REALLY ✓

40: The Heart Crimes

*

    TAYA's POV:

My head was spinning as Ava's words and stories wouldn't leave me be...

"We all know that James Harrison owns half the island. He's got a monopoly on all the businesses here and Max didn't like that. James wasn't even from Hawaii. He moved in here and he started buying out lands, establishing big businesses, and driving out small local shops. Max hated it, especially when Castro's was starting to get hit,"

'Max had been plotting his schemes to take down James Harrison for as long as I could remember. But James is the most powerful man on the island, there was no way a small-time criminal like Max could get to him. That was until we met Judah,"

"Judah wasn't interested in working with Max in the beginning, but Max gave him good money and he got access to all the drugs he'd ever want. Not gonna lie, I had a part to play in that... So at the end, Judah decided to stick around. And one day, when he was so high and drunk, he blurted it out to Max—that he's actually James Harrison's illegitimate son,"

"Since then, things started to change. Max had bigger plans for Judah. Max started planning the heist and it was getting serious. Luckily, Judah disappeared. He started going to school. Hanging around with you and your little friends. I thought that it was actually for the best. If he'd stick around, things would only get ugly,"

"But one day, on Christmas Eve, Judah came back. He was in a really bad shape and he was shooting up heroin. He almost OD'd in the bathroom too. Good thing Max found him just in time and he was saved... But after that, Judah decided to finalize their plans. They were looking for the perfect time to strike, and Max said that when the time comes, he will let Judah know,"

"They've been waiting for a while. But after the little incident in front of Castro's a few months ago, Judah left with you and he never came back here. They stopped talking too and I thought that the deal was off. But, today I overheard Max talking and he said that today was the day. They finally got a window of opportunity. I didn't think that he was serious, or that Judah would actually show up. But he did. He was here for a bit, and then they left. I don't know where. Or for how long,"

"Did you know? Blake and his friends beat Judah up the day of the play. They told him to stay away from you and from this island, or that Judah's mom would suffer the consequences,"

"I have a feeling they also got something to do with Jenny being fired from the diner. And they probably made sure that no one in town would hire her either. Judah and his mom are all out of options now,"

"Look, I'm not supposed to be telling you all this, but I just don't wanna see Judah end up in jail for twenty-five to life, or worse, dead,"

"He won't listen to me. He won't listen to anyone. But maybe he'd listen to you. Find a way to contact him and stop him. Please,"

"He deserves better than this,"

*

It was crazy to think how little you know about the person that you thought you knew best. Throughout the night and all the way until morning time, I went all over town searching for Judah, but he was nowhere to be found.

How could I stop him? I can't even find him.

All day and all night long, I had been calling him and calling him, but there was no response. His phone was completely off.

I had grown from angry, to mad, to obsessed, and now to worried and scared. I had left him so many messages on his phone, it was getting pathetic. I couldn't get a wink of sleep throughout the night, and around 6 AM in the morning of the next day, when my eyes were just as heavy as my thoughts, I heard my phone buzzed.