Never Ending

~21~

Carter's POV

Pattering raindrops overshadow the sound of her breaths as she sleeps soundly. My knuckles are white from gripping the steering wheel too hard. I am too angry to talk right now. I want to know what the hell happened but I have no choice but to wait until she wakes up.

The short ride ends quickly. I swerve the car into the underground parking and take a sharp stop near the elevator. Tara jolts awake. She groans in pain and I regret stopping so forcibly. I jog to her side and help her out. We take the elevator in silence. She steals multiple glances at me but doesn't say a thing.

This time around, something between us feels different. She won't get away with not saying anything and she knows it. It's like we have been left naked and have to face the scars on each other's body. I want to know more than she is willing to offer and I will get it from her tonight.

I let her into my dark apartment. The lights spring on automatically, creating a large cream ombre in the room. When she passes under a wall lamp, I catch sight of the bruises more clearly. I want to reverse time and come home even a second earlier, she wouldn't have been hurt if I was there.

I am bristling at the seams but I can't be angry at her either. She is the victim of all this. She deserves comfort more than reprimand. I toss my tie on a chair as I enter the kitchen, with the top button of my shirt unbuttoned, I roll up my sleeves and start rummaging in the fridge for anything edible. There is none. A curse escapes my lips. I hear Tara flinch from somewhere in the room.

"Are you mad?" She asks softly. I can't remember the last time she used that voice on me. She know I am mad, but is trying to pacify the situation,

"No." I reply gruffly. Her soft footsteps find their way to my side. She barely stands there, not looking at me, nor saying anything.

"I am sorry, okay?" She wants things to be better, I know.

"I want to know everything." I reply sternly, drawing her face up to look at me. She averts her gaze. "For Christ's sake, Tara!" I step away from her. "A random man comes into our house and beats you up and you don't even want to tell me why?" Her reluctance to respond is an answer enough. "Damn it." I close the fridge with a bang. "Fine."

I am not usually in the habit of throwing a tantrum and storming out, but not today, I am angry and rightfully so. Out of annoyance, I can't even look her in the face. My legs lead me to the veranda overlooking Hyde park. A cool breeze massages my throbbing temples. My fists are clenched and white at the knuckles. I can't remember ever being this angry with anyone, let alone a woman.

She is bad for you, my conscience quips. There are so many times I have wondered why on earth I had to throw myself back into Tara's messed up life. I should have known to stay away after discovering who her father was.

I met Tara in the second year of high school. That day, I was sitting in the audience in the grand auditorium and she walked onto the stage, with a sharp business suit entrapping her shapely body in such an alluring way. Not gonna lie, I was attracted to her body more at first sight. She kind of stuck with me, afterwards, I'd see her in the hallway, in the dining hall, on my way home, until I worked up the nerve to ask her out. Of course she said no.

Eventually I graduated and left for college. Later on we somehow found each other on social media and struck up a friendship again. Finally, she said yes to my advances. We dated for the four years of college and then everything went to hell. It was all peaches and cream until my mom roused from her vegetative state mentioning only one sentence, "Von killed your father." Over and over, I tried to get her to say more, but she only deteriorated back to unawareness and never again did she regain such conscious awareness. Somehow my childhood crush had become my girlfriend and daughter to my father's murderer!

The door to the veranda slides open, Tara's stands beside me. She gazes out for a minute or so before speaking. "Calix," I do not answer. "I didn't want you to worry."

'How wouldn't I worry?' I want to ask, but I don't.

"I didn't think it would be this bad. I didn't think my father would go this far." At the mention of him, I clutch the railing harder. Unconsciously my jaw clenches and she notices. "You know I was never on good terms with him." I nod. So much for acting like I can't hear her. "A few months ago, I started digging into his affairs. I went to past employees, found bank statements, memos and other things."

"What for?" I turn towards her and lean onto the wall behind me. She keeps her gaze trained ahead, away from me.

She doesn't respond immediately. Her face clouds and I wonder if she is going to cry. Somehow she collects herself and answers, "For my mother. I think he killed her." Despite my shock, I try not to show it. "I have a lot of evidence at the moment, though none that can pin him to my mother. Which is why he sent someone to our house, whether to scare me or what I don't know." The fear in her features tells me that she knows the bounds to which her father can go to get his way, she should be scared for sure.

But I know Tara, she is not one to be swayed by a mere altercation. She will do whatever she has to do no matter what, just like her father. And now I have to figure out what that next thing is and if she won't mess up my plans.

"What are you gonna do?" I ask her, trying to keep my tone casual.

"I am going to court with what I have, and keep looking for more after." A tremor runs through her body. Her arms wrap around her instantly. "I am going inside." She disappears beyond the door.

I slide my phone from my pocket and make the call. August answers immediately.

"She is not a problem anymore. We are likely to gain somethings from her." I say into the receiver without even saying hello.

"Who is?" I must have woken him up.

"Your sister. She plans to take on the great Von in court sooner than you think."

"Really? Why so?" His incredulity is almost palpable.

"That doesn't matter." He hmm cryptially. "We only have to ride on her freight train and see where her plan leads and then take it from there. Hopefully, she can chip into his armor and we'll do the rest."

I hear the sound of his wheelchair turning on. "Of course. Get me as much information as you can." The phone clicks off. I know he is not going to sleep anymore tonight and neither am I.

I enter the penthouse again. The house looks darker than it was when I left. Tara must have gone to bed. I settle into the sofa and close my eyes to think. I don't feel time pass by, before I know it, I feel a hand on my shoulder. I open my eyes to a puffy eyed Tara who had just woken up.

Just as I am watching, she puts one knee on my side like in slow motion. With both hands on my shoulders she hoists herself up and plants the other leg on my other side, cradling me. She settles on my lap, her head in the crook of my neck. Her arms drop from my shoulder and instead wrap around my waist drawing us even closer.