Chapter 15

A sharp stinging pain in the sole of my right foot caused me to jerk awake with a scream. Disoriented at first; I started crying immediately. I kept trying to kick and pull my feet away as someone was holding on to the right one. My legs were held down by something strong.

"Stop thrashing around!" I heard, as my legs were held in place.

“No!’”

"Amy, you're safe. But I need to get out this piece of glass that cut you." Another voice said.

Trying to calm down despite my panic state and the pain in my foot, I realized that I was on a bed with Lucas holding down my legs to stop me from kicking. And another guy who I guess was a doctor was sitting at the edge holding on to my right foot.

"Calm down okay? I'm just trying to help you. You were cut by a broken glass bottle. It’s still inside, so you need to calm down and let me remove it and fix up your foot okay?" He said to me.

Sniffling, I nodded slowly at him. Before looking at Lucas who eventually let go off my legs and stood up straight.

"Do what you have to do. I'll be out there." Lucas said to the guy before turning to leave the room.

"Okay." the guy nodded at him before turning his face back to me. "This may be a bit painful but just try to relax and it will be over before you know it."

"OK." I nodded as he took my foot back in hand.

Looking around the room, I immediately recognized it. I was back at Lucas's place; in the room I had stayed in while I was confined here. All of a sudden, everything that happened earlier came rushing back to me. I couldn't help but burst into tears. Oh my God. Matthew was gone; Matthew is dead. I can't believe that he was killed and I had witnessed it.

In addition to my grieving and the pain I felt as the doctor tried removing the piece of glass that had been wedged in the bottom of my foot, I was starting to get more hysterical as I couldn't hold it all in anymore. I wasn’t sure what happened next but I was suddenly having a panic attack and I started kicking and screaming once again. The next thing I knew was that Lucas was back in the room and holding me down again. Greta also came in at some point and they tried to calm me down but I just couldn't help freaking out. I suddenly felt as if I was stabbed with a needle in the neck and slowly I stopped thrashing around and began feeling relaxed. Seconds later, I slipped into a slumber.

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I woke up the next morning with a groggy feeling. My throat was scratchy and hurt- most likely from all the screaming I had done the night before. I suddenly remembered everything that happened the previous night; from me visiting Matthew, those guys shooting him then chasing me and to Lucas saving my butt and me being all hysterical afterwards. I was down, traumatized, in grief and all but I was strangely experiencing unexplainable calm which kept me from freaking out like I had before. My guess was that I was sedated and the drug was still in my system.

After sitting up, I felt a slight pain in my right foot and I remembered that it had gotten injured the previous night. Pulling my foot up, I noticed that it was bandaged. I guess that after they had injected me last night, the doctor had finished fixing up my foot. I also noticed that I was no longer wearing my clothes from last night instead I was wearing a huge shirt which I could only guess belong to Lucas –based on his scent still lingering on it. Someone must have changed me out of that dreaded clothes from before. For that I was grateful because I didn't think that I would be able to stand waking up to those clothes after what I had experienced and what had happened to me while I wore them.

In addition, I just really needed to wash away the previous night from off me. Slowly swinging my legs off the bed, I tried standing up without placing any pressure on my damaged foot. Limping carefully, I made my way to the bathroom while stripping out of the shirt. I really wanted to take a shower but instead I settled for a bath since I had to keep the bandage on my foot dry. Even though I had sedatives in me forcing me to be calm over this whole grieving and traumatizing situation, I was still able to cry when I think about how Matthew had died. I had lost him for good this time.

I had only gotten him back after not speaking to him because I didn’t want to be involved with a drug supplier. And now I've lost him within minutes of reuniting and permanently at that. As I laid there in the bath with my eyes closed, tears still streamed down my face. Every time I closed my eyes, it was like being back in his apartment. It was like this whole thing happening all over again—I could still see his face. I was thankful that whatever drug they had sedated me with was still inside my body or I was positive that I would be going insane.

I must've fallen asleep in the tub because the next thing I knew was that I was being woken up by a frightened looking Greta who immediately wrapped a towel around me. Apparently she had come to check up on me and when I wasn't still in bed, she came to the bathroom and found me there asleep. She must've thought I may have tried doing something stupid— considering my past attempt at suicide. The drugs must have worn out of my system because I was immediately feeling traumatized and depressed and almost on the verge of another panic attack again. I broke down in tears once more. Greta tried to console me and calm me down but it wasn’t working. The only person who could make me feel better now was my mom, which meant I had to get out of here.

