. If only my guilt could be washed away the same way.
After toweling dry and dressing, we got into bed.
“Thank you for coming for me, Aiden.” I barely finished without my voice trembling.
The covers came on top of us and I felt shielded. Safe. Aiden replied, “Shh . . . I’ll always come for you.”
For a long time, I stared off into space. It was better than what I saw when my eyes closed—Matthew, lifeless in my lap. I’d chosen to leave The Society. My choice caused the all the other events to fall into place. The decision had cost someone dear to me their life. It should have been me that was killed on that mountain. It should have been me.
Eventually, exhaustion took me under.
OPENING MY EYES, I was greeted with Aiden’s eyes watching me, concern etching the dark rims. A heaviness pressed on my heart and that’s when I remembered.
