Chapter 51

Diesel

"Fucking finally," I grunted when my phone came back to life after hours of being dead.

"What's wrong with it?" Andrei asked from beside me.

"I think it's the battery."

While my phone rebooted, I looked around the school lawns, where our graduation ceremony would start in a few minutes. The place was packed with students, staff, and families. Among them were the four of us, who, despite our shady past, had somehow ended up among a bunch of rich assholes.

"I still can't believe you're leaving tonight," Jessie said while playing with the hem of his gown. Unlike me, the three of them wore the traditional cap and gown.

"I still can't believe you're in a relationship," Levi muttered under his breath.

Even after a month and a half, Levi still found it hard to believe a guy like me was dating someone. In fact, he was more surprised I was in a relationship than it being with Shay-Lee. It was a good thing Andrei hadn't mentioned the getting married part because I was sure it would flip something inside his brain.

"Once you know where you're going, tell us, and we'll come and visit." Jessie smiled widely.

"You bet," I said when my phone was finally restarted. Looking at my screen, I saw I had two missed calls from Shay-Lee about two hours ago.

"Where are you going?" Andrei asked as I stepped away.

"Just making a call," I said, then dialed Shay-Lee's number and held the phone to my ear. The line continued to ring as I made my way between people, and when he didn't pick up, I tried again. When he didn't answer the third time, an unpleasant feeling settled in my chest. Shay-Lee had made it very clear that in no way was I to come to the apartment. He urged me to trust his plan and forced me to swear I'd listen to him. So I did. And while he said he might arrive late to the ceremony, my gut told me something was off.

I pocketed my phone and considered what to do when someone touched my shoulder. Turning around, I hoped it would be Shay-Lee and that I was worried over nothing, but I was quickly disappointed. With a suit he'd probably never worn before and a bouquet I assumed was meant for the four of us stood Chief, looking at me with hopeful eyes.

"How are you?" he asked.

True to my words, I said nothing, with no plans to even spit in his direction.

He bit his lip before nodding, sorrow crossing his face. "I know you're still mad, but I hoped we could talk?"

Rather than answering him, I turned on my heel and walked back to Andrei.

"Diesel," he called after me, but I completely ignored him.

He didn't deserve my respect, not after how he'd betrayed me.

"Everything cool?" Andrei asked as I placed my hand on his shoulder.

"I have to go—" Before I could explain why, Chief joined our circle.

"Are those for us?" Jessie beamed, oblivious to the tension, while pointing at the flowers.

"Yeah, Champ," Chief said, then shifted his attention back to me. "Diesel—"

Chief hadn't finished saying my name when something caught my eye. More like someone. Pushing my way between Andrei and Chief, I walked straight toward the devil in a suit who was standing by the entrance, observing me with vicious eyes.

The closer I got to Christian, the faster my heart beat until I heard nothing but the blood pounding in my ears.

He shouldn't be the one standing here.

He shouldn't be the one smirking at me as I pushed people out of my way to reach him.

In a matter of seconds, the lawn, which until now had been full of excitement and new beginnings, was filled with the blue and red lights I knew all too well. I stopped for a second, looking around as cops began rolling out of their vehicles with drawn guns. Shock and fear spread through the crowd like wildfire, and I knew I had no more than a few seconds to reach Christian.

"What did you do?" I screamed from the pit of my soul while running toward him.

I wasn't afraid for myself.

Never.

I was afraid for Shay-Lee. No. I was terrified.

"What did you do to him?" I screamed again, nearly reaching him, but before I did, I was tackled to the ground by who knows how many cops. With my body full of adrenaline, I fought back to my feet and took another step. "Where is he?" I shouted through the bluster, knowing the monster had heard me.

Not only did he hear me, but he smiled. It lasted less than a second, but I saw it. I saw the wickedness in his sly grin and understood the news it carried, telling me I'd just lost fucking everything.

The world that had been completely silent suddenly erupted in a loud burst as I was slammed to the ground. My head was shoved against the grass, dirt getting into my mouth, while someone pressed his knee to my neck, restraining me as they cuffed my hands behind my back. Still fighting my arrest and the assholes stepping on me, I spotted Andrei trying to reach me. He screamed something I couldn't understand while Chief held him tight, preventing him from reaching me. Seeing the horror on top of the disappointment in everyone's eyes was hard, but I couldn't care less, not when they told me what I was accused of.

"You are under arrest for the attempted murder of Shay-Lee Christian Rogers."

My heart stopped.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

They kept reciting my Miranda rights, which I had heard too many times in my life, but it didn't matter. My mind was stuck on the same fucking sentence that kept going in my head in loops.

You are under arrest for the attempted murder of Shay-Lee Christian Rogers.

You are under arrest for the attempted murder of Shay-Lee Christian Rogers.

I was under arrest for the attempted murder of the love of my fucking life.

And as they lifted me off the ground and began walking me to the police car, my eyes locked down on him, on the demon who was foolish enough to mess with me. Whether it would be in this life or the next, I would kill this man. But death would be too sweet for such a monster who dared to steal from me the one thing I loved in this world.

Yes, death would be too fucking sweet for such a creature, and by the time I finished with him, he'd see me for the monster I was because devils are not born, they're made, and he just created a new one.