Greta had lent me some clothes and afterwards tried to force me to eat something but I just couldn't. I picked around the breakfast she made and only drank some of the juice. I knew that Greta wouldn't agree with me leaving the apartment in my condition and especially without Lucas being the one to give me the go ahead. So I told her that I was going to lay down and that I'd probably eat something that can help with my mood. Greta agreed to bring something to me from the kitchen in a few minutes. The minute she was out of sight, I snuck out. There was no way I could stay here, with these thoughts swirling in my head. I just needed the comfort of my mom.

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**Lucas's POV**

"What exactly do you mean by she's wanted for questioning?" Gio asked Matteo.

"Exactly that." Matteo responded. "The police department sent out a warrant to bring her in for questioning in relations to Matthew's murder."

"So they believe that she has something to do with his murder?" I asked him.

"Well not exactly but they are looking for persons who had prior dealings or any sort of relationship with the guy." Matteo replied. "Somehow they found out that he had a girlfriend- Amy Stewart and..."

"Now she's also a suspect in the homicide case." I finished.

"Yes. They've also got her friend down by the station. The roommate." Matteo replied.

Matteo was one of our guys that we had as a part of the police force. It was always good to have someone on the inside when involved in this line of business. And so far, Matteo has been a great help to us throughout the years.

"Wait, when did all this happened?" Gio asked raising a hand.

"This morning. They went to the apartment to question Amy. She wasn't there but her friend was. She told the police that Amy went to spend the night at Matthew's house and she hasn't been back." Matteo responded. "Since she was also associated with the guy she was taken in for questioning too. But since Amy wasn't at the apartment they are now even more suspicious about her and her whereabouts. The theory is that she killed him and fled or she was kidnapped by his killers."

"Do they know about this Matthew guy being a drug dealer?" Gio asked.

"Yeah, he was listed as one that was supposed to be taken in along with the others and their leader." Matteo responded.

"Is that the guy I took care of?" I asked.

"That's the one. Jared Armstrong." Matteo nodded.

"Okay. And she's at your apartment." Gio said turning to me. "You know if she is traced and found there this could cause problems for you- for us."

"Trust me, no one is going to track her there or anywhere." I said to them.

"Maybe so, but even though I know she is innocent to what happened, she's still wanted for questioning and the fact that she's been missing for hours now..." Matteo began but was cut off by Gio.

"She needs to turn herself in for questioning soon or she'll be a prime suspect with a manhunt out for her arrest." Gio turned to look at me.

"I'll have to bring her by the station myself after briefing her." I responded. "There's no way she can talk to anyone without a briefing on what to say- especially now in her condition. She'd be sure to crack."

"I could try pull a few strings and see if the captain could give me this case so I could do the questioning but it is not a sure thing that is why I figured I should come give you guys a heads up." Matteo replied.

"Thanks, we appreciate it but Lucas will take care of it." Gio replied.

"Yeah, I'll just..." I started saying but my phone started ringing. "...give me a second... Hello, Greta?"

"Lucas, sir. I'm so sorry but I only left her for a second to get her something to eat and then when I get..." Greta spoke frantically over the phone.

"Greta, get to the point. What happened?" I asked seriously concerned now based on Greta's panic state.

"Sir, she's gone. I'm so sorry." Greta replied.

"What do you mean by gone?" I asked getting upset now.

"She isn't here. She left. She told me she wanted something that could help cheer her up and she must have snuck out because...."

"Don't worry about it Greta. I'll take care of it." I said before hanging up and exhaling angrily.

"What happened now?" Gio asked.

"She's gone. She snuck out." I said angrily.

"She can't have gone too far yet could she? Besides, if she out there and the other police caught up with her..." Matteo started.

"I think I know exactly where she went." I said standing up.

"Well good. Send Jay or Carter to go bring her back here." Gio said to me.

"No, I'll go get her myself." I said to him.

This girl was proving to be more trouble than she's worth. The thing was that she had become my trouble to take care of. I was the one who got her involved with knowing more than she should. If she was just a girl who knew nothing, then I would have care less as to what would happen to her but she has a lot of information that she shouldn't in the first place. I couldn’t leave her alone just like that.