Chapter 51 GUILTY
\[BLAKE'S HOUSE\]
Blake was sitting on the couch, his eyes closed. He was holding Ixora's hairpin, picking himself with the sharp edge.
Only one thought clouded his head: Ixora's lies.
He knew she was lying when she said a random stranger helped her.
It wasn't a random person, but her boss... Drexton.
He had come to figure out who had the scent the day he punched him at his company. He had no idea why Ixora would lie to him.
She didn't like him, yet why was he feeling insecure?
He had known Ixora long before Drexton came into the picture. Trying to ignore the reality seemed impossible.
He was glad Drexton had saved Ixora from the bastard that had tried to rape her, but what were they doing out all night?
Why did she lie to them?
"Ouch," he winced, opening his eyes.
The hairpin gave him a slight cut.
He stared at his blood that was smeared on the hairpin.
The door pushed open, and Audrey walked in.
She got closer and saw Blake's hand.
"What have you done to yourself?" she said, rushing to get the first aid kit.
She returned and took his hand.
"I'm fine, Audrey," Blake said, withdrawing his hand.
Audrey took it back. "Stay still." She applied the methylated spirit.
Blake winced slightly.
"Yet you said you are okay," she scolded, applying a healing patch.
She closed the kit when she was done.
"What were you doing to get yourself wounded?" she asked.
Shifting her eyes, she saw the hairpin, and she immediately knew what had happened.
"Ixora," she muttered. "Why are you hurting yourself because of her?"
Blake sighed. "It's just a minor injury."
"That happened because of her. When will you understand she only sees you as her friend? You deserve someone better," Audrey said, her voice growing thin with anger.
"You aren't the one to decide that for me."
"I have every right to do it. She almost took you away from me! When will you stop this madness called love?! She's just taking advantage of your kindness!" She yelled, standing on her feet.
"You know the reason why she stabbed me. I thought we had already discussed never bringing it up again?" Blake said, almost warning her.
Audrey spread out her arms. "Here we go with you defending her. I have no problem with you loving her, but when it comes to hurting yourself because of her, that's when I can't stand it. She couldn't even value the only thing you gave her. She's nothing but a—"
"Audrey!" Blake yelled, rising to his feet.
He raised his hand to slap her, but held himself.
Slowly, realization began hitting him. He took his hand down.
"Audrey," he made to hold her shoulder.
She raised one of her hands, stopping him.
"Don't," she muttered coldly and walked out of the house.
"Shit," Blake mumbled, running his hands through his hair.
He looked at the couch and kicked it.
\[HELL DEVILS' HIDEOUT\]
Jaxon slid onto the couch next to Maddox. He took a peek at his phone. Maddox was scrolling through Nelly's picture.
"Interested in Pet's friend?" he asked, sitting upright.
Maddox looked at him, pocketing his phone.
"Crazy."
Jaxon took out a pipe and a lighter.
"Scrolling through her pictures." He lit the pipe, drawing in a long drag.
"Not taking an interest in anything related to pet," Maddox replied.
Jaxon nodded, puffing out smoke.
"Where's Drex?
"What do you think?" Maddox replied with a question.
That instant, Drexton walked in. He glanced at Maddox and Jaxon before heading upstairs.
"Going ahead with the plan?" Jaxon's voice made him halt.
Drexton nodded before continuing with the text.
A text chimed in on Maddox and Jaxon's phone.
"The hospital," they muttered, Jaxon putting off his smoke.
Maddox stood together with Jaxon.
"Old man's not around," Maddox muttered.
Jaxon looked at him, smirking.
"Then I'm not going with you."
"Psych," Maddox said, heading to the door.
"Old man is strange," Jaxon said.
Maddox halted in his stride.
"I've always thought so. He's never around."
They left at the same time.
\[FOUR DAYS LATER, MIDNIGHT, IXORA'S ROOM\]
Killing for the first time is not easy, but what's worse is that your conscience constantly reminds you of the feeling. It disturbs you to the point where sleeping becomes a nightmare. You can't sleep or have a peaceful day without having the same thoughts.
Ixora tossed around the bed, holding the duvet tightly above her chest. She hasn't been able to sleep since she killed the person. It's been four days, and the feelings only got worse.
She had tried convincing herself that she had done it as an act of self-defense. Killing him wasn't what she wanted. She had no idea what had gotten into her to make her lose her cool.
She succeeded in getting rid of the body. Nobody would ever find out about it, but she couldn't get rid of the guilt that buried itself in her.
She doesn't know who to talk to. Telling Nelly or Blake is a no for her. And her mom...how would she react, knowing fully well her daughter had killed somebody?
She sat, exhaling softly. There was only one person who knew about it—one person to call and talk to. Somebody she wouldn't in her wildest dreams have imagined calling for help.
They haven't set their eyes on each other since that day. She has been skipping work, and he hasn't even bothered to call her.
She had no idea if she was feeling embarrassed, and that resulted in her avoiding him like the plague.
But this wasn't a different case. He was the only one who knew, and, since it wasn't his first time, he might be able to help her.
She picked up her phone from the drawer. She stared at the number he texted her with, contemplating whether to call him or not.
She clicked the call button, finally making up her mind.
She wanted to hang up the call when he hadn't yet answered.
Before she could click the red button, he answered the call.
Slowly, she pressed the phone against her ear.
She opened her mouth to speak but couldn't form any words.
She took a deep breath and gathered all the courage she could.
"Hello," she said, her voice barely audible.
The other end was dead quiet. She waited for some seconds before speaking again.
"Are you sleeping yet?" She shut her eyes when she realized how stupid she sounded.
Again, no sound.
"Well, I… I called because I... can't sleep." She pressed her lips together.
When he didn't respond, she continued.
"After what happened that night, I've been feeling restless...and guilty. I don't want to believe I did that and I... I just don't recognize myself anymore. I've tried convincing myself... a lot. And these past four days, I've been feeling like a murderer. A criminal who deserves to be punished. It's hard," She mumbled the last part, biting her lips softly.
Her eyes turned misty, tears threatening to fall.
"Murder."
Ixora wiped her tears the moment she heard Drexton's voice.
"Correct. You deserve to be punished. Turn. Yourself. In." Drexton said, his words as cold as ice.
It was as if he were daring her to confess her crimes.
But how could she do that? Turn herself in and be freed of all the guilt, but spend almost the rest of her life in jail. She couldn't do it.
"I can't..." She paused when she heard no sound.
She took the phone away from her ear to see that he had already disconnected the call.
She let out a deep sigh, tossing her phone on the bed.
"What was I expecting? He'll always be the same Drexton Blackthorn."
She switched off the light, lay on the bed and covered herself with the quilt.
She shut her eyes, allowing the guilt to roll over her again.
How she was sticky with blood. How messy she looked. Cracked skull and the knife in his chest.
She kept her eyes shut, tightly.
Suddenly, she felt warm fingers stroking her hair.
Her eyes fluttered open.
The room was calm, but his scent invaded her nostrils like an unwelcome guest.
She faced the other side.
He was sitting beside her while stroking her hair.
The moon gave enough light for her to see his insane visuals.
She didn't know when a smile crept up her lips. She had no idea how he got here so fast or how he got it.
"You c..."
"Shh," he cut her off. "Sleep, firefly."
His fingers drove deeper into her hair with so much ease.
She felt comfortable, relaxed and, for the first time in three days, she felt the guilt easing off her chest.
The smile was still plastered on her lips, and her eyelids slowly hugged each other.