The Secret

Chapter Thirteen

My whole body felt like it was on fire. Every bone within it felt sore and bruised. It felt like I had been run down by a massive truck and then pushed down a steep hill. Slowly opening my eyes, I quickly blinked to adjust them to the surroundings. Finally, seeing more clearly, I started to look around where I was. I noticed I was in a cold, damp, dimly lit place made of concrete for the walls and floor. In the corner, some rusty hooks were embedded into the wall with some broken shackles attached to them. Underneath it, there was a sizeable dried-up blood stain that was on the floor.

Looking down, I noticed I was sitting on an old wooden chair with my hands around the back. I tried to move them to bring them to the front of me, but they wouldn't budge. They seemed tied together by something that felt like plastic, and so were my legs, I'm guessing cable ties. Scanning every inch of the room, I tried to look for something sharp to help me break free from this hold, but there was nothing. There was hardly anything within the space to use.

Just my luck!

Looking over to the grey metal door, I noticed it was slowly opening. I held my breath and waited to see who would be walking in. To my surprise, it was Alice. She was still wearing her white and grey uniform, her hair tied back with a light pink scrunchie. There were some tear stains on her cheeks still. My heart breaks to see her like this. I never wanted to hurt her. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to keep things from her, but in my defense, I was only doing it to protect her from it. Looking towards me, she looked sad, hurt, and confused but mainly disappointed, and I don't blame her.

"Are you okay? I heard that you ended up taking a tumble down the stairs?" she asked, looking down at her black converses.

No wonder I feel like shit.

"I've been better." I simply said while watching her nervously play with her hair.

"Can I ask you something?" she questioned while releasing her hair, looking me dead in the eye.

"Of course, you can. There's nothing that I can hide now." I sighed as she nodded, coming towards me.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she questioned, tears filling her eyes again.

"Probably for the same reason that you didn't. Over the years, I have thought about coming clean to you, but then I couldn't bring myself to do it. I didn't want to put you in danger. I wanted to protect you from the madness of the world that I lived in. I never wanted to hurt you, but I did just that in the end, and I'm sorry for that." I explained while looking down to my lap.

"You hurt me, Grace, but I've also hurt you. I know I wasn't forthcoming about what my dad does for a living, but I should have been more honest with you. It's just difficult with us being on different sides, and I was always taught to keep my mouth shut when it came to my dad's dealings. I just wished we had the chance to be more open with each other, no matter what the consequences would have been. I would have taken the risk for you, and I'm sorry that I didn't." she smiled sadly while wiping her tears from her cheeks.

"I know, but at least we can now, right?" I suggested, hoping she would say yes because I wasn't ready to lose her yet.

"Yeah, of course, we can." she smiled while walking behind me, pulling another wooden chair out so she could sit in front of me. "I do have another one for you."

"Go ahead." I nodded.

"How did you get involved with my uncle?" she questioned while sitting back in the chair, crossing her legs.

"Your uncle?" I asked, frowning my eyebrows together.

What the hell was she going on about? Her uncle? Who the hell is her uncle? It's not the guy that I killed, was it? Or the one that I stabbed in the back? If it is, then damn, I'm done for.

"From the way that you're looking right now, I'm guessing that he didn't tell you about us," she said with an unsure look. "Elijah".

"Wait, what? He's your uncle?" I choked on my breath.

No fucking way, what a small world we live in.

"Yeah, my dad and him have been estranged since I was nine. Something about the company and the differences in running it," she explained while tapping her fingers against her arm.

"Now, thinking about it. They do look kind of similar. They have the same eyes." I giggled but gave myself a mental facepalm for not realizing it sooner.

How did I not put the piece together sooner? How could I be so stupid? Why didn't he tell me?

"So, how did you get involved with him?" she repeated her question.

"It's kind of a long story," I stated, knowing I'd never told her about my past.

"It's okay, take your time." she smiled while placing her hand on my leg.