So... You guys obviously hate me... And you have every right to. I'm so, very, extremely sorry for the late update. The surgery and recovery have kept me from school and I'm way behind. There is no winter break for me, I have to stay in and catch up and take my midterm tests. It's kinda hectic right now. I THINK I can update again soon, like the twenty-fifth or something. Maybe sooner.
Without stalling any further, ENJOY.
Stephanie pulled up to King's Motors, noticing the familiar car that pulled up right after her.
"Stephanie!"
She ignored the call, killing the engine and getting of. She took the helmet off, her hair falling down by her shoulders. She heard the voice call her again, accompanied by the sound of a car door being slammed. She ignored him again and stomped her way to the entrance.
"I keep calling, why aren't you picking up?"
"It's none of your business." She snapped, never stopping. She felt his hand wrap around her arm in a strong grip, stopping her from leaving him.
"What's wrong with you?!"
"Get your hands off of me!" Stephanie snapped, shrugging Carlos's hands off; "You killed my friend, why do you expect me to talk to you?!"
"What the hell are you talking about, Stephanie? I didn't kill anybody!"
"Those were your co-workers and the officers were working under the DEA!" She yelled, causing people to stare at the scene unfolding; "Those people beat the crap out of him, in the middle of a freaking road until he died!"
"Are crazy?!" Carlos shouted back; "I had nothing to do with that! I had nothing to do with the accident or the video or any of that crap! I'm just like you!"
"No! You're not like me!" She screamed, tears that had been in her eyes slipping down and falling on her face; "You'll never be just like me! All I wanna know is who killed James Diamond and all you wanna know is whose cocaine was it and you're so set that James is a drug dealer!"
"Because all the evidence is against him!" Carlos snapped, he took a deep breath, looking around him and finally noticing the people looking at them awkwardly; "Look, it's kinda obvious we have a lot to talk about, let's just go inside." He said and walked to the entrance, stopping when he noticed Stephanie wasn't following. He turned around to see her standing, arms crossed, tapping her foot at a fast pace; "Move it!"
"Since when?" Ryan asked, crossing his arms and looking down at Dak.
Dak snapped his eyes up, not expecting to see anyone he knew at the coffee shop; "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you." Ryan pulled the chair and sat down; "Apparently, you not only skip classes now; you smoke as well."
"Not that it's any of your business, I might add."
"Yeah... This isn't gonna work out, Dak." The brunette adjusted his glasses; "I was okay with you missing class when you were at home, crying your eyes out over James. Not when you are sitting in a café smoking."
"So what? Kendall smokes."
"Kendall smokes occasionally and if I knew Logan well, I'd say he's trying to make him stop." Ryan shrugged and reached forward, snatching the cigarette out of Dak's fingers. He squashed it in the ashtray and picked up Dak's bag, fishing for his pack. He found it and threw it in a nearby trash can, barely making it.
"And you think that'll stop me?"
"No." Ryan chuckled; "You're gonna buy another one. And I'm gonna find out. And I'm gonna throw it away, again."
"My brother was killed. I can do whatever I wanna do."
"So you smoke, then what? James is gonna come back from the dead?" Ryan shook his head; "You being lost won't bring him back or benefit in any way. And I'm not gonna let you take that down spiral."
"How could you do that?" Stephanie asked and sniffed. She was sitting on the couch in her office, her hands fisted around a tissue and held against her forehead, pushing her hair back; "How do you do that?" She continued, looking at Carlos now. He was sitting on the armchair by her side, his frown deep on his face. "This is our law enforcement department? Those are the people who are supposed to be protecting us, killing people in the street outta no where?"
"Stephanie, something must have been wrong." Carlos tried to reason with her; "And this won't just pass, I promise."
"Won't pass?" Stephanie scoffed; "Right, after you killed James, all is gonna be solved, right?"
"Why are you including me with them?!" Carlos yelled in frustration; "I had nothing to do with this!"
"You're one of them!" She yelled back; "You know what they do!"
"Stephanie, I'm sorry. Even if sorry won't change anything; but I am! I'm sorry, I have nothing more to say!"
"How many are supposed to die like that before you make a move?" She whispered; "Hell, how many died like that before?"
"I'm just like you, okay?" Carlos answered; "I'm trying to gather the details to get to the full truth. Please, calm down."
