Right Hook (Gaslight series) COMPLETE

73| Kiss and make up

Max ♕
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The next few hours are a whirlwind of police officers and reports. Alyssa remains unnervingly calm, recounting the night's events with the patience of a saint. I stand by her side, my fists tightly clenched in barely contained anger.

It didn't take long for me to piece things together. All I had to process was Justin, the gun, and Alyssa's bruised cheek, and I lost it. I grabbed him by the front of his t-shirt, throwing him repeatedly into the wall before Alyssa's pleas for me to stop broke through. Now, sitting in front of the cops, it's the part of the night that Alyssa conveniently left out.

I squeeze her hand, reminding her I'm here for her, but the guilt of not getting here earlier slowly eats away at me. I should have known as soon as she messaged that something was wrong. I should have found a way to get here faster. If I had, she wouldn't have had to go through this.

As though she knows what I'm thinking, she returns my hand squeeze. I glance around the room, still confused by the absence of furniture. The cops had shared my confusion, especially since Alyssa told them Justin hadn't taken anything. But I'm skeptical of the explanation that they were in the middle of a renovation. There's something happening here that I don't know about, and right now isn't exactly the time to ask, so I stay silent.

Across the room, her mom leans against the wall, holding a cup of tea. She'd been confused as hell when she tiptoed downstairs and discovered us all in the living room. Part of it was down to her not knowing what was going on, and the other part was due to the sleeping pills she'd taken. Even now, as she watches Alyssa speak to the cops, it's like she's somewhere else entirely.

As soon as the last of the cops leave, she snaps into action, triple-locking the door before leaning against it and exhaling quietly. Alyssa walks over, her expression softening, and hugs her mom. "You should try and go back to sleep. I'll explain everything in the morning, okay?"

Her mom closes her eyes, struggling to hold the tears back. "This is all my fault. I should have woken up. I should have been there instead of you. I–"

"Mom," Alyssa says softly. "It's fine, okay? I'm fine. Just get some sleep. Max and I will stay down here to make sure everything's okay."

Gradually, her mom turns her gaze toward me, the corner of her lips curved down, not in disapproval like I'm used to, but something else. "Thank you," she says, taking a deep breath. "My daughter is lucky to have someone who cares about her so much."

I raise my eyebrows, 'cause truth be told, that's the last thing I expected to come out of her mouth. Alyssa glances between us, waiting for my reaction, so I turn to her mom and say, "I'd argue I'm the lucky one, Mrs. Class. Get some rest, we've got it covered down here."

With a final look, she squeezes Alyssa's hand and slowly heads upstairs. After letting out the biggest sigh, Alyssa collapses onto the armchair, burying her face in her hands. I kneel in front of her, gently lifting her chin with my thumb until she's looking at me. And I swear the tear in her eye fucking kills me.

"You're probably wondering what the hell I dragged you into," she says.

"The only thing I'm wondering right now is if you're okay." I pull her close to my chest and hug her tightly, running my hand through her hair. She leans into me, taking slow, deep breaths. It's been so long since we've been in each other's arms that all I can focus on is what I'd give to have us stay like this. Everything, by the way. I'd give fucking everything.

Eventually, when it feels like she's starting to fall asleep on my shoulder, I pull back to save her from a sore neck. "You should get some sleep too. It's late."