Relentless

Chapter 54

Juliet

"What are you talking about?" I ask, stunned at Maris's question. "He died in my lap, Maris, I was holding him!"

"He could've fallen unconscious, Jules!"

"No, he didn't! He's dead! I saw them put the sheet over his head!"

"What happened after that, Juliet?"

"You shoved me into the car! I couldn't see."

"You must've seen something." I look straight ahead and try to think back to the worst day of my life.

When my eyes go back to the stretcher, I see the EMTs putting a sheet of paper over Ashton's head.

"No!! He needs to breathe!! They'll suffocate him!" I bang on the window, crying. They load him into the ambulance, in a place where I can't see him anymore, and Josh gets into the car. Maris climbs in the backseat with me and puts her arm around me as I cry. As we drive away, I look behind us and see the other Police Officers run to the ambulance.

"The Police Officers ran to the ambulance as we were driving away." I state.

"Why would they do that?" Maris asks.

"How should I know?"

"Maybe his pulse restarted."

"Maris,"

"Juliet, face it! You don't know! The only people that might have a clue as to what happened are Lisa or Ashton's Mom. What if he's still alive?"

"He's not!"

"Okay, so you want him to be dead."

"Excuse me?"

"It's the easiest answer! The sheet went over his head and you haven't heard from him in two months."

"That doesn't mean that I want him to be dead."

"So you want him to be alive, yes?"

"Yes!"

"And you love this boy, yes?"

"Yes!"

"Then don't presume the worst, Juliet! Use that brain of yours and look for him."

"Look, I came here for closure, not a lecture on how my ex-boyfriend could still be alive."

"You really think you're going to get closure?"

"You said so yourself that this would help me."

"Sure it would help, but Jules... you're always going to be known as the girl who dated the officer that was murdered. That's not exactly closure." She says. I look down at the floor of the car and try to rein in my composure. She's right. I need to do research. I need to know more.

"Okay." I say, looking straight ahead.

"Okay what?"

"Okay, I'll look into it."

"I didn't mean to be hard on you, Juliet, but it's the truth."

"I know. Thank you." I say, looking at her. She smiles at me and continues driving. After a little while, we arrive on my street and park in the driveway of my house. I get out and slowly walk to the front door with Maris by my side.

"I can do this." I tell myself.

"You can do this." Maris tells me. I open the door and walk into the living room, standing still for a moment and thinking. "What is it?" Maris asks.

"What if he is alive?" I ask, turning to look at her. "What does that mean for us? He hasn't reached out to me, so does that mean he doesn't want to be with me?"

"You won't know unless you find out if he's alive. Then you can talk to him." I nod and walk towards the kitchen. "Do you want me to sit with you?"

"I'm okay. Thanks Mar."

"No problem, Jul." She walks down the hallway and into my room as I stand by the kitchen entrance. When I walk in, I see Lisa drinking coffee at the table. She looks up at me and gives me a weary smile.

"I need to talk to you." I say, sitting in the chair next to her.

"Talk away." She says, sipping her coffee.

Just ask her, Juliet!

"Is Ashton alive?" I ask. She spits her coffee out in her mug and starts coughing.

"What? You just went to visit his grave."

"It turns out there was no grave to visit." I say, looking into her eyes. "Lisa, please, tell me the truth."

"Juliet,"

"I don't need an explanation, just a yes or no."

"Just hear me out,"

"One syllable, Lisa, that's all I need."

"It's complicated."

"Complicated?!" I shout, standing up from my seat and pushing the chair out from underneath me. "What do you mean it's complicated?! Is he breathing or not?!"

"When he came to the hospital, he,"

"Damn it, Lisa, just say it!"

"Yes! He's alive!"