Chapter 62

Soren

I walked down the white hall as I watched the passersby, nurses, and doctors rushing to different rooms, among them families and relatives of those getting treated in this hospital. My skin still itched from the rash, although it was feeling much better than when I'd woken up this morning. Wearing a shirt didn't help as the fabric kept sticking to my body, increasing my discomfort. I would have skipped leaving my house and stayed home to rest if it weren't for how important this meeting was to me.

The traffic of people significantly declined once I reached the right floor, as now, the corridor almost stood empty. Being here again was nerve-racking, but since visiting him the last time, Shay-Lee had hardly left my mind, and I had to see him again before I went back to NYC.

Since I still didn't know what would become of Ashton and me, returning to my home in New York was inevitable. However, calling that horrible penthouse a home was a blunt lie as it hadn't felt like one for the past seven years. Spending the last few months in California had reminded me of my love for the sun and the warmth it carried with it, and my thoughts of returning here for good became much stronger after the meeting I had with Daniel last week, where he'd offered me a partnership in his NYC office. I planned to refuse Daniel's offer, but until it was final, I wasn't going to tell Ashton. If things went wrong, he'd get hurt. On top of that, I didn't want to pressure him by telling him I was planning to move back here. I knew he was struggling with making a decision, and although him staying with me last night gave me the confidence that he might have made his choice, he was already gone when I woke up this morning. Only unlike before, this time, he'd left a note, telling me he'd call me later with a cute smiley face. Being the desperate bastard that I was, I kept the little sticky note in my wallet, eagerly waiting for that call.

Putting those thoughts aside, I cleared my throat and fixed the collar of my shirt, ready to get inside Shay-Lee's room. The poor boy still had a long recovery ahead of him, and somehow, I hoped to help him. I also felt bad for not visiting him in the two weeks since he'd helped us win the case, but I planned on making up for it now. Only as I walked inside the room, I found it to be empty. Confused, I walked back to the hall and stopped the first nurse I saw.

"Excuse me, but could you please tell me where the patient of room 401 was moved to?"

The nurse checked me out through her glasses. "Are you talking about Mr. Rogers?"

So she knew who he was. Then again, I assumed most people did.

"Yes."

"He isn't here anymore," she simply said, ready to go back to her work when I stopped her.

"What do you mean? Where is he?"

The older lady looked around us before she leaned a bit closer, a glint of satisfaction on her face, probably due to the gossip she was about to share. "I'm not allowed to say it, but have you heard what happened to his father?"

In a shocking turn of events, Christian's plane had crashed into the ocean, killing him and all the crew members that were on board.

I nodded, and her smile grew bigger.

"So, after hearing the news, the young boy lost his mind. We needed to inject him with sedatives. Afterward, he was transferred to a psychiatric ward. Can you imagine? That poor kid."

She didn't sound worried at all as she kept on speaking. Clearly, she was having the time of her life, telling everyone other people's business.

"From what I heard, he went through a mental breakdown, but can you blame him?" She moved a bit closer. "From what they said at that trial, he was abused by the dad. One would think he'd be happy the bastard was gone." She paused for a second to rethink her words. "But, if you ask me, I bet he made this whole thing up to get his boyfriend out of jail and get his hands on his father's fortune."

Sickened by her ignorance, I didn't say anything before walking away. And while this vile nurse's mindset disturbed me, I knew many would think the same. This whole case was a scandal that would follow Diesel and Shay-Lee for many years to come. Yet, I had greater concerns than public opinion based on what she had told me. So Shay-Lee had a mental breakdown upon hearing of his father's death? That wasn't surprising, given their unpalatable relationship. Knowing a thing or two about abuse, I knew that, more often than not, victims might develop an unhealthy dependency on their abuser. Especially in a complicated case like Shay-Lee's, in which the abuse went on for years and reached levels of torture no one should ever experience. In a way, until Diesel arrived, Shay-Lee's dad was his whole world, and while being ripped apart from him was good, it wasn't so simple. And on top of all, Diesel just left? Shay-Lee was probably in utter darkness, all alone and scared. I knew this feeling all too well, and I ached to help him in some way.

I could hear the rain pouring even from the parking lot, and I hurried into my car when my phone rang. Once inside, I pulled it out of my pocket to see it was Ashton. At last. A giddy smile spread on my lips with just the thought of hearing his sweet voice, and I quickly took the call that connected to my car's speaker.

"I've been waiting for your call—"

"Soren," Ashton gasped, out of breath.

Upon hearing the panic in his voice, I straightened up in my seat, one hand gripping the steering wheel as I tensed with worry.

"Ashton, what's wrong?" I immediately asked, my heart racing up.

"I need your help."

"What do you mean he hit you?" I rasped, my body throbbing with rage over what he'd just told me.

The rain was coming down hard on my windshield, but that didn't stop me from driving my car as if the road was my personal racetrack.

