Shaylene

☁️Chapter 14☁️

Heart pounding, unsure of everything, Ethan walked to the balcony of the MacKenzies home. He needed some sort of assurance before walking into the place he now considered a part of his past. If it was anything like he'd felt when he met 'her' after rushing to rein in Eleanor, then there was no prediction of how the next five days would go.

He sighed. Inasmuch as he hated prying into her private life, alot of things didn't add up and he was just beginning to see them. He'd relived the betrayed expression on her face one too many times during the past few days which put him on edge.

There was something about her, something about this entire weekend that pulled the strings of his vulnerability and he hadn't spent up to two hours! He was fighting a losing battle and he knew it. He hated losing, why else had he stayed away for so long?

It was safe to let things be but there was a pang that urged him to find out and Pete's report hadn't done anything to ease it. Why exactly had she taken a Gap year? Shaylene would never play with her career. It was suspicious.

He had called Pete just as his parents stepped into the house with Liam and Eleanor. Nathan had paused to give him a warning look which he ignored. His friend had picked on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Pete, it's Ethan." He stood up and moved to the balcony wall, tracing the intricate patterns carved in it. "Tell me you've got something."

There was a sound of a long breath on the other end. It sounded like he had just got up from bed. Ethan felt oddly calm. Patient. Even though he dreaded his friend's next words.
"About Shaylene?" came Pete's calm voice. "Yes, there is. You'll need to stay calm, though."

"I was hoping you'd call."

"And I would've. It's been a long day." Ethan was quiet. "There are alot of blanks and holes to fill up with hypothesis. This girl's not an easy one, you know?"

"I know."

"So, I contacted a few agents in Harvard to look into her records. Again. But they came up with nothing unusual. She took a Gap year and resumed the next session on time."

"but_ her's was out of the blue." Ethan stated.

"Alot of students do that which isn't surprising but she didn't have friends except for a tall brunette who was a year ahead of her. Apparently, she cut others off."

"Did you get the name of the brunette? She could be the key."

"No, no one could identify her. Which I thought was weird." He sounded tired. "I got back from Princeton a few hours ago."

"Princeton?"

"The hospital where Shaylene interns" Pete supplied. "You do know she's an intern, right?"

"I haven't heard from or about her in four years, Pete, what do you think?" The P.I was silent. "Think of it as background check on a client."

"She's not a client, Ethan. Her friends at Princeton were not in and her records were clean. There's nothing there." Ethan closed his eyes and shielded his face with his free hand.

"What's the part I need to be calm about." His voice had betrayed his lack of thrill.
Pete paused. Not sure telling Ethan was the right thing to do.

"There's a very high probability that she was with child. It is more of a possibility than a fact cause there's no evidence to support the claim."

Ethan stilled. He had expected anything but that. It sounded like a joke. "With child." Every new revelation didn't sound anything like what Shaylene would do.

"I realize I asked you to do this as a favour, Pete, but I don't want probabilities. Facts with evidence. Irrefutable evidence."

"Everything makes sense. It's plausible. Why else would a star student suddenly request for a Gap as a result of personal issues and the media wouldn't get wind of it or have a field day."

"Cause it's the MacKenzies, Pete! Our families grew up to mask every single thing we go through. Not fake but strong." Ethan was close to yelling now but he knew better than to attract any form of attention.

"It still doesn't matter. It's a possibility we must consider. She was pretty thorough in avoiding lenses for that period which is why there's no substantial evidence or_" he trailed.

"_or she had someone help her." Ethan completed. "Which is exactly my point. Her parents must've been aware if it was true which would make my parents aware too. It's not possible, Pete."

The P.I went silent and Ethan continued. "But if she did," stressing the 'if' "Just to add the benefit of doubt, where's the child now?"

"If not given up for adoption, then probably dead."

Ethan winced, feeling punched in the gut. A child. He didn't allow himself think of the possibility of Shaylene losing a child. That put her in a whole nother light than he was willing to see. "Shaylene would never give up her child."

"People change." The accusation was clear and direct. It was an intentional hit that Ethan chose to ignore.

"Donatello and Ailsa would never agree to it." He said, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself. "I met her few minutes ago and she looked nothing like all you just said. There's supposed to be a sign or whatever."

"No shit. You expect someone who tried so hard to hide her truth to cruise around with the evidence of her secrets? Really?"

"You have a point, which leads us back to the fact that she has never been pregnant." Ethan said with innate assurance. "I would know."

The audacity!

"Says the guy who hasn't spoken or heard from her in four years, and hired a PI. Of course, you'd know." Every bit of Pete's words dripped with sarcasm.

"It's different and you know it."

"It isn't and I don't know jack. You should walk up to her and ask her for the details you're looking for then."

"I can't. You can call it guilt." Ethan sighed, he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Not guilt, Ethan. Pride. I don't know what went on between you and the lady but all I see is your pride. 'Treat her case like a cilent_'' He said, mimicking Ethan's earlier words. "_the hell is that? Too proud for your own damn good."

Suddenly he was back to the time when as teens at Oxford, Ethan would be the worst possible jerk with a good heart _a very stupid combination in Pete's opinion. A time when they poured themselves into sports without care for any other thing but the girls and the euphoria that came with their cheers.

A time when they didn't have to deal with the responsibilities of being grown-ups but even then, Ethan had never been one to show weakness or vulnerability _ using his pride and rudeness as a coping mechanism.

"You don't know a thing, Pete." Ethan clenched his teeth. His face grim.

"Then tell me. Let