The Test

Epilogue

Detective Allan Greene walked slowly into Layna's hospital room, as he had been doing for the past two weeks. As usual, Layna was lying in the middle of the bed, still as a statue. She had gotten so pale that she almost blended in with the bed sheets.

He lay down the bouquet of flowers that he had brought with the others that were resting on a table near the door, before going to sit down beside her bed.

For someone who had been in a coma, she did not look peaceful. No matter how many times he came, she never looked peaceful. She always looked sad, so incredibly sad.

He couldn't blame her; no one knew exactly what had gone down in that house, but it couldn't have been pleasant. For her to have to live through that, to have her child, and her fiancé killed within hours of each other was not something that someone could ever hope to cope with.

For two weeks the police force had tried to deal with the aftermath that had been caused by Timothy. Processing the crime scene, as well as doing both autopsies took a while. They had tried to speak with Timothy, but he had died in hospital several days after he was found.

Greene could not say that it had been a loss for Timothy to die. He deserved it, and the Detective hoped he would have the cruelest punishments awaiting him. He knew it wasn't nice to wish ill upon the deceased, but Timothy wasn't a person. He was a monster that had ruined a whole family, and he deserved everything he got.

Once again, Greene thought back to the act of bravery that Derek had done. When Allen had arrived at his hotel room that morning and no one had answered, he knew something was up. Derek would never stand him up for anything that had to do with Layna.

When he opened the unlocked door, he saw the letter waiting for him on the bed. It was a detailed explanation of what he had done. He had explained how he had bought a new phone, with the best GPS locating services that money could afford, and he had left the steps the Detective would need to take to track the phone.

Unfortunately, by the time they managed to work out all the kinks, it was too late. Just thinking about the horrors that the poor girl in front of him had to endure made him nauseous.

The doctors had said that there was nothing they could do for Layna. Timothy had practically shredded all her internal organs, and she had lost a lot of blood. Yet, she had managed to surpass the doctor's expectations, and she was still alive.

It was like she was waiting...waiting for something so she could finally go.

Greene reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the ring they had found at the crime scene. It had taken him a while to go through everything they had collected but Layna had requested, and it was the least he could do.

"It's okay to let go now," he whispered, as he gently took her left hand, and slipped the ring on.

For the first time in weeks, Layna's face relaxed and a small smile appeared on her slightly chapped lips. "Derek," she whispered before the heart monitor flat lined.

Greene was pushed out of the way as the doctors rushed the room, and tried unsuccessfully to revive her.

Finally, they stopped, and her main doctor called out the time of death. John watched as the machines were cleared from the room, and they covered her body with a blanket, before wheeling her down to the morgue.

Then, with tears in his eyes, he left the hospital room and hoped that wherever she was, at least she would be reunited with her family.