"I'm calm." Stephanie said, pushing the hair that had falling on her face behind her ear; "I'm calm. What do you want to know? Why are you here? You want to know why James and Steve were fighting over me?"
"Or over something else." Carlos said; "The camp. Steve's idea. You knew that, right? That's why you got pissed when you found out Wayne was James's partner, when the idea was actually Steve's?"
"Yeah, so?" She shrugged; "You already know everything."
"Why do I always have to come to you with the information I should be hearing from you?"
"Fine, I'll tell you everything." She sighed; "Steve had the idea for the camp. When he found out Wayne and Lucy were dating and were actually going, somewhat, steady; he persuaded Wayne to talk to Lucy so she could talk to her father about the camp." Stephanie shrugged; "Then the accident happened and Steve left, but Wayne was already planning an entire future based on the camp. He planned to live on the money that would come from it, just like he did before on the café."
Carlos nodded; "That is why you can't stand Lucy?"
"No, I can't stand her for a totally different reason."
"Why?" He asked; "I'm all ears."
She sighed again; "It was the same party where Lucy introduced Wayne to her father for the first time..."
Almost Three Years Ago, July 2009.
"Hey, boys!" Stephanie greeted with a smile, raising her voice above the music; "Why are you sitting alone?"
"We're not alone." Logan mumbled, gesturing to Kendall who was sitting beside him; "I have Kendall."
The blonde nodded; "And I have Logan."
"Oh, what a match made in heaven!" She chuckled, "Seriously, though." Stephanie said and walked to stand between the two of them; "What's up?"
"Nothing." Logan said, drinking up whatever was in his glass and ordering a refill.
"Well, the guys are looking for you."
"What guys?" Kendall asked.
"Your friends."
"What friends?" The blonde repeated.
"Umm, James and Steve, obviously." When Kendall shook his head and Logan chuckled, she asked; "What's wrong, guys?"
"Those two aren't our friends anymore." Kendall snapped.
"Okay..." Stephanie frowned, "Why? What happened?"
"They want us out from the café." Logan answered.
"Why?"
"They want to open another one at Begley's and another one wherever." Logan shook his head; "They didn't even talk to us, like we're not partners or anything."
"And now Steve is trying to talk to James about opening a camp." Kendall took a drag from his cigarette, the smoke coming out with his words; "Do you know who Steve want in on the camp?" Stephanie shook her head and he continued; "Wayne. They want Wayne. Not Logan and I, Wayne."
"And where did you get all that crap-talk?"
"From the girl who your husband is trying to bargain her father for the land."
"Lucy?"
"Yes." Logan answered; "Lucy."
Stephanie frowned and looked at the girl in question, seeing her walking around, her arms wrapped around Wayne and vice versa.
She stood up and walked towards the woman of the hour, but Logan grabbed her hand.
"Kendall and I are gonna go, okay?"
"Wait for me." She said; "I don't feel like riding my bike back home."
Logan nodded and both men stood up, Kendall grabbing his cigarette pack and lighter, then they both left Stephanie who walked over to Lucy.
"Lucy, wait." Stephanie called; "I want to talk to you."
"Can we not do that now?" Lucy said, taking a large gulp from the bottle in her hand; "I can hardly see right in front of me."
She made a move to by-pass Stephanie, but she was pulled back.
"This can't wait." She crossed her arms; "We're going to talk now."
"Are you drunk?" Wayne said with a smirk, gently pushing Stephanie away from Lucy.
"Don't touch me, Wayne." Stephanie replied, pushing him back. "You're Steve's friend, I don't have to tolerate you."
"I don't have to tolerate you, either."
"I'm trying to talk to my friend, what's there to tolerate. I haven't even talked to you." Wayne shook his head and gave no response so Stephanie turned to Lucy; "Just stay away from my husband and quit playing with his head. Kendall told me about your plans with them and your father."
"Crybaby." Lucy chuckled; "He just couldn't keep it in, could he? Was Mr. Over Emotional in on it too?"
"The Crybaby and Mr. Over Emotional are at least aware of who their friends are, who have their backs and who can't wait to go behind them."
Stephanie glared at them then turned around and stomped her way to the door, leaving the couple glaring at her back in return.
"They told Steve and James you were mad." Carlos concluded, "They followed you and..." His hand came up to rub at his forehead; "And the accident happened."
