Under Your Skin

Chapter Fifteen

  To put it lightly the last 6 days have been absolute hell for me. Not only was I in such severe pain it hurt to move but I couldn't breathe on my own so I was hooked up to breathing machines. Caleb, Valerie, and Jeremy have been by my side most of the time thankfully, I don't know how I could have gotten through this on my own. Jeremy and I have made up completely which I am so thankful for.

"Guys stop crowding her." Valerie ordered as I slowly stood up for the first time all week. Caleb and Jeremy stepped back slightly but close enough so they could help if I needed them. The doctor said I was recovering a lot faster than he had thought and said I could go home as early as 3 days which kinda sucks cause I'll have to spend my birthday in the hospital. On a good note though, Nan has officially been moved into the Hospice Home and she likes it a lot. They have surprisingly a lot of things to do, like bingo, board games and a beautiful garden with benches and chairs around it.

I slowly made my way to the bathroom and quickly did my business and taking a long look at myself in the mirror. I'm glad I don't look like a ghost anymore and the color is coming back in my cheeks. I grabbed the hair brush off the sink counter and brushed through my snarly hair and putting it up in a messy ponytail not even caring that I resemble a trashcan right now. I heard two quick knocks on the door then a familiar southern accent.

"Lorelei, there's a cop out here, he needs to talk to us." Caleb said through the door. I took a deep breath and opened the door, everyone quickly looking up at me.

"Hi miss Bennett, I'm officer Jackson. I just need to ask you a couple questions about Axel Carter." A tall dark haired man in a police uniform asked me as I sat at the edge of my bed.

"Okay." I said nodding.

"How do you and Mister Carter know each other?" He asked me.

"He's my ex boyfriend. I met him on my birthday last year and 3 months later he asked me out."

"Okay." He said writing down on a note pad. "Were you aware of his previous arrests?"

I looked at him confused. I knew he was in a neighborhood gang that was known to break the law a lot but I wasn't aware he had been arrested before. "I'm sorry, arrests?"

"Yes, he has been arrested a total of 3 times in the last 4 years, once for assault and battery and two for drug possession and driving with a controlled substance."

I felt as though I had been lied to throughout the whole relationship. He told me he tried not to break the law and that he mostly just stayed in and monitored the operations. It's like I never really knew him at all.

"You okay babes?" Valerie asked rubbing my back comfortingly. I nodded locking and interlocking my hands nervously not knowing what else about my first love would come up.

"I'm sorry to have to bring this up miss, but we need to know everything in order to get to the bottom of this." Officer Jackson said, an apologetic look etched on his face.

"Has he been arrested?" Caleb asked. Officer Jackson's expression changed to a serious one.

"We have not arrested him, but-" He paused taking out a tan folder from his bag and opening it up. "We have found human remains about 2 miles down the stream where the incident happened." I closed my eyes shut trying to hold my emotions in. After all he's done to me he was still a big part of my life for 8 and a half months. "I have a photo here, we just need someone to identify it as Axel." He said handing the folder over to me. I quickly handed it to Caleb.

"I can't." Is all I could say. Caleb nodded, slowly opening the folder and looking at the photo. "It's hard to tell."

"I know it's difficult to make out facial features. It seems as though insects and different animals got to the remains before they were found." Officer Jackson pointed out. My stomach dropped.