Chapter 34

The young man clenched his hands on the steering wheel, clenching his jaw to consider what he had just said.

'If it's not me, not Evans, who could have killed him on my territory?' He strained his memory, going back to the day Hailey was kidnapped.

The boy thought, changing the memories in his head, until he reached a suspicious moment that he realized only now. Joe, who was out of the building all day. The guard who was leaving the back gate with fear in his eyes.

'Holy shit, it was Joe!' The young man slammed his fist on the steering wheel, causing the car to honk.

James pressed the stereo headset close to his ear, signaling a new order.

'You must kill Hamerson. He killed Dean and also kidnapped Hailey with Evans. Betraying is unforgivable.'

'What about Nathan?' Miller asked, getting in touch.

'It's not his fault that he fell under the influence of my father.'

'Understood, accepted.'

Foster's eyes widened as he saw Williams' men's car pulling out of the woods and onto the highway ahead.

'Buckle up, quick!' The guy warned, turning the car back to get away from the persecution.

'What's happening?' The girl asked in fright, pressing herself into the seat from high speed.

'I'm saving your life.'

James pressed the gas pedal to the floor, accelerating even more to break away, but his father's guards did not lag behind.

They were not that far away. Foster looked in the rearview mirror, noticing that the men were rolling down the windows, pulling the body out of the car with a pistol in hand to shoot. The guy began to wag the rear of the jeep on the road to make it harder to aim.

Shots were fired, but they were all missed, except for one, the bullet flew into the rear-view mirror, shattering it to smithereens.

The guy increased his speed, entering the bridge that was ahead of them. The men took aim again, and one man shot straight into the tire. The car spun around its axis, completely ignoring control.

'Hailey, jump out of the car!' The guy yelled when he realized that he could no longer take power over the machine.

They opened the doors together and James jumped out of the car, huddling up to keep from cramming. Mackenzie was left in the car, unable to free herself from her seat belt. Her hands trembling with fear, she gathered her strength into a fist, and finally unfastened her belt.

The car spun into a new loop again, still at high speed. The girl moved closer to the door, intending to jump onto the asphalt.

And then the worst happened.

James ran after the jeep, yelling for the brown-haired woman to jump out immediately. The car drove to the side, just at the moment when the girl jumped into the air. The wheelbarrow flew off the bridge, breaking the fence.

'Hailey, no!' The young man shouted with animal fright, running up to that place to see how the car flopped into the water.

'James, give me your hand! Get me out!' The girl shouted, holding tightly with her fingers to the fence that hung over the water.

Foster ran to the edge of the bridge, reaching out for Mackenzie to grab it, but the distance wouldn't allow another twenty centimeters.

'Hold on, just don't let go,' the blond man said with a tremble in his voice, still trying to reach out his palm.

'I'm afraid, Jay, please get me out of here,' her eyes watered in fear that she would fall.

'Pull yourself closer to me, I can't reach you.'

The brown-haired woman unclenched her fingers and let go of the railing, moving her palm closer to the bridge, after which she pulled herself up to that place.

Panicked, her hands were sweating, threatening to slip off.

Foster held out his hand again, and yet the girl managed to grab onto it, almost falling as her other hand nearly fell off.

'Just don't let go, I beg you.'

The guy grabbed Hailey tightly, his fingers clenched around her palm, but he could feel her pull out too. The hand nevertheless flew off the railing, and she hung on one, screaming loudly.

For two, the heart skipped one beat in fear.

Both had tears in their eyes.

The two had the realization that this was the end.

'I'm falling, James. I can't hold on anymore, I'm sorry, forgive me,' the brown-haired woman chirped, looking into the young man's blue eyes.

'I'm sorry, Hale, that I ruined your life, I just...'

'I felt good with you, even when I was sober,' the young lady smiled bitterly.

They both knew they were saying goodbye.

The sound of the engine distracted them, and the guy turned his head to the side to see Williams' men driving away.

There was no point in waiting, they also knew that this was the end.

'I'm not angry with you anymore, James. Don't blame yourself for this. You said I was an angel and angels can fly.'

And the girl's hand slipped down, just as her body began to fall rapidly.

'I love you, Hailey! Hailey, I love you, do you hear me?!' The guy shouted through tears and despair, which was so stuck in his throat.

