Chapter 35



ℍ𝕠𝕥 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕒𝕝𝕤𝕠 𝕓𝕖 𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪, 𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕔𝕠𝕝𝕕

Lucas POV (ℙ𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕕𝕒𝕪)

I didn't know what was worse.

The fact that Damien was dead, Eve was emotionally frustrating me, or that Rita was a cockblocker.

As Rita busted out the bathroom, cutting short our little tryst, I couldn't help but chuckle at the look on Eve's face. It was nothing but epic. The fact that she was also frustrated gave me some form of satisfaction. At least, it wasn't just I who was affected. Knowing she was as dishevelled as I was, brought a kinky smile to my face.

I went into my room after that and began planning my next move. Eve and Jay were hiding something big, so was Rita. It felt like everyone who was supposed to be helping me was somehow hiding things from me, coupled with the fact that I had just lost my best friend, I had to get to the bottom of it all.

My original plan was to seduce Eve into given up whatever secret she was holding from me. It was going fine until Rita had to come out at the wrong time. So now, I needed a different action plan. Just as I began drafting and plotting, I was called upon for dinner by, thankfully, Jay. I threw on a pair of brown shorts and left the room, shirtless. My main aim was to taunt Eve until she ran into my room begging to be touched. And knowing Ms Red, I knew my work was cut out for me. But it was worth it if it meant uncovering her secret.

The dinner was thankfully calm and collected. Everyone acting like civilized human beings. With Rita right hand on a stake and the other on her keyboard, I knew the dinner couldn't get any better than this. Jay tried to bring about small talks but Eve was been uncooperative, obviously distracted by my heaving, sculptured chest.

I sent her a sexy smirk and she growled.

"I scanned the footage from the hospital," Jay said and Eve's eyes snapped towards him, flashing with sudden interest.

Jay smirked at me triumphantly. He had succeeded in getting Eve's gaze away from me, but that victory was going to be short-lived. "He wasn't in the hospital that day or the next. Which means...."

"I had met him someplace else." Eve finished for him. I looked between them, confusion etched beneath my gaze.

"Who the hell are you guys talking about?"

Eve huffed, throwing me a heated look. "None of your business-"

"Oh, you will not give me that crap again. If we are in this together, then let's be in it, completely." I slithered tightly. So much for being calm and collected.

"I am trying to eat here." Rita groaned, her eyes finally lifting from her laptop. It seemed like our banter had gotten to her. "You guys should just fuck already we can all have some peace."

She stood up, shutting her laptop in the process and left the room. I stood up and followed her, leaving Jay and Eve at the dining table. The moment I stepped in after her, I shut the door behind me. She turned to me in surprise, eyes flicking wide.

"What the hell?" She groaned, eyes pinned on my muscular form.

"We need to talk," I said and sauntered deeper into her neatly organized room. Rita moved away from me, making way as I passed her and went to comfortably place myself on her freshly laid bed.

I lifted my lashes and glared at her. "Why are you running researches on me, Rita?"

Her already flushed pupils widened. "What is this? Some kind of interrogation?"

"It is whatever you wish it to be, Rita. I just want answers. What is the motive behind your scrutiny?"

Rita scoffed. "You are one to talk. I should be asking you that question considering the fact that you ransacked my tent two nights ago. What were you looking for exactly?"

My face froze. She knew. She'd known and said nothing. How convenient for her to bring it up when I was asking her about her motives. "If you answer my question, I'll answer yours." I breathe calmly. She thought she was smart, and that was too bad because I had no intention of letting this go.

After what seemed like an eternity of visual staring down, she finally sighed, then walked up to sit beside me. "I have been seeing you in my dreams for some days now."

My eyebrows lifted. "I don't understand."

"It feels like memories. I'm guessing suppressed memories. I haven't told anyone this before but I cannot remember who I was before five years ago."

I turned to look at her more keenly. "Go on.."

She sighed. "Five years ago, I woke up in a cottage in the middle of Transville's woods, and the person who sat beside me was Jay's sister."

My brows narrowed. "Jay has a sister?"

Rita nodded. "He does. Her name is Maria. She told me that I had turned up on her porch a week prior, looking almost dead, my face partially disfigured."

Rita caught me scrutinising her features and smiled. "I completely understand your confusion. The first thing my hands did when she told me was to feel up my face to know just how bad the damage was, only to feel smooth blemish skin. I had been as perplexed as you are now I tell you."

"So how? Is she like a plastic surgeon or something?"

"Not her, Jay."

I stood up, my confusion increasing. "I don't get this, you mean to say Jay is a plastic surgeon? I thought he was emergency personnel?"

Rita tutted. "Nope. I really don't know why he keeps that part of himself hidden though. He came in days later and explained that I had hit my head badly, that it was the reason I couldn't remember anything before that moment."

"Even who you were?"

"Yes, I couldn't even remember how I looked like before the surgery, neither could I remember my name. So Maria gave me Rita, trained me, took care of me, and introduced me to Eve."

I turned to her at the mention of Eve. "Eve was there?"

Rita bobbed her head in response. I walked over to her dresser and leaned on it. "Can you tell me what you saw in the dream?"

"Well, I keep seeing your face smiling over me, guiding me towards a tunnel. I was trying to make sense of it, that was why I went in search of your background. I wanted to know if something about your past could trigger mine."

Wow. I was completely dumbstruck. I had thought her researching me was for malicious reasons. What I just discovered was someone who needed answers to personal questions. I felt like a fool yet again for doubting her.

"I am sorry we went into your tent that night." I blurted, raising from the cool wood and moving towards her. "We were just being foolish - which was confirmed when you explained everything the next morning."

She smiled. "I know trusting each other is kinda hard right now, especially with Laura playing mind games on us. But trusting in each other is how we defeat Laura, it's how we win. I hope you and Eve can see that. If you need to take care of obvious tensions between you too, do it, then get back to purpose because when one side is weakened, so is the entire circle."

I just stood there awed at Rita's reasoning. Eve needed to listen to Rita more, she'd learn a lot if she did. I opened my arms and watched Rita frown, a playful smile curving beside her lips.

"Come on Rity bear, friends?"

Rita chuckled. "Rity bear? Really?"

"That's gonna be your new name if you don't jump into my arms right now."

She stood up and came towards me. "I'm only doing this because I don't want that dreadful name."

I chuckled. "Whatever you say."

She stepped into my outstretched arms and I wrapped them around her tightly, encouraging her, apologising to her, comforting her like I would have done to Lydia if she was alive.

We stood like that for what seemed like hours. Rita taking everything I had to offer, drawing strength from me, and at that very moment, I knew we had created a special bond, a connection. Like the one, I had with my sister, and with Damien.

Just as she took I received. Received closure, received strength to process losing Damien, process losing everything and everyone I have ever loved.

As Rita's arms tightened against my midsection, the room door was pushed in and Eve stepped in. Only to freeze at the threshold at the sight before her.

I reluctantly released Rita and she did the same to me. "Thank you." She whispered up to me and I smiled in response.

The look on Eve's face stopped the words that were about to slip from my lips. She looked frigid and pale as fuck.

"Eve are you okay?" Rita asked from beside me, taking the words straight out from my thoughts.

"We need you - the both of you out now. There's been a change in plans. We are going to Laura mother's house in thirty minutes." With that, she turned and walked out of the room, slamming the door as she did.

I turned to Rita and she shrugged her shoulder, her eyes also filled with questions.

As we followed after Eve to the parlour, I couldn't help but wonder if what I just witnessed was jealousy or something else. And deep down, I wished it was jealousy because somehow I knew something else wasn't a pretty option.