"Ethan, you are just being paranoid. Nothing is going to-"
"Grace, look out!!"
Ethan grabbed the steering wheel and attempted to turn the car's direction. Before he could actually make any major change, we were hit by a truck. Because of Ethan's last minute reflexes, the truck hit our car from behind and not from the side. The truck driver stopped only after our car was brutally smashed between the truck and a pole.
The sudden overdose of so many sensations led to a short lived black out for me. When I regained consciousness, I saw blood on my clothes and could feel it dripping from face.
I quickly turned around in my seat to face Ethan, and earned more cuts on my skin, because of the glass pieces spread everywhere. Ethan was unconscious. He was in bad condition than me. The right sleeve of his shirt was entirely soaked with blood. My head felt numb because of the sight. I gently shook Ethan by his shoulder, calling his name, trying to bring him back. My face was stained with blood and tears when he finally showed me some signs of being alive.
He took a few ragged breaths, straightened himself and cursed in pain, before opening his eyes. He then quickly turned to see me.
"Grace, you alright? Can you move?"
Unable to form any word, because of the overflow of emotions, I just nodded my head at him.
"Good. Did you see anyone-"
Before Ethan could say another word, our car jerked back, as the truck responsible for this accident, came to life again and pulled back. I couldn't believe that the truck and it's driver were still functional.
Ethan processed the situation in a snap. He ordered me to give him my gun, Which dad makes me carry always. He clutched the gun and formed a firm grip around it with his left hand, as he couldn't move his other arm. He then looked at me and said in a hurry,
"Grace, you have your phone, right? When I tell you to go, step out and take cover. If possible, get inside the truck and lock it. Call the cops and do not come out till you see them. Clear?"
"Ethan, I don't understand-"
"You don't have to. Please Grace... Please do as I say. Just this once. Okay?"
I didn't get to reply, as a man dressed in black, stepped in front of us. The double barrel gun hanging from his shoulder was more scarier than his weird face mask. Before he could lay his hand on his gun, Ethan outstretched his arm, pointing the gun towards him.
"Don't."
Ethan said, and the masked man stopped at once.
"Grace.. now.."
I was looking at Ethan, just in case he'll change his decision. His gaze didn't flicker even once from the man standing in front. I wanted to question him, but before that, Ethan repeated his statement, and I had no other option but to listen.
As I was stepping out of the car, the man noticed me getting away, and totally ignoring Ethan, he pulled out his gun. Luckily, before he could actually do something, the car which had been following us stopped nearby, and stepped out Reyansh and Watson. Reyansh too had a gun in his hand, while Watson was growling at the masked man, ready to attack.
The man understood that he's outnumbered, and without any further delay, he got ready to run away. Though it was a perfect opportunity, neither Ethan nor Reyansh fired at him. But Watson wasn't that patient. He ran towards him and bite the man's leg from behind. The man turned and hit Watson on his head with the butt of his gun. With a low cry, Watson let him go and slowly went unconscious. This made Reyansh fire blindly. The man dodged the bullets and managed to run away, as Reyansh's priority was to make sure Watson was alright, rather than catching the man. I'm honestly very happy that he did that. After that, Reyansh dialed the emergency number and called the ambulance.
About four hours later, the nurses let me go, once I was all patched up. I had a cut on my scalp, one small cut across my jawline, and a major one on my palm. My ankle too had sprained a little, but other than that, I only a had some tiny scratches here and there.
Watson had to take stiches on his head. Watson was still unconscious because of the sedatives the vets gave him, and was advised to be kept there for some time.
Ethan too, had too many injuries. The doctors operated out a huge piece of glass from his right bicep. He was pale because of all the blood he has lost. He was now resting on his hospital bed, sleeping soundly.
As I neared the room in which Ethan was kept, I noticed everyone there. Mom, dad, Reyansh, Jason and Carol. Mom and Carol sat together, talking in a low voice, while Jason and Dad were looking after the formalities. Reyansh was sitting in a far away corner, all alone, so I approached him and sat beside him. Though, I should have been the one to start the conversation, he beat me up to it.
