Chapter 158 CLOSURE
SLOANE’S POINT OF VIEW.
“I’m getting in my car already.” I giggled on the phone with Lucien; his raspy voice streaming through the speakers made my toes curl with excitement. He was taking me out on a date to the Spot, and would have rather driven me, but I convinced him to let me try driving myself there for once. The other day, he went to see Killian at the mental hospital with the guys. From what I was told, Kilian suffered from a rare form of Schizophrenia, and because of that, he had hallucinations that convinced him false events were true and real.
It was why he thought I was his first long before Lucien and I even started our fake dating saga that turned real. A part of me felt bad for him, but I wasn’t able to visit him…..I don’t think I can yet. So I opted to send him a note last week when Lucien went with the guys on their weekly visits again. At the end of the day, they were always going to be friends. Killian would always be a horseman, no matter what happens.
Now, we can only hope all goes well with his treatment, and he can return home to us and at least live a normal life.
I noticed Lucien seemed a little lighter whenever he returned from the visit; his eyes would shine with mirth and peace, as if a part of him finally received closure, and it made me very happy to see it. Next week, we will be heading to College together, but we are still on the topic of where to live.
Lucien wanted us to live together, but I would rather have some place to myself. The man wasn’t having it; so I have to find a way to convince him to let us live side by side……but knowing my fiancé…I had better luck dragging a mule.
“Okay, sunshine.” He chuckled, in the background, I clearly heard something sizzle…..he was cooking again. Lucien made sure to prepare almost every one of my meals. Even when we weren’t physically together, he would send something over for me….it felt very romantic, and I couldn’t get enough of it.
“Okay….now, hang up.” I bit my lower lip to hide my wide smile as if anyone could see me. Fumbling with the car keys, I dropped my bag on the car seat.
“No, you hang up.” He breathed.
“You’re doing this again?” I giggled. “I'm going to hang up now….” He laughed.
“Okay…one my mark, we hang up together…one.”
“Two,” I added.
“Three.” We said at the same time, but I still heard him breathing over the phone; he didn’t hang up. “You were supposed to hang up!” I laughed out loud, my eyes glancing around until I stopped at the sight of the one person I never thought I would see…..
Matt.
“Hey, babe….I have to go now, okay?”
“What? Why?” he asked, at alert.
“Something came up, but I'll be there soon, okay?” I said, hanging up before he could say anything else….I know Lucien. If I hadn't hung up, he would never let me, not until I told him what was going on. Just as I suspected, my phone started ringing again with his name on it, but I chose to ignore it. The guards at the gate regarded Matt with careful stares, their hands on their assault rifles in case anything went wrong. My dad and Lucien didn’t spare a dime when it came to security, not after what happened with my uncle and Eldric.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I hissed, fixing him a mean glare. “How did you even know how to get here?” My arms were folded.
“Miss Everhart, is this going to be a problem?” Nelson, my dad’s favorite guard, asked, his eyes not moving from a clearly intimidated Matt, who shook visibly.
“I don’t know, Nelson….is there going to be a problem, Matt?” I asked, emphasizing my words.
“No.” his voice shook. “I just want to talk, please.” He swallowed. I stared at him for a moment, contemplating whether or not to allow him access. And maybe it was the sorry look in his eyes, maybe it was the intense guilt in the black irises I’d once upon a time fallen in love with, but I nodded, giving the guards the signal to let him through.
“You make one wrong move, and I promise you, it’s going to be the last one you ever make,” Nelson growled, pulling Matt by his shirt so he spoke directly in his face. Nelson was like a father figure to me, so I understood why he was so protective.
“Yes, sir….” Matt gulped and was let go. Walking towards me on shaky legs, he allowed me to lead him to a much more private part of the building, but still not without the protection of the guards.
“You have three minutes.” My phone was still blowing up, so I placed it in my pocket and focused on him. I’d deal with Lucien later, or if I'm right, he's probably already on his way here.
“I wanted….Sloane….I wanted to apologize to you….for everything I did to you, to Lucien….every form of hurt, and pain I inflicted….I’m so sorry.” He held his hands together; his eyes shone with a light sheen of tears.
“What?” I blinked up at him. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing….was Matt apologizing?
“I heard what Roxanne did.” He said bitterly. “I also heard she was pregnant. Her parents are bankrupt again; this time, they won't make it. Apparently, they were banking on the funds Eldric promised them once he got the company, but since he never did, their company folded under the mountain of debts over them, and they couldn’t manage anymore…
Her father is getting prosecuted for tax evasion too… so yeah, you won, Sloane.” He chuckled, although there was no humor behind it… only remorse. “I thought I had to apologize to you as well. It felt like the right thing to do, especially after all I did.
I couldn’t believe my ears…..Roxanne’s family was done? Were they with Eldric?
“I-I-I don’t know what to say….on one hand, I'm happy you came to apologize; it feels….right…but at the same time, I don’t really know how to react. Is the baby yours?”
He nodded, a sad smile on his lips. “Yeah….turns out she's tried harming herself in prison at the thought of carrying my child, so she's always sedated before she can do something rash again. I tried to see her, but I'm the last person she wants to see.”
“I would expect nothing less from someone like Roxanne…….how are you holding up?” There was no point holding onto the horrors of the past, and all he’s done to me. If I did, I’d have tummy aches for life. It was a new dawn in our lives; closing this part of the past required us to settle and parting ways on a good note.
“Not so good.” He looked away. “Mom and dad are getting a divorce; apparently, he’s been cheating, and now he is also bankrupt… he made bad deals, and because of that, he is no longer going to control the company as the Ceo, nor will he get to be mayor. My mom’s lost her flower shop too….it’s all very bad.”
“And you?” I looked him over; his clothes appeared torn in different parts, and they were visibly old. He also looked bone thin, almost as if he wasn’t eating.
“Roxanne got me even more hooked on the performance enhancers. I thought taking them would help matters, especially because of the scout coming from England. If he saw how good I was, I could get to college on a sports scholarship. But that failed, now I am heading to rehab.
I'm getting clean.” He smiled; this time, it appeared lighter. “So yeah, Sloane Everhart.” He laughed, but it wasn’t condescending; it made me smile, too. “This is to a better life, for both of us.” He stretched his palm out for a shake, and I didn’t hesitate. I took it.
“A better life, Matt,” I whispered.
“Goodbye.”
“Bye, Matt…I hope everything works out later.” He nodded and turned away, but before he could go far, I asked;
“Why though…..why did you choose Roxanne?”
“I was a coward, Sloane…a jealous coward. I liked you, but I wasn’t able to tell you because I thought you were much better than me; you were out of my league.” My eyes widened.
“Me? Out of your league? Matt, you were a millionaire’s son, while I was the boring, plain scholarship kid, Sloane…you were better than me.”
“Not to me though…I was just too much of a coward, so I thought getting with Roxanne would make you want me, but it only pushed you further away.” He smiled and waved at me, walking off into the sunset, and with each step, he disappeared from my view, my neighbourhood…my life.