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Whilst I’ve talked with Connie a couple of times since that weekend, I’ve no desire to return to the island either. Maybe one day she’ll find the courage to leave her safe haven and come visit us. Either way, I just wish her well. She’s another person I’m happy to call a friend, and Malakai sure as fuck doesn’t deserve her, that’s for sure. If he ever grows some balls and returns to the island to admit that he cares about her, then maybe he’ll be able to save their relationship. If he doesn’t, that’s his loss.
The only sticking point with all of this is Monk and my half-sister Veronika. One of whom claims we’re the real masterminds behind his father’s murder and the other a child whose trauma has made her mute. She’s just a kid who lost her father. A kid who never knew the man he was, only the man he pretended to be. Another child a victim of the King’s rule and now living somewhere far away with a foster family. I hope time will dull the pain, will erase her memories. She’s young enough to forget.
It’s all we can hope for.
“What’s the news on Monk?” Sonny asks. With the King dead and Mr Carmichael in prison, he’s our biggest threat. Monk is vindictive. He won’t let this go. Not ever.
“Still in custody. It’s unlikely he’ll get bail given his sentencing is next week. Ruby came forward with fresh allegations of rape and abuse over a two-year period,” Bryce explains with a heavy sigh.
“Rape?” I hush out, my throat constricting. Despite the nausea I feel at what she’s suffered at the hands of my half-brother, I’m also proud of her courage. Ruby has got her revenge after all.
Bryce nods. “I’m afraid so. She’s not his first victim either. Several other girls have stepped forward, including Diamond and Emerald.”
“I didn’t know…”
“Why would you? Those girls weren’t your friends, Asia,” Camden says with a heavy sigh. “But they were my responsibility.”
I squeeze Camden’s hand, showing him that despite the implications of his words, I still love him. “You aren’t responsible for what happened to them. At least now they’ve found the strength to step away from the people who’ve hurt them. Maybe they’ll move on, finally.”
He nods. “I hope so.”
“The way things are looking, Monk will get a long sentence. He won’t be released from prison for many, many years to come,” Bryce confirms, easing some of my worries. I’m not foolish enough to believe we’ve seen and heard the last of Monk, but a few years reprieve is more than I could’ve hoped for. We’ll be ready for him when he comes for us, and he will come, mark my words.
“But by that time, we’ll all be long gone, right?” Ford says. “We ain’t returning to Hackney?”
“Yes. That’s the plan,” Hudson confirms.
“And what about Santiago? He can’t be happy about hisbusinessesbeing shut down,” Sonny questions, sarcasm dripping from his mouth.
“Santiago isn’t your problem. He’s mine,” Hudson responds tightly, shutting the conversation down before it has even begun.
“Correction, bro, he’sourproblem,” Max reminds him and Bryce nods in agreement, a look passing between them both.
There’s more trouble brewing, except this time it’s knocking on the Freeds’ door, not ours. The only difference is, they have the contacts, the money and the means to take out Santiago. We just had our wits, our courage and sheer bloody mindedness.
“Hey, don’t worry,” Camden says, noticing my frown. He reaches for my hand, pulling it onto his thigh. I stroke my fingers up and down his leg, soothing us both with the contact as I push all thoughts of Santiago out of my head. It’s been hard enough to survive these last few months, we’re not taking on Santiago too.
Camden sighs, the muscles of his face relaxing as we touch, our physical closeness easing one another’s heartache. On the other side of me, Eastern leans in close, pressing a kiss against my cheek. Behind me, Ford and Sonny talk quietly until eventually a peaceful quiet descends as we race along the motorway.
Half an hour later Hudson breaks the silence. “Oh, I almost forgot. Cal wanted me to pass on a message.”
“Yeah, what’s that?” Camden asks, lifting his head off my shoulder.
“He says you all owe him a few stress-free weeks and a bottle of hair dye. The guy’s aged about twenty years since taking over the role of acting principal and Nisha isn’t happy about having a silver fox as a husband. At least, not this early on.”
We laugh but despite the humour give Hudson our word to stay out of trouble. We’ve all had enough of it to last a lifetime.
* * *
Our final coupleof months at Oceanside blur into a series of moments captured in vibrant colour. Memories are made as we become an even tighter-knit group. Each moment documented in my sketchpad, brought to life in acrylic and oil, charcoal and pencil.
Pink and Kate study hard, determined to make the most of their remaining time and I throw myself into my physiotherapy and art lessons, the only two that hold any value to me. By the time our final week rolls around, we’re all ready to move on with our lives, including Cal who is handing the baton to my favourite therapist. Starting in September, Mr Burnside will take on the role as principal of Oceanside, determined to carry on Mr Carmichael’s legacy whilst his husband remains incarcerated at Her Majesty’s pleasure.
“If I can’t have a relationship with my husband, then I’ll just have to be married to the job. I intend on keeping Oceanside open and fulfilling his dreams,”he’d said to me, after we’d exited the courthouse a month ago.
Mr Carmichael had been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of the King and even though I’d expected tears from Mr Burnside, what I got was stoic determination and an unwavering faith that his sentence will be cut short.
That determination hasn’t faltered, and the only reason he didn’t take up the role sooner is because he’s been working day and night with the Freed brothers to get my uncle’s sentence lessened. It might be a fruitless task to some, but to Mr Burnside and Mr Carmichael, it’s a worthwhile one. Maybe it will work. Maybe it won’t. Either way it gives them both hope, and that’s something no one wants to deny them.
