Collateral Damage

- EIGHTEEN -

The sun shining through the bedroom window was what woke me from my slumber, for a minute I had forgotten where I was or what was currently happening in my life. But as soon as that thought crossed my mind I was replaying the day's events over again.

Somehow I was to blame for everything. First Stan went missing and then died, then Tilly goes missing and now Andrew has been killed in the same apartment block that Stan died in. Matilda seems to think she is in Spokane, which is where one of my best friends died when we were teenagers and the apartment block that Stan and Andrew were found in is called Hathaway Apartments. Someone is trying to torment me, and to be honest I have too many enemies to count. But then again none of them know that Tilly is my daughter so how would they have known to take her. The only people that know that Tilly is mine is Adrian, Scott and Louise all of which I trust with my life.

I sat up from the bedside and ran my hands over my face, realizing I was still in my funeral clothes and makeup I decided to change into a pair of sweats and throw my hair up in a loose bun. I couldn't find a comfortable enough shirt to wear so I opted for my sports bra.

Once I was happy that all of the makeup was off my face I reached into the fridge and sat at the table with a bottle of water in my hand. My phone told me that it was 11:00 am and that I had one missed call from Louise. I turned off my phone and rested my head in my hands. Scott and Adrian were nowhere to be seen which doesn't surprise me because they both came to the same conclusion.

I can just sit around, I have to tell someone what I know, but the issue still remains. We don't know who the threat is, and I can't offer that information because I don't have it either.

The door opened and I looked up to find Scott walking in. "You're awake," he said when his eyes met mine.

"I just got up," I muttered, unscrewing the bottle cap. "Where's Adrian?"

"He's researching the term Shadow-Kiss and their offspring/"

"That's one way to put it," I said, resealing the bottle of water, "Offspring." I stood from the table, suddenly feeling the need to have my own space. I picked up my water and left my phone as I left Scott in the apartment on his own.

I wasn't sure where to go, especially since I was only dressed in a pair of slippers, a pair of sweat pants and a bra. I quickly decided on the gym.

The door to the gym was unlocked, which was strange considering the majority of the schools' population would be asleep in their beds.

It wasn't a surprise though to find Dimitri inside. He laid on top of the bench press table as he lifted the weights. He sat the steadily on its stand before standing from the equipment. "Before you say anything, I wasn't looking for you, I just want to work out."

"I see you're okay then." He replied, wiping the sweat from his forehead and gesturing me up and down. "Considering the last time I saw you, your boyfriend was carrying your unconscious body out of the briefing room."

"I haven't been myself lately," I said, placing my bottle down on the floor and ensuring that my hair was going to stay in its style. I avoided Dimitri's gaze as much as possible.

"That's obvious," he said.

I looked up at him, desperate to change to topic, "Are we going to train, or what?"

Before long we had warmed up and he was holding the punching back while I laid punches into it. "Did you stay trained while you were living in New York?" Dimitri asked.

"As much as I had to. I can hardly say that there were strigoi around every corner, but I did keep as fit as I could." I replied between hits. I wanted to keep the talking to a minimum.

Dimitri and I had a lot to discuss, unbeknownst to him that is. It was awkward. We had been so in love with each other and now we are nothing more than two people who used to care for each other. There will always be a part of me that loves him, but I don't think I could ever love him the way I used to.

Even if I did I would never go back there. As far as I was concerned, he and I were over and if I got back with him then all of those years without Matilda would have been for nought.

When Dimitri finds out that Tilly is his, he won't want anything to do with me anyway. I wouldn't blame him if he sent me away and I told me to never come back and to be honest I would do just that.

"What happened at the funeral, one minute you were there and then the next you we yelling at Scott and pushing Adrian and then passing out back at the school?" Dimitri finally asked.

I stopped punching the bag and reached over for my drink bottle. After a few mouthfuls I said, "When I moved to New York I met a man called Andrew Pierce. He was like a father to me and he meant the world to me, he was the one that got me the job as a detective. He was murdered two days ago and when the department tried to get in contact they couldn't reach me so they rang my other friend Louise and told her. She rang me at the funeral." My tone was stable, never rising nor falling just flat.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Me too," I replied, but my apology meant more than he would ever know.

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