"Aren't they allowing visitors to Ethan?"
"Not yet. Why?"
"Because you're sitting here, and not with him."
Reyansh said as he jerked his head towards Ethan's room.
"Seriously? Can't drop the sass for one minute, can you?"
He let out a hollow laugh, just to hide how disturbed he was.
We sat in silence for some time. I didn't feel awkward, or a need to say something. I felt at peace and comfortable. Reyansh has a very unique personality. We've met on very less and random occasions, and I know him as much is required. But still, I feel that I need to know him more. There is something about him that is very.... Attractive?
I don't know. The emotions and the kind of love I feel for Ethan, I don't feel it for anyone else. But when I see Reyansh... I just feel.. relaxed. Like.. I can trust him.
"I think I should get going. Watson would be up by now, and I need to take him back home. He hates staying with the vets."
Reyansh said and stood up to leave.
"Can I come to see him when he's better?"
"Sure. Why not. And.. Grace?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm... I'm sorry. I could have arrived earlier, but I just..."
"It's okay Reyansh. It barely took you few minutes to arrive."
"No Grace.. I could have done better. I saw you get hit and thought that even if do save you, you and Ethan might just..."
"Just want? ...die?"
"...no."
"Then what?"
"Nothing."
"Reyansh.. you should talk it out. I'm here to listen. We are friends, right?"
He smiled sarcastically and said,
"Yeah. Friends. Anyway. I'm late already, Watson must be waiting. So.. see you later."
When Reyansh was out of sight, a very important question popped in my head.
Why was Reyansh there at the time of accident?
After some time, I went back home. Doctors won't allow me to meet Ethan, and that's understandable as he's still asleep. Dad had a lot of questions, but spared me to rest first.
The next morning, I received a call from Carol. She told me that Ethan was forcing the doctors to let him go earlier. She wanted me to make Ethanunderstand, why he should stay in the hospital.
I, on the other hand, support Ethan's decision. No matter how comfortable the room is made, it'll still be a hospital. Ethan won't feel even half as relaxed, as much he'd feel in his own room. As for his medical condition, I've talked to his doctors already. They ensured that he's out of any kind of danger. He'll be able to work normally in a few days, however, he must not put pressure on his right arm.
I too have taken a day off from school, so I went to see Ethan to the Reyes' mansion the next day. This time I had to take the elevator rather than the stairs, to reach Ethan's room.
I knocked at his door before entering. He was sitting on his bed with his legs stretched in front of him. His back was supported with pillows as he was reading a book. An arm chair, Which appeared really comfy, was set up beside his bed. When he saw me approaching, he closed his book, kept it aside and smiled brightly at me. I smiled back, got setteled on the arm chair, and took out his medical reports to go through them.
He raised an eyebrow at me.
"Am I forgetting something?"
I asked innocently.
"Take a wild guess."
Okay, I admit. I was messing with him. I laughed a little before getting up. I went closer to him and delivered a long and slow kiss, much awaited by both of us.
"Happy now?"
"Very."
I then went back to examining his files. Before long, Ethan had another request.
"Grace, do you mind sitting beside me, from the other side? I can use some warmth."
"I'm sure the more sensible way is to turn the air conditioner off."
"I can use some cuddles as well..."
".....fine.."
Ethan was sitting on the right side of his king sized bed. To sit beside him, I had walk all the way to the other side, remove my shoes, climb up, and then crawl back beside him. It isn't much, but everything appears too much when you are drugged with painkillers.
When I was finally beside him, he immediately wrapped his arm around my waist, took my hand in his, and rubbed the back of my palm with his thumb in smooth and slow circles. I rested my head on his chest and said,
"So the arm chair wasn't set up for me then?"
"No. It was for Grace. She'll be leaving tomorrow and insisted that she'd narrate bedtime stories to me. And in all seriousness, she's a damm good story teller."