"Yeah." Stephanie looked down; "Steve was driving, he claimed he lost control or whatever. He flipped over to the other lane, crashed into a woman. They said she was pregnant." She shook her head then looked back at him, frowning. Carlos's hand was rubbing his forehead, shaking violently with every move; "Are you okay? Is anything wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm fine." He replied, his other hand waving her off.
"You're married." She said, looking at the wedding band she had noticed just then; "I didn't know that."
"Was." Carlos answered, his fingers playing with the wedding band. "She died."
"I'm so sorry." Stephanie said, sympathetically; "I had no idea."
"It's okay." He smiled; "She left me Javi, my son." He broke eye-contact with her and cleared his throat; "So Steve was sentenced to ten years."
"I heard."
"Does it matter to you?" He asked; "Does he matter to you?"
Stephanie looked the other way then back at him again; "Is there anything else I can do for you, Carlos?"
Getting the hint, Carlos grabbed his keys and cell-phone; "Not really. I'll see you soon, Stephanie."
Wayne threw the cigarette he had away, crossing the empty parking lot. It was a little after midnight and the streets were almost deserted, the parking lot completely empty.
Or so he thought.
He had his earbuds in, music cranking loud and isolating him from the world. He was walking through the parking lot of Logan's apartment-block, unaware of his surroundings. He didn't see the car that was tailing him ever since he left his father's place and that was now trailing behind him slowly.
The blow came out of nowhere and his hand flew up to the back of his head as he swayed back and forth, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he tumbled backwards, heading straight to the ground.
If it wasn't for the set of hands that broke his fall and half-carried his unconscious body to the car.
"What now?" Camille asked as she sat down, cross-legged, on the sofa next to Logan. "I mean, the video has been spreading and it would probably go viral in a couple of days at most, what is there to do now?" Camille waited for him to answer, but he didn't. He kept messing with his phone instead, not replying to her. She touched his shoulder lightly; "Logan?"
"Hmm?"
"Are you okay?" She asked, "You have been fiddling with your phone for like, an hour."
"Wayne is late." Logan shrugged; "He didn't say where he was going this morning and he isn't picking up."
"Probably getting drunk shitless in some bar." Camille chuckled; "Why do you worry about him so much? I mean, Kendall isn't back yet but you're all worked up over Wayne; not Kendall."
"Kendall is responsible. To some degree, anyway." Logan chuckled bitterly; "But Wayne is impulsive... and stupid. That, and I can't really handle losing another friend right now. Brother, actually. First, it was Steve when he fled, then Ryan stopped talking to me and now James died. I don't think I can." He sighed; "So... you were saying?"
"I was just asked what will happen now."
"What will happen to what?"
"To the video." Camille answered; "It's spreading super fast. So what will happen now?"
"We sit tight and hope that this makes the judge and the jury make up their minds fast and set a court date already."
"Can the force actually claim that it's fake?" She asked; "I mean, judging by how fast it is spreading, I'd say people believe it's real too."
"It's a possibility." The lawyer answered; "Technically, this has never happened before. There have never been a case where a group of officers and DEA agents ganged up on a guy and killed him, not one that I have heard of, anyway. That's why we need to find the person who leaked this video. I don't think they'd be willing to testify but it's worth a shot."
Camille was about to discuss the matter further, but she was cut off when the door-bell rang. She grinned; "See? Probably Wayne." She stood up, picking her purse with her. She walked to the door and opened it, greeting the familiar man on the door. "Actually, your other brother is home."
Kendall chuckled and walked inside, Camille excusing herself and bidding the two men good-bye. He closed the door after her and walked to the living room, where Logan was still sitting.
"And just what is wrong with you?" Kendall asked and took a seat where Camille had just been.
"Wayne went out earlier and he still isn't back."
"Well... Where was he going?"
"I don't know." Logan shrugged; "He said he will come but he didn't."
Kendall nodded; "Umm... Dan figured I worked with Travis and since Travis is a regular of his, he called him. Travis knows the whole ordeal, so he told Dan I actually do want the cocaine."
"Who's Travis?"
Kendall blinked; "The sound guy. You met him a couple of times at Begley's." He shook his head; "That's not the point. The point is, he's going to call me and I will meet him."
"I'm coming with."
"No way." Kendall disagreed; "If he saw you, he'll get suspicious."
