Astrid’s POV
"We have to fight this together, Draven." I started speaking to him the moment I got a hold of him.
I grabbed his hand. "There’s no way you’re running from this. We’re in this together."
He pulled his hand from mine, looked me in the eyes, and said, "I blame you for all this. If you hadn’t put it in my mind to kill Selene that night, we could have worked things out."
That was cruel coming from him. It also broke my heart. How could he say such nonsense to me? He wanted to make me cry.
"How dare you, Draven? You know if we hadn’t done what we did, we’d be the ones exiled ... or probably dead by now ... and you’re blaming me?"
He turned his face away from me. That was the real him showing. In difficult times, we tend to show our true selves, and our true dispositions get revealed. This tension had unraveled who Draven really was.
I didn’t know what he thought of me, though. I loved him, but I wasn’t sure if he felt the same about me.
"So would you rather I died than Zane or Selene?" I asked him.
"I never said that."
"But that’s what you’re implying. We did this together. We just have to tighten the loose ends." I took his hand again, and this time he didn’t pull away.
I hugged him. Tightly. Held him like it was the last time I’d ever see him. The stakes had gone higher. I was beyond anxious. I felt near death, if not dead already.
He hugged me back too. And then, for the first time, I said it where he could hear it.
"I love you." It was soft, subtle. But he heard it. I wasn’t expecting a response. I’d finally summoned the courage to say it, so I did. I didn’t know when I’d have the chance again.
As expected, he didn’t answer my confession. He only hugged me tighter and kissed my forehead.
Didn’t he love me? He couldn’t tell me we’d just been fucking and he hadn’t felt a damn thing. That was a battle for another day. For now, we had a case on our hands.
The investigation was still ongoing. Draven and I agreed to check the footage from the time we’d been in the room, one more time. We called the guy who’d helped us tamper with it before, to have him recheck it.
He rechecked it, then hacked back into the feed for the entire Bloodmoon.
Damn. We hoped they’d believe it this time. I couldn’t afford any more issues.
Speaking of Selene, I messaged her. She didn’t reply.
When I got home, I told my parents I’d tried, but she hadn’t responded.
"What do you mean she didn’t reply?" my dad asked.
"Her messages showed she’s online, and she read it, but she ignored it, so..."
"How do you know if she’s fine or not?" my dad pressed.
"She’s probably fine. She must be having the time of her life in Winterwood, Caden," my mother said to my dad.
My dad just looked at her and didn’t say anything else. I was sure it was because he didn’t want to fight or argue.
My dad let it go. Selene was living her life. We had to live ours. We couldn’t afford to pause living because of an exiled bitch, I told myself.
My dad looked sad, like he hated the idea of Selene not responding. He headed inside, and I followed him.
"Dad, what’s wrong?" I asked as he was about to enter his room.
"I’m fine, Astrid."
"No, you’re not, Dad. You’re worried about Selene," I told him.
"I want to know she’s okay," he finally admitted.
"If we could visit her, we would have. But we can’t, so..."
"I know, daughter. I’ll try to get a hold of her. How are you doing?" My dad switched to checking on me instead.
"I’m fine, Dad."
"How’s the prep going for the Morvaine Music, Arts and Science Fair?" he asked.
That was the question I didn’t want to hear. It was still weeks away, and I hadn’t prepared a single thing.
"It’s going great, Dad, I promise."
"Alright. I look forward to spending some time alone with you, daughter."
"Like dinner?" I asked.
He said yes, then kissed my cheek.
I think I was pretty happy that day. I’d almost gotten back with the love of my life, and my dad wanted to have dinner with me.
What a day. My mom didn’t care. She was the one convincing my dad he shouldn’t worry about Selene, but deep down, he did. I didn’t care about Selene, but I loved my dad, so I had to look out for his happiness and wellbeing.
As I was getting ready for bed, I texted Draven, asking if everything with the doctored video was fine.
He said yes ... he’d uploaded it to the Bloodmoon server again.
We were supposed to meet the next day. Draven hadn’t brought up that restraining order again, and I was relieved. Nothing was going to stop us this time.
"Tomorrow, right? Bloodmoon Square."
"Yes, Astrid." We were going to meet and actually enjoy ourselves. Nothing was going to stop us again. The loose ends were tied up. There was nothing left to worry about. Or so we thought.
"Good night," I said, because I was tired.
No response. The message ticked twice ... he was online, but he didn’t reply.
What’s wrong with Draven now? I wondered.
Then I heard a knock at the door.
"Astrid, go check who’s at the door!" my mom yelled.
It was 10:02 p.m. We were all supposed to be in bed by now. So who could be knocking?
I had no choice but to go downstairs and see who it was.
Opening the door gave me the biggest shock of my life.
It was the police. My heart nearly fell out of my mouth.
"Astrid Ironheart, you’re under arrest. You’ve been found to have conspired with Draven to doctor evidence footage linked to a crime. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you. Come with us to the station," the lead officer said.
That meant Draven had already been taken into custody too. No wonder he hadn’t replied.
Just when I’d wanted to enjoy myself, my worst nightmare had begun all over again.