The Seven Devils (YA "New Adult" Romance) (27 page)

Chapter 29

I was resting my forehead against Neil’s hand, idly humming Greensleeves when I heard, “Hello, Beautiful,” in my mind.

My head shot up and I saw that Neil’s eyes were open and he was smiling softly at me.

“Oh, Neil,” I cried, and stood up, wrapping my arms around him. He pulled me into the hospital bed with him and we lost ourselves to our kisses and touches.

“Are you okay?” I asked, finally pulling away. “I’ve been so worried. You took such a hit.”

Neil softly stroked my cheek. “Never been better, Love. I’m just glad you got my message about the gun. I wasn’t sure I had gotten it out before the club came down on me.”

I nodded. “I got it alright.” I glanced towards the empty hallway. “I shot him twice,” I whispered. “They told me that he’s stable now and is going to pull through. Josh is here in town and he brought a lawyer with him, but you already know all of this of course,” I said, smiling. “Unless...” I said, breaking off. “Is everything still working the way it used to?”

Neil gazed into my eyes. “You have no idea,” he said with a small smile. “After I got hit and went down, it was like I was locked in my brain, unable to use my body. After the initial shock I got straight to work. Not only did I stop the swelling, but I made improvements. Ellen, I know exactly how my brain works now. Every synapse; every cell. My potential is limitless. Last night your father was essentially invisible to me. Right now I can tell you exactly where his room is located. I can hear his heart beating. I can tell you every evil thought crossing his disturbed little mind. Nothing can hold me back anymore.”

His face held such conviction. It was amazing to see him so animated and alive after being so afraid he’d never wake up at all. I couldn’t stop running my hands up and down his arms. It felt so good to be connected again.

“You know everything that happened with me,” I said. “Tell me everything that happened to you last night. Where is Derrick in all this? What about my brother?”

Neil closed his eyes for a moment and then began his story. “By the time I got to the lab they had destroyed everything. The place was completely trashed. There was nothing I could do at that point, so I just went back out to my car to come back home to you. Before I reached the car, I saw someone take off running out of the corner of my eye. I locked in on him and could tell he was terrified. I was concentrating so hard on chasing him down that I didn’t realize I was running straight into a trap. I was so careless. Derrick, Austin, all of their friends... they all surrounded me in an empty parking lot just off the church.”

“They all knew what I was capable of, and they were all shielding their thoughts with a varying degree of success. Most of the guys didn’t know much of why they were there other than they were going to beat on the freak. Your brother and Derrick, however, were deliberately hiding something from me. I could feel them blocking something.”

“I confronted them, but it was clear their main goal was to stall me. Suddenly everyone descended upon me at once. Apparently Derrick thought I could hurt only one person at a time with my abilities, so their plan was to overwhelm me.”

I took Neil’s hand, trying to picture the situation. “I had all the guys turn on each other,” Neil explained, rubbing my hand with his thumb. “One second they were all running at me, and the next they just turned on each other and beat each other senseless. Everyone except Austin and Derrick. I froze them to their places. Unable to move, they were both on the verge of pissing themselves with fear.”

“Your brother was obviously the weaker of the two. Derrick had told him what I could do, and he saw me turn everyone on each other in a second. He was terrified. I barely had to do anything before he admitted what he had done.”

I sat up. “What do you mean by barely had to do anything? What did you do?”

“Ellen, I know he’s your brother, but remember what he did to you. He brought your father to your house, making sure he’d find you there alone. Do you understand? The last time you were with your father, he tried to kill you. Now your brother calls him up, explaining to him exactly how you have ruined all of their lives, and invites him to confront you about it alone. Don’t you see that he knew you most likely wouldn’t come out of there alive?”

I couldn't meet his eyes. “But you hurt him?”

“I did what I had to do to find out what they had done. As soon as I heard that your father was in town, I raced out of there. You know the rest.”

“So Austin and Derrick are okay?”

“I didn’t have time to deal with them.”

I nodded, leaning back against him. My head was such a mess. Why was there so much violence in my life? Was violence always wrong, or was it sometimes justified?

“Ellen, please look at me.”

I sat up and faced him. Neil gazed into my eyes for several seconds. “Do you know how much I love you?”

I nodded.

“I made you a promise that I would never let you out of my sight, that I would never let anyone hurt you. I failed, but I am making sure I will never fail you again, do you understand?”

“I...” I started.

Neil interrupted. “I know sometimes you disagree with my reasoning and you do not like my methods, but everything I do is out of love for you. You are my everything, Ellen. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

He suddenly seemed distracted by the sound of footsteps in the hallway. He looked back at me. “Just remember that I love you and try to understand.”

“Neil, what’s going on?”

A nurse walked into the room at that point. “Ellen, may I please speak with you alone?”

I looked at Neil and back at her. “Could we please talk here? Anything you have to say to me you can say in front of Neil.”

She glanced from Neil back to me and nodded. “Honey, I’m sorry,” she said, placing a hand over mine, “but your father has just passed away.”

I was shocked. “But I thought he pulled through. You told me yourself just a few hours ago that he was going to live! That all of his vitals were stable!”

She nodded. “He was in the clear, but about 15 minutes ago his heart ruptured. There must have been something there that we missed, that’s the only explanation. He was recovering comfortably one minute and the next he was just gone.”

I couldn’t say a word. I wasn’t even sure how I felt about this news.