"Is she going back to the orphanage?"
"No. She has a family now."
"Really? That's great! Do you know the people who're going to adopt her?"
"Yeah. You remember Angela? Reyansh's sister? She's the one."
"...wow. I mean, it's nice and all, but she just got married. Is she sure about this?"
"Angela may not look so, but she's quite mature. She knows what she's doing."
"If you were trying to calm me down; you've failed terribly. What if she adopts her and then-"
"Don't worry. I've asked Reyansh to take nice care of Grace. He won't let anything bad happen to her."
"You trust Reyansh a lot."
"He's like a brother to me. But right now, if you don't mind, I'd like to have some quality time with my love."
Well.. it was the least I could do for him. We snuggled against each other on his bed almost the entire morning. Then it was time for me to leave. Before leaving his side, I kissed him on his neck. He flinched a little, then looked down at me and said,
"Love, do not go for the neck. What I may do after that will not be appropriate; it's too soon for that."
I looked up and smirked at him.
"So you are telling me that a neck kiss can turn you on?"
"I'm telling you that what I'll do after the neck kiss, will turn you on."
"Oh? That confident?"
"Yeah."
Some part of me wants to kiss him again on his neck, just to see what happens next. But now isn't the most appropriate time for that. We are both injured after all.
I joined school the next day. Everyone's jaw touched the floor when they learned what had happened the day before yesterday. Ava was furious to know that Jason was aware of this but she wasn't. Abby asked if she may write an article about it, and I very humbly declined. Noah was out of town. 'some family trouble' is the only thing Ava told me as a reason. Kyle didn't have any pun for this situation either.
About a week passed in peace. My friends gave me constant company, no matter how busy they were. I told them that this was a bad idea, as Ethan was doing the same thing when he got hurt. The person spending most of her time with me is Ave. Though she's too depressed nowadays, since Noah isn't around. I know they love each other a lot, but she needs to breath without him.
That day when I went back home after school, I found Dad and Ethan having a conversation. What was Ethan doing here though? Shouldn't he be resting?
"Welcome home Grace."
Dad welcomed me and asked me to have a seat. I sat beside Ethan.
"What were you guys talking about?"
I asked scooting closer to Ethan. Dad doesn't has any misunderstanding with Ethan anymore, and he's happy that we are together.
"We thought it's time we took some actions. We can't keep waiting for the person to strike back again so we could catch him."
Ethan said, and then nodded at dad, as if asking what he said was correct. Dad nodded back at him.
"So, what's the plan?"
I asked, no one in particular.
"We are waiting for someone, so we can begin."
Dad replied.
"And who are we waiting for?"
"Me."
Reyansh answered my question as he entered the living area.
This is the first time I'm seeing Reyansh after the day of the accident.
We have a lot to discuss. Everytime I called him, or texted him, he'd just make lame excuses and postpone the conversation. But why were dad and Ethan waiting for him?
"Took you long enough."
Dad said to Reyansh, very unpleased by his late arrival.
"I was waiting for Grace to be home."
"But I didn't see you outside."
"Disguise is a part of my job."
"Reyansh; I think it's time you tell Grace about the job you've been doing recently."
Ethan said giving Reyansh a Stern look. Reyansh raised an eyebrow, as if saying, 'seriously?' but when Ethan's expression didn't change he turned to dad.
"Steve, are you sure this is the right time for that?"
Reyansh asked Dad and dad just shrugged as his answer. But wait, did he just call my dad by his name? What exactly is going on here?
Reyansh decided he'll listen to Ethan, so he faced me and started to speak.
"Grace, I've been keeping a record of you."
"Okay... What kind of record are we talking about here?"
"The general. Where you're going, whom you are talking to and all."
"You've been stalking me?"
"It's not stalking if I have permission to do so."
"I don't remember giving you the permission."