"That's beyond my point!" Ashton eagerly claimed.

Annoyed by the way he dismissed the severity of Kai's violence, I dodged between cars, trying to get to him faster.

"How on earth is this bastard raising his fists to you, again , not the point?" I nearly hissed out my words, my blood pounding in my head, making it hard to concentrate.

"I should have never told you about that part, so just let it go, alright?"

Let it go? Oh, Ashton! How the hell am I supposed to let this shit go when you've just told me Kai had raised his fists to you?

It was one thing for him to hit Ashton when they were teens, but they were both adult men in their thirties. Over my dead body would I let it go—

"Soren." Him saying my name so firmly forced my mind to quiet down and listen. "I think Kai relapsed. Not that it justifies his behavior, but it means he might endanger himself. Yes, he was wrong to act the way he did, but what would it help to get mad at him now if he gets himself killed?"

From what Ashton told me earlier, Kai had been missing since their fight this morning. If you asked me, he was probably drinking his ass off at some bar, but Ashton didn't care and was determined to track him down.

"It's not your fault," I said, pretty sure he was taking the blame for how things went south.

"It doesn't matter right now. Just get over here quickly, okay?"

"Okay."

Twenty minutes later, I pulled my car to a stop in front of Kai's building, where Ashton had told me to meet him. The rain had stopped for a minute, so I quickly got out, slamming the door behind me. Ashton emerged from where he was shielding himself from the rain, his face pale.

"Thank God you're here," he said after tossing himself at me. "I'm so fucking worried, Soren."

Moving my hand to the back of his head, I held him close. His body was freezing—probably from waiting outside. "We'll find him," I promised him before letting go.

"Let's check his apartment," I said, leading him into the building. When he called me earlier, he said he was too scared to go in there alone because of what he might find. That was why I came so we could do it together.

"When was the last time you were here?"

Taking the keys out of his pocket, he shook his head. "I don't know, two, three weeks, maybe? We usually hung out at my place." Realizing I might not like hearing what he just said, he turned to me. "Soren, I'm—"

"Don't worry about it. Just open the door."

He nodded, pushed the key in, and turned it before opening the door. The place reeked like Kai hadn't bothered to open a window in weeks, which wasn't a good sign. Ashton's shoulders tensed, so I rubbed his neck before encouraging him to step in. The empty bottles of liquor, along with cans of beer scattered around the place, confirmed Ashton's suspicion about Kai relapsing, and even though not one bit of me cared for Kai, seeing this still hurt my heart. Yes, I wasn't a fan of him, and even though in the past I might have said some controversial things regarding his sobriety, seeing that the guy actually had relapsed was sad. He had a job, family, and people who cared about him; he was in a good place, or so we thought.

"Kai," Ashton called as he began searching around the house.

While he did, I scanned the place myself. I picked up one of the bottles and sniffed it. The strong scent of booze burned my nostrils, and I quickly put it down on the coffee table. I paused when I noticed traces of white powder left on the dark wood next to rolling papers, which were often used for weed.

That's just… sad.

"What is it? Did you find anything?" Ashton asked from behind me. I quickly turned around, hoping to hide the drugs from him, but he rounded me.

"Oh, shit." He crouched down next to the table, his face pale. "How could this happen without me noticing?"

That was a big question most people asked themselves after some tragedy occurred. The thing is… we often missed the signs, not realizing they were there until it was too late. But just because you didn't see something didn't make you responsible.

Crouching beside Ashton, I placed my hand on his back. "What's important now is to find Kai, darling, so don't allow guilt to stop you from it."

Ashton turned his head until our eyes met. So much sadness coated those pure emeralds he had for eyes, and all I could do was offer him a small smile.

"Okay."

Holding my breath, I cupped his nape and pulled him close. Kissing his forehead, I held still for a second before pulling away and giving him a small nudge. "Come on, let's go find him."

We drove around the city, checking places Kai used to hang around. Yet, no matter how many restaurants and clubs we stopped by, we had no clue where to find him. The rain was only getting worse, and the closer we got to twilight, Ashton's nerves grew stronger.

We were back in the truck after checking Kai's gym in case someone there had seen him when the phone rang.

"Andrei? What is it? Did you find him?" Ashton spoke fast.

While we searched, so did the others, including the boys and Mel.

"No, not yet, but Miles just said something about how high the waves are because of the storm, and it had me thinking, what if he's out surfing?"

I peeked out the window, my brows pulling close. "In this weather—"

"Andrei, remember that shore I showed you last summer, the one by the cliff?" Ashton spoke over me, already starting the car.

"Yeah, Chief, I do."

"Go there, right fucking now."

"Why? You don't think he's there, do you?" I asked Ashton, whose eyes were focused on the road. "I mean, you need to be crazy to go out surfing in this weather."

Ashton's brows pulled into a deep frown full of worry.

"I know."