Chapter 452
“As if you’re any better p>
Watching them argue somehow makes me smile for the first time since waking up.
Mom shakes her head fondly before standing. “You’ll be okay for a while p>
“Yeah p>
“Okay, I’m going to grab coffee p>
“You should go home instead,” I tell her softly. “You need proper rest p>
She immediately looks ready to argue, but Lilly jumps in.
“We’ll watch her p>
Mom hesitates before finally sighing before agreeing. She leans down and kisses my forehead before leaving.
The moment the door closes, my smile fades slightly and I turn toward Noah.
“What happened to Benji p>
There is a weird silence that settles before Noah answers.
“He’s dead p>
The words hit me strangely. It’s like I can hear them, but my brain is finding it hard to understand it.
“What p>
Adrian steps forward slightly. “When he shot you, you collapsed. The police ordered him to surrender but he refused. He said his revenge wouldn’t be complete until you were dead p>
I stare at him silently as my mind wanders back to that deranged look that was firmly etched on Benji’s face.
“He was about to shoot you in the head when the police opened fire.” He continues, “He died instantly while his mother died on the way to the hospital p>
I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel. I hate what he did. I hate him for everything he put me through… But at the same time I can still see that little boy in my head. A broken, destroyed boy, traumatized beyond repair. What he went through would’ve shattered anyone, especially a child.
My chest aches for him and his sister, but at the end of it all, we are still responsible for our own choices. Whether my father did what they accused him of or not, what he did had nothing to do with me.
“And Casey p>
Lilly frowns. “Who p>
“Elena,” I whisper. “Her real name was Casey… She was the one sending me the texts p>
Realization flashes across their faces.
Noah exhales slowly before speaking. “She didn’t make it… The knife pierced her heart, and they tried operating but she died on the table p>
I close my eyes briefly as the last thing she said echoes inside my head. Remembering that look, I know for sure as my heart beats that she was sorry for whatever part she played.
“And Val? Did you find her p>
Everything and everyone around me goes quiet while hope and fear twist violently inside me.
Noah’s expression changes, and then slowly he shakes his head and my world collapses all over again.
“We searched Benji and Casey’s home, but we didn’t find anything,” he says softly.
After everything, after all of this, we still couldn’t be able to find her. Why? Why would the heavens punish me like this?
A broken sob tears out of me before I can stop it before everything caves in at once so hard it leaves me gasping for air. Even dead, Benji is still ruining my life, still hurting me and making me suffer. How fair is that?
Lilly immediately wraps her arms around me while Juliette joins from the other side. They hold me tightly as I completely break apart.
My pain tears violently out of my chest while grief crashes through me like an avalanche. I can’t stop it. It’s like being in a head-on collision and knowing there is nothing you can do to stop it.
I sit there buried in their arms crying my eyes out because once again I feel helpless. Once again, I’ve failed my daughter.
I cry again and again, until there is nothing else inside me except hollow sounds.
I don’t know how long I stay like that when there is a knock on the door. I’m so lost in my pain that I barely hear it.
“Miss Meyers? There is someone here to see you p>
I don’t look up, but Lilly turns instead and asks, “Who is it p>
The nurse, I’m assuming, answers, “She didn’t give a name but said it’s important p>