"You didn't, Steve did. After your return from Jason's match, he noticed marks around your neck and suspected something was wrong; so he appointed me. My job was to keep an eye on you. See whom you're texting. What you're-"
"Wait wait wait. Whom I'm texting? You've been going through my messages?"
"...... yeah?"
I turned to dad, my eyes blazing. He just mouthed 'I had to' and that made me even more mad. Even now, he's feeling what he did was right and decides to explain his work rather than asking for apology. I felt like I could explode at that moment so left the room and went outside.
Ethan soon accompanied me there.
"Can't I be left alone for a single moment?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb. I'll wait for you inside."
"....wait."
Ethan stopped in his track and turned around. I buried my face in his chest. Not hugging him, just taking his support.
"This is all so annoying....."
I said in muffled voice as my face was still buried in his chest. He rubbed my back to comfort me, kissed the top of my head and said,
"It'll never happen again. I won't let it. But you need to be strong now. Can you do that?"
I didn't reply and we stood there like that for some time. When I finally pulled back and decided to speak, I was interrupted by Reyansh. He climbed down to us as he said,
"Sorry to break it to you but we don't have entire day. You can complain about your privacy problems later."
"Reyansh.... I believe you should apologize for that."
Ethan said with warning in his voice.
"I won't. You know how I work Ethan. While I'm working, I'm just working. She is nothing more than my client's daughter right now."
Wow.... Hearing that hurt me more than I thought it would. Nothing more than his client's daughter? Just... Wow.
"And you know how it is with me, right? I insist. Keep yourself humble around her. Working or not."
Ethan's words were simple but they conveyed a lot more than what they sounded like. Maybe, even more than what I could understand. Ethan and Reyansh were glaring at each other, but then Reyansh broke into a smirk and went inside. Ethan and I followed him inside after few more minutes. As we took out seats, Reyansh continued.
"So I was keeping your whereabouts for a long time, and then this incident with Martha Brooke happened. Steve thought I'm not trust worthy anymore, since my job was to keep you away from danger, not to invite you to face them. I was okay with it. But then this mystery shootout happened in this house. Though it wasn't my case anymore, I couldn't let anyone die like that, so I strated investigating again. On the day of the accident, I could have easily remained out of sight, but I thought, if I remain on the radar, maybe that person won't attack. Or maybe you two will go back, thinking you two were being followed. But... Well, I was wrong."
I was feeling so stupid then. Everyone in the room had played their part perfectly, but me. I was the reason that everything was so messed up.
After few minutes of silence, dad took the initiative.
"What's done is done. We should focus on what is to be done next. Grace, who do you think could be responsible for that accident?"
"I don't know. There aren't many people who can pull something as huge as a road accident."
"How about Martha? Maybe not for the previous one's but she could have been responsible for the last attack."
Ethan suggested.
"I think the chances of Natalie are more. She had a motive to stop me from going to the games as well. And since her mom is in the lock up because of me, I think she could have arranged for the road accident."
I said, seeing between dad and Ethan.
"Anyone else?"
Dad asked me.
".... Hayden."
I replied, not sure why I took his name.
"Who's Hayden?"
Dad asked with confusion. Ethan knew about what had happened, so he just covered my hand with his on the couch. Dad didn't pressed on the topic and asked again if there were any other possible names.
Ethan moved a little in his seat and then said something which I didn't see coming.
"Jason.."
"Isn't he your brother?"
Dad questioned him.
"He is. And that's all the more reason I'm taking his name."
After chalking out these names, Ethan and Reyansh went back. Reyansh was awfully quiet the entire time. He just sat on the couch with his arms crossed over his chest, not uttering a single word. I can't help but think about what he said earlier. 'nothing more than my client's daughter'. I hate Reyansh from that very moment. I know hate is a strong word, but that's what I felt.
Anyways; I'm more concerned about the bigger picture right now. I'm feeling a bit relaxed now that the investigation is taking a faster pace. I believe it's just a matter of time until this mystery person is caught.