ISOLATED

c h a p t e r 4 0

Chapter 40

"I need to know exactly what happened," Gael says. It's been three days since Genesis got shot and he's been hiding in his room for days, if only he had someone to get revenge on. But Wayne was dead, and there was no way for him to bring anyone back. The first thing Gael did was go back and drag Oliver outside to look at Wayne's dead body before killing Oliver too.

James is the one to speak first. He's the only one who can put his emotions aside and make sense of the situation for Gael. "Evan came to pick her up," he starts, "then she didn't come back, so I, Seb, and Jackson went outside to check on her, Jackson brought his gun. Mattias followed us soon after, but Wayne shot her before we had the chance to say anything, Jackson shot Wayne dead right after."

Gael listens and he takes a deep breath in, not wanting to speak before thinking through every single word before they come out. "Evan picked her up?" he finally asks. "Yes," Jackson answers, his voice is still shaky.

Sebastian pushes his lips together. "Where is Evan now?" Gael asks, looking at Mattias. He's the criminal of the group, he should have people in his contacts who can tell him that. "How should I know?" He asks. "Why didn't you kill him too?" Gael's voice drowns in anger, even though he desperately tries not to act out that emotion on the people in front of him. "Gael, we couldn't make that a fucking murder house, just Wayne dead and Genesis hurt was enough," Seb says, picking up the realistic act again.

"No, it wasn't fucking enough, every single person involved in her getting hurt deserves to be dead, I don't care how many years of jail I get if I have to do it myself," Gael hisses and he looks away, trying not to say anything else he'll regret. "If you really cared that much you wouldn't have fucking shipped her to Colorado where her parents are and you would've been in that ambulance with her," Mattias says.

It stops. It's like every single person in that room is holding their breath all at once. But Gael knows he did it with the right intentions, she got shot because of him. Genesis could've died because of him. Letting her go was the only way to keep her safe and hoping she'll get post-traumatic amnesia and she'll forget him and everything he's done to hurt her is all he can do now.

"Don't tell me Hannah and Natalia are on their way there," Gael says, his gaze lands on James and then Jackson. But their apologetic looks are already enough for Gael to understand that they are already there and they have been for three days. "Great, now she wakes up with friends she just argued with," Gael says.

"It's better than to wake up with those asshole parents of hers," Jackson spits, defending his fiancee, "And I asked Natalia to marry me and she said yes." The entire atmosphere changes, but none of the guys know how to respond to that. They're in the middle of this conversation and then Jackson just drops that bomb on them.

"Congratulations," Gael says, but his voice sounds bittersweet. To be honest, it's more than what Jackson could've expected. "Hannah and Natalia are there and they're keeping us updated, do you want me to keep you updated?" James asks Gael. "No, I think it's best if I don't hear about her in a while," Gael says, thinking that'll be the only way to get over her.

"Okay," James answers, not planning on listening to him because Gael can't think straight right now. "Promise me one thing," Mattias says, looking at Gael, "Don't get in trouble, I know you want revenge for Genesis, but remember Charlotte, she needs you."

Gael shakes his head. "I won't," he says, looking down at his hands, "Fuck what I said earlier, keep me updated on her."

♡

The room is still blurry when Genesis opens her eyes. But the nurse was just checking her vitals, so luckily for Genesis, someone was there with her. "Good morning, Genesis," the nurse says. She looks young and her smile is warm and friendly. "Where's Gael?" Genesis asks, looking up at her.