Chapter 89 89.Other Halves
Tabitha’s POV
I barely notice the motion of the vehicle as it carries us from the track to somewhere else entirely. Andrew sits beside me quietly while I try to process everything. One moment I’m at the track watching my stepbrothers getting carted out to an ambulance, and the next moment, I’m being ushered into a private yacht. The doors close, the staff step back, and suddenly I realize we are inside.
I look around. The yacht rocks gently as it leaves the shore. The music from the orchestra just a few meters away from our table swells softly, a slow romantic rhythm that feels almost cruel against the chaos still crawling through my mind. I feel disconnected, like I am watching someone else as the scene around me unfolds.
“Can you believe they made us do this after the race?” Andrew laughs softly, swirling the champagne on his glass.
He glances at some of the journalists in the corner of the yacht who are not even trying to conceal their presence. There are over at least ten of them, with four holding cameras while the rest either have a laptop open or a notebook—all watching us like we are some kind of an interesting ape experiment. I think I hear them talking about writing a ‘romantic article’ on the aftermath of the Tropical Thunder Circuit which is the date between the circuit king and his ‘chosen maiden’ which happens to be me for some reason. So now, they look like a bunch of news-hungry creeps who are shamelessly gawking at us, snapping photos, and taking notes of our every move.
“Don’t they make you uncomfortable?” I ask and nervously drink some water. I don’t think I can handle any wine right now.
“They do, actually.” Andrew grabs the frites from his plate and pops it in his mouth. “Although to be frank, I think I’m still partially blind from all the camera flashes that I took right after the race. So, I can barely see them from here..”
“Yeah…” I let out an absentminded laugh. “Congratulations, by the way. You did well in the race.”
“Thank you.” Andrew raises his glass for a toast. “For a memorable race and unexpected reunion.”
“Cheers.” I clink his glass with my water.
He tears into his surf and turf but I can’t find the will in me to enjoy the delicious food on my plate, not even with supposedly relaxing music from the orchestra band. The steak is like gravel on my throat and not even the sight of that juicy lobster or creamy mashed potatoes make a difference. I feel… hollowed. Like a big chunk of myself is missing. And that something is screaming at me internally, telling me to jump off the yacht and swim my way back to the shore to reunite with my other half… other halves.
I shake my head and drink water again.
Andrew leans back and notices me staring into space.
“Hey, you’ve gone quiet. Am I boring you?” he asks.
I glance at him, guilt rushing in. “Sorry, I wasn’t just—”
“Nah, I was just messing with you.” He grins and wipes his mouth with the napkin. “I know you’re worried about your stepbrothers. I mean, it was horrible.”
I exhale, trying to ground myself.
“Yeah, everything happened so fast. I was just…”
“Shocked. I get it. Winslow and Harrington—those jerks really have to offer a public apology or something for causing a mess and endangering the lives of other riders.”
I nod, feeling a flare of anger growing in my chest at the mention of the riders who caused the terrible accident that resulted in Reed and Luca in stretchers. They have to pay for that.
Andrew sets his glass down, eyes meeting mine. He lets out a sigh.
“What am I doing? Sorry if I dragged you here, Tabi. I’m practically a foreigner on this island, so I didn’t know who else to give the golden wreath to. So, I gave it to you. Sorry if that held you back from following your stepbrothers to the hospital.”
I shake my head.
“No, no it’s okay! I mean, it’s not your fault and I don’t blame you.”
I push my hands into my lap and take a deep breath. The empty feeling in my chest is growing bigger to the point that I’m having a hard time breathing. I feel weak. I don’t feel like myself.
I’m really worried about Reed and Luca. Werewolves heal fast, yes, but their crash looked serious. I remember the blood before medics crowded the scene. Their fall was not minor.
Andrew seems to notice my agitation.
“You can go back to the shore if you want. Head to the hospital and check on your stepbrothers. You don’t need to finish this date.”
I glance around at the staff and media still taking pictures.