And when Mackenzie fell into the water, his heart broke.

* * * *

The guy opened the door to a room closed to everyone, going inside as if into another world.

Yes, that's how it was.

The scribbled white walls reflected all that pain and joy of the soul. The rumpled bed said that James had been here once, sleeping and writing his letters to someone.

The one he wanted to talk to but couldn't.

Every sheet of paper scattered on the table was dedicated to Dean.

Miller sat down on a chair near the window, picking up all the letters so that he could read each one. They were scattered all over the surface, all the letters were special.

The guy found something similar to the first appeal, and began to read what was written, gradually getting used to Foster's body.

Letter one:

'I slept poorly, trying to fall asleep until morning, until I felt her lips on mine. I felt her warmth next to me, it's crazy, right? Anyway, I like these hallucinations. Is it hallucinations at all? All day I swallowed these pills again, just to see her again. She was so beautiful today and so real. Could she really be here? I'm confused. Today we danced with her, can you imagine? I put on our favorite song and we just danced to it. I touched her, I think it's real. All day, we were like this, slowly moving to the music. My hands were on her waist and hers wrapped around my neck. We just looked at each other all day and danced.

Until she left me again...'

Second letter:

'I couldn't sleep that night, my brain was practically asleep, but something was wrong. I got sick again. My body twisted because of the chemicals that I took all these days, because apart from them there was nothing else inside me. I ran to the toilet and threw up. I was in so much pain, my friend. My body was throwing up non-stop. I just sat there, leaning against the toilet and coming to my senses, after all this. I haven't eaten in days, or weeks, or months? What day is today? I seem to be lost in prostration.

How long has it been since Hailey died?'

Third letter:

'I opened my eyes, realizing that I had fallen asleep in the toilet, in the same place where I had stayed. My head is spinning, my friend. I'm still just as bad. My stomach hurts to such an extent that I'm afraid I'll be lying on the bed again,

just to get to it.

Only three pills left for her to come to me again. I miss them,

I'm afraid,

that she will leave me again.

Oh, I've been throwing up again. It was even worse than yesterday. Why is blood coming out of me?

I'm exterminating myself, Dean.'

Fourth letter:

'I just lay on my bed all day, staring up at the ceiling. She lay next to me

today.

I had to take all three pills at once just for her to come. And she showed up...

We lay on the bed with her, holding hands. Her palm was so warm, her slender fingers caressing my knuckles so it wouldn't hurt so much,

because I still felt bad.

She sang me a song and I listened to it with my eyes closed.

You've never heard such a voice in the world, I'm serious. Damn, he was so soft, so velvety and innocent. It was the voice of an angel, and she herself was like an angel.

We just lay there all day and I tried to remember it.

The warmth that emanated from her.

The voice that I was finally able to sleep soundly.

Her look the way she looked at me.

The touch when she tried to comfort me because I was lying there crying knowing that I would never see her again.

I just wanted to remember it longer.'

Letter five:

'It was cold around me,

I was alone again.

I opened my eyes and all I saw was an empty room with empty alcohol bottles. My reflection in the mirror was terrible. Under the eyes there were bags from lack of sleep, the hair grew back, losing its blonde color.

I became brown again.

My body was so thin, brother. It was possible to cut paper on my cheekbones without the help of any scissors. I was so tired and broken, Dean.

She didn't come to me today. There were no more pills and all I could do was cut my veins until I passed out.

Good night, Jay

and

hello, Hailey.'

Sixth letter:

'I opened my eyes, not understanding what was happening.

It wasn't Hailey in front of me, it was Tyler. He said something, looked at me, and then said something again, touching my hand along the way.

He called somewhere at a hurried pace, shouted something,

but I didn't hear.

The eyes were cloudy, and any voices disappeared. Everything I heard

it was nothing.

I was too weak, Dean.

I don't know, I just wanted to see her, but she didn't come, even when I was in the world of illusions.

It was painful and scary that I was left alone.

My eyelids were heavy and I wanted to close my eyes, but I saw a woman's silhouette behind Tyler as he tugged at my shoulder and talked stormily on the phone.

Hailey stood there and just looked at me.

I really didn't want to close my eyes lest I lose her again, but the eyelids were too heavy to keep holding on.

I fell into the darkness with her quiet whisper in my ear:

'I'm here for you.''