"Let him, I don't give a fuck." Logan insisted; "I'm coming with."
"Don't mess with the plan in my head, Loges." The blonde argued.
"I will not be swayed, I'm still coming with."
Wayne opened his eyes slowly, looking around him. He was somewhat still disoriented from the blow he received on the back of his head. He was in a small room full of hay, the black metal door in front of him just helped him prove his suspicion.
He was held captive in one of the stables in Begley's.
Wayne sighed and sat back, wiggling his hands back and forth; trying to free himself from the ropes. He sighed again when that proves to be impossible. It wasn't until an hour later that the door finally opened with a loud noise and Wayne found himself face to face with Dan Begley.
"Oh..." Wayne chuckled; "It's just you..."
"And what is that supposed to mean, William?" Dan asked, motioning for the large man that was standing right behind him to leave the two alone.
"I just thought I'd get to meet your boss for a change, that's all." Wayne replied and smirked.
"I'm my own boss." Dan smirked; "But that's fine... You can say all you wanna say, you'll be dead in a few hours anyway."
"Like James?" Wayne asked; "Is that what happened to him too? He got close to figuring stuff out so you put him down?"
"I didn't kill James, if that's what you're asking." Dan grinned; "Now, are you done being a detective so we can talk?"
If Wayne's hands were free, he would have probably thrown a punch right there. If he didn't get it out of Dan, there's no chance he'd manage to figure out who boss's Begley and the other puppets around.
So he opted to shut up and just glare at Dan.
The later knelt by Wayne, pushing him to his side and holding him down to keep him from struggling. He dug his hand into Wayne's back-pocket, fishing out his wallet. He stood up and back away quickly when Wayne tried to kick him.
"Easy there, boy." Dan chuckled and opened the wallet, going through the money and the papers in it. He smirked in triumph when he found what he was looking for. He pulled the paper from behind Wayne's ID card, "This paper here, is the only thing making you worthy of my time." He chuckled; unfolding it; "How did you manage to get her to marry you is beyond me."
"There's another copy of this in some official office, you know that?" Wayne asked; "Taking it away won't change any facts."
"Well... Here's the thing." Dan said; "We have already looked for all the copies... turns out there's none. This paper here, is fake. But whoever wants it, doesn't need to do that. It will make me good money, you know. So let's keep this between us for the time being."
"Are you really that stupid?" Wayne smirked; "Do you really think you'll manage to get anything?"
"I won't lose as much as I already did." The brunette shook his head; "James's cocaine, I lost it and whatever money I was going to get out of it." Dan smirked at Wayne's frown, the man on the floor looked down in confusion then back at the drug dealer. "Didn't I tell you?" Dan continued; "There was some major business between the two of us, may he rest in peace." Dan closed Wayne's wallet and threw it beside him; "He was actually straight forward. He told me he had a partner that he didn't feel he could trust. Sure, he got caught with my stuff, but he lost his life as a payment, didn't he?"
"James is not a drug dealer." Wayne cut replied; "And he trusted me."
Dan chuckled, choosing not to discuss the matter further. He walked to the metal door, wrenching it open; "Whatever you say. But you'll be staying here for a few days until we see what your lawyer friend is going to fuck up next. Try not to starve to death, would you?"
"Lucas, I need to know what you'll do about this guy!" Edward stone yelled into his phone, his hand rubbing at the vein that was straining in his forehead. "How can I calm down?!" He shook his head; "Just figure it out, will you?"
He disconnected the call, throwing the phone on the extra bed the hospital had provided for him to stay with Lucy. He shook his head and relaxed back in his seat, trying to get comfortable.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door and he checked the time. There was no way this was a visit. He ordered whoever was knocking to come in and a nurse walked in, holding a plain white envelope in her hand.
"Sir, someone tried to call your room from downstairs but the security kept him from it." The nurse informed him, handing him the envelope; "He left this for you in the reception."
Edward nodded and dismissed her with a hushed 'Thanks', his hands racing to tear the envelope open. The nurse closed the door behind her right as he was unfolding the paper. His eyes widened when he realized what exactly was in the paper he held in his hands. His eyes traveled to Lucy's still form on the bed and his breath was coming out in panicked, fast buffs.
"Oh my God..."
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and maybe hate me a little less now.
Talk to you all soon. Or soon-ish, depends.
-J