“I don’t think I can leave just yet, at least not with those hounds sniffing our business. We’re literally in the middle of the sea right now. They’re expecting us to finish the date and act all lovey-dovey. They’re not gonna let any of us go until they’re satisfied with their scoop.”
“Alright. Let me handle that, then.” Andrew laughs lightly and extends his hand.
I raise a brow. “Handle it by… dancing?”
He winks at me. “Trust me.”
So, I do. I take his hand, still confused but complying. The orchestra begins with different music. This time, it’s slower, and more romantic—intimate. The media team scrambles on their feet and begin snapping more pictures as me and Andrew sway through the wooden floor of the yacht. Flashes from the cameras almost blind me, but I try to keep my footing as he twirls me once, then twice.
And on the second twirl, Andrew leans in and whispers. “Pretend to faint on my signal.”
I stiffen. “Excuse me?”
He smirks slightly. “Just do it. Trust me, it's a neat little trick.”
We dance a bit longer, and then he gives the signal. I collapse into his arms, and he catches me, though I hit my head lightly on the floor.
Panic flashes across his face. “Tabi! Are you okay? Help! Someone help us!” he cries at the staff and media personnel around us.
Seriously, if we hadn’t talked about it, I’d think he’s genuinely distraught. He’s a pretty good actor.
The people around us frantically get on their feet and rush forward.
“W-What is happening? Why did she faint?” I hear a panicked voice ask.
“I don’t know! Damn it. Tabitha!” Andrew continues in a trembling voice, shaking my limp body a little. “Fuck, she’s not responding. Call an ambulance! Quick. We need to dock the yacht! She needs to go to the hospital!”
“Captain, turn this ship around!” I hear another voice scream.
I don’t dare to open my eyes as I listen to the panicked footsteps and voices around us. The yacht wobbles as the captain maneuvers the ship back to the shore.
Andrew leans closer and whispers, just enough for me to hear. “Keep pretending unconscious until we reach the hospital. Good luck.”
The yacht docks quickly. Paramedics rush me onto a stretcher and into the waiting ambulance, and before I know it, we’re already at the hospital. It’s the biggest hospital on the island and I have a good feeling that Reed and Luca are here, along with Evren and Jace.
It’s weird. I can just feel it. How the emptiness that I’ve been feeling since I stepped into that yacht is slowly easing, but only to be replaced by an unexplained need to go to a specific place. It’s like my body is connected to an invisible thread and that thread is tugging me towards a certain direction—a place that will help me be whole again.
But the nurses don’t know that. They whisk me into a ward filled with other patients. One of them pull a curtain to create a partition between me and another patient beside me. They check my vitals and stab me with an IV drip. A doctor comes into the ward to check up on me and the other patients.
“You need to rest,” the doctor says firmly when I attempt to get out of the flimsy hospital bed they put me in.
“I’m fine,” I protest.
“No, you’re not. You have a cut on your temple. And you look pale. Have you been doing any grueling activities in the past few days?”
I stroke the cut on my right temple but the nurse who is cleaning my wound hisses at me and demands to stay put and let her do her job unless I want to walk around with a bleeding head.
“It’s just a scratch. It’s no big deal,” I try to reason out.
“Eitherway, you’re gonna have to rest for the night, miss. Do you have any relatives that we can contact?” the doctor asks.
I shake my head. “That won’t be necessary.” I don’t need my mom rushing all the way here just because I have a tiny scratch!
The doctor shakes his head and sighs. “This one is stubborn. You deal with her. I’ll check with the other patients,” he instructs the nurses before leaving.
The nurse who is dressing my cut wraps it up. They ask me again if I have any relatives that they can contact but I refuse to contact anyone, so they eventually give up, so they move on to the next patient. I anxiously glance at the door, itching to just bolt out of there, but I know that if I attempt that, the nurses will throw me back to my bed. So, I just impatiently wait for the right opportunity to come before I can sneak out.
That opportunity comes sooner almost half an hour later when someone from the speaker announces ‘code blue’. The nurses immediately storm out of the room and head to wherever room they are needed.
Perfect!