Tainted Me

Chapter 29: For My Help

It was my fault.

It was all my fault.

Byron wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for me.

I rubbed my face with a hand, then leaned my head back on the wall until I was staring up at the ceiling. I hated being in hospitals. They held nothing but bad memories.

"Here," Arisa said, handing me a cup of coffee.

"Thanks."

She sat down beside me, as she looked around the waiting room. Yash just left to get a shower and a change of clothes. Gwen was on her way here with outside food because hospital food was shit.

Arisa's phone buzzed. She unlocked her phone and scrolled, reading whatever it was. She gasped in outrage.

"This is bullshit," she muttered.

"What?"

"Holden was released."

"Fuck."

I couldn't say I was surprised. There was no evidence linking him to the actual crime. That was why he was only brought in for questioning, but he wasn't really a suspect.

After the ambulance arrived, Byron was taken to the hospital. Yash and I were held up by the police because they wanted to get our statements.

I had to tell them everything – names and all.

I could still remember the reluctance in officer's face when I mentioned Senator Adder and his son. They looked like they didn't believe me. At least, they didn't know how to approach the situation or whether or not they should believe me.

That indecision changed when Byron's parents found out. They wanted to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible. When they heard about what happened and who I thought was the person behind it, they demanded to have Holden questioned.

Of course, that meant that the Adder family's dirty laundry was out. Meaning, it was now known that Senator Adder's late brother had an illegitimate son who died in a fraternity hazing a few years ago.

I was surprised that it wasn't in the news. But I guessed they managed to keep the media well out of it. The families involved had that much power after all. I had no idea how this would play out in the end. Too many people got tangled into this mess.

"They need proof," Arisa said. "I don't know how they're going to get it—legally."

Yeah, it had to be through legal means. Otherwise, it wouldn't hold up in court.

I threw away all the disgusting packages he sent me. I didn't want a reminder, nor did I want any bad mojo from it so I threw them away as soon as I got them. The messages were long gone, too. Plus, there was no visible wound or injury from that day when Arisa was attacked.

"I need to talk to him," I declared.

"Who?" Arisa asked.

"Holden."

She turned to me. "Why?"

"At this point, our only hope is to get a confession out of that piece of shit."

"Do you really think he'll admit to it?"

I sighed. "I have no fucking idea. But I bet he wants to talk to me just as badly."

"And why is that?"

"'Cause out of everyone there that night in Florida, he blames me for Mauri's death the most."

Arisa looked away and shook her head. I grabbed her hand with mine and intertwined our fingers.

"I need to end this," I told her, my jaw clenching from the conviction in my voice. "I don't want anybody else to get hurt because of me."