The Trouble with Love

❝ if my life is mine what shouldn't i do ❞

(unedited)

If we're still alive,
My regrets are few
If my life is mine,
What shouldn't I do?
I get wherever I'm going,
I get whatever I need.

"Help, I'm Alive"- Metric

­

I decided to visit Skylar the next day.

Nathan told me she had regained consciousness, which meant I could talk to her. I still had a feeling her injuries were somehow related to Kaden and Ashton's case but without really knowing what happened with both, I couldn't make a solid connection.

The question that bothered me the most, though, was who had been murdered? If it had been a long time ago, I had no chance of guessing, but I doubt that's the case. If it had been a long time ago, why was Ashton bringing it up now? But, I didn't really want to think that it had been recent, that a couple days, weeks, months, ago one of Elite had knowingly killed someone.

"Hi, I'm here to see Skylar Blaire," I told the receptionist. Skylar was staying in a section of the hospital where you had to be on a visit list to get in. There were even guards blocking the halls.

"What's your name?" she asked. I considered lying, and saying I was Vanessa, or Keira, or someone who I knew for sure would be on the list, but that probably wouldn't work. If they asked for identification, or something like that, I was screwed.

"Elena Evans." I had no idea whether or not I was permitted to see Skylar. I had a feeling it was not.

My assumptions were confirmed by the pitying smile on the woman's face. "You're not on the list, dear," she said.

Looks like I'll have to wait for Ashton, then.

"Okay, thank you." I took a seat on a chair at the back.

"You have to be on the list to get in," one of the guards told me.

I nodded. "I know."

"Do you need to call someone?" the receptionist asked.

I shook my head. "No, thank you."

I ignored the puzzled looks they shot me, aimlessly going through my phone instead. I spent fifteen minutes losing lives on a game I couldn't concentrate on and exploring photos I didn't remember taking. Ashton should've been here by now; he had said he was coming after school.

"Elena?" I looked up to see Mr. Sullivan looking at me, a cardboard tray of coffee in his hand.

I nodded. "Hi."

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I came to see Skylar, but I'm not on the list so I'm waiting for Ashton," I said.

Mr. Sullivan glanced at the receptionist. "Add her to the list," he instructed.

"Name?" she asked.

"Cameron Sullivan."

She frowned as she typed into her computer. "Only family members are allowed to add people."

"Special case," he said.

A moment and a couple clicks later, the woman looked up. "Alright, you can go in."

"Thanks," I said as we walked down the hall. "Why are you here instead of Daniel?"

For a second Mr. Sullivan looked stricken, but he recovered quickly. "I'm giving him hourly updates." He stopped abruptly, almost making me crash into him and pushed open one of the doors.

I walked in behind him to find Skylar sitting on a simple bed that looked a lot more comfortable than the average hospital mattress, a multitude of machine around her, though I don't think any of them were plugged in. "Elena?"