The nurse continued, “Your mother is with him now. She should be down momentarily to be with you. And you,” she said, pointing to Neil, “It’s good to see you awake. I’ll let your doctor know and he will be down to check on you shortly.” She turned and walked out.

I sat on the edge of Neil’s bed, staring out into the hallway. Fifteen minutes ago he was fine, and now he was dead. I looked back at Neil, not wanting to believe the thoughts forming in my mind.

“Neil,” I said, clutching my chest. “Tell me you didn’t do this. Tell me you didn’t.”

Neil shook his head. “I had to Ellen, don’t you see? You weren’t safe as long as he was still alive.”

My body shook and tears streamed down my face. “But he was unarmed. He was a sick man in a hospital bed, most likely on his way to jail for what he did to us,” gesturing to his head and my neck. “You didn’t have to do this. You didn’t have to do this!” I yelled.

Neil’s head hung low and his voice became deep. “Yes, I did, Ellen.” He lifted his head and I could see the pain in his eyes. “I knew you wouldn’t understand, but I had to face that risk. I couldn’t let him hurt you anymore, no matter the consequences.”

“Neil,” I hissed, “you murdered him! And you said just moments ago that you didn’t have time to deal with Derrick and Austin. Are you planning on murdering them as well?!”

Neil’s eyes held fast to mine. “Ellen, I will do whatever it takes.”

I shook my head in disbelief and stood from the bed. I turned my back on Neil and stared out into the cold white hallway. I stood there silently for several long moments before finally turning around to face Neil.

He of course knew what I had decided before I had said a word, and it showed in his face. I grasped one of his hands and brought it to my lips. I closed my eyes and then leaned my forehead against his hand.

“I love you Neil. I love you so much, but I don’t want to even look at you right now,” I said, tears streaming down my face. “I just can’t be here right now.”

Neil moved his hand to brush the tears from my face. “I know, El. I know.”

I looked into his face one last time and then walked out the door.

Josh picked me up once I called him, and back at his hotel I told him everything. I then asked him for the biggest favor I had ever asked anyone in my life. He of course said yes. We called in the lawyer to ask her assistance, and everything was surprisingly easy after that.

Josh was to become my legal guardian until I turned eighteen, and I was moving (effective immediately) to L.A. There was more than enough evidence to prove my mother was unfit to be a parent, and my lawyer had no problem getting the judge to approve our plans.

Chapter 30

“I still can’t believe you won’t be there when David is born,” Hannah said, stroking her belly.

“I know,” I said and gave her a hug. From the couch in their living room, I could see the massive topiary animals her father had created in the back yard. He was right, they did look amazing in the snow. “You know I’ll visit you whenever I can.”

Hannah nodded. “Will you visit Neil too?”

I was quiet for a moment. I obviously hadn’t told her that Neil had killed my father, only that we were having problems. “I don’t think so,” I said. “I still love him, but I need to take some time off and just concentrate on myself for awhile. I don’t want to lose who I am, does that make sense?”

Hannah agreed. “You take care of yourself, Ellen. I expect updates all the time, alright? I want to know everything about L.A.”

I smiled. “You got it. And I want to know every craving and every stretch mark, too, alright?” We both cracked up and I hugged her goodbye.

Josh picked me up in his rental car. “One more stop?” he asked, looking at me carefully.

“One last stop.”

We pulled into the hospital parking lot. My bags were all packed and Josh had already transported them to his house. All of the legal paperwork had been taken care of, and I was set to complete the rest of the school year using an online service. All that was left was one more goodbye and then I was heading to the West coast.

We rode up in the elevator together. “Do you want to go in first or should I?” Josh asked.

I stared at my shoes. “I’ll go in first before I lose my nerve.”

Josh waited in the hallway and I walked into Neil’s room.

He looked terrible. His face was drawn and he looked thinner. I stared at the floor. “I hear you’re getting out of here in the morning,” I said.

“Is there any way I can talk you out of this?” he asked.

I looked into his eyes. My heart broke... I was hurting him so much. I sat on his bed and took his hand.

“Neil, look in my heart. You know I love you; that will never change. I just can’t be here anymore. Everything here is so dark and tainted. I need to get away.”

“Away from me?”

“I need to remember who I am without you, Neil. I need to go somewhere where I can just be myself and not have to worry about anything anymore. I need time to recover from all that has happened. This isn’t really about you or even what you did to my father. I think somewhere deep down I’ve already forgiven you for that. I just need a fresh start and a new beginning. You will graduate in five months, Neil. Give me this time to rebuild myself, and then come to L.A. for me. I’ll be there waiting for you, Neil. I’m not leaving you, I just need some time and space.”

Neil nodded and pulled me into a hug. “I will give you anything you need, El. I love you.”

I forced myself to stand up and let go of his hand. “I love you too, Neil.”

I walked into the hallway and burst into tears. I knew it was the right thing to do, but the next few months were going to be the hardest months of my life.

Josh handed me a handkerchief and gave me a quick hug. “I’ll be right back,” he said, and ducked into
Neil’s room. He was in there for quite some time, and when he came out I couldn’t tell what he was thinking or feeling. His face was stony and serious.

He held out a hand to me and helped me to my feet. “Are you ready for this?”

I nodded. “Let’s do it.”

**  Look for the sequel to The Seven Devils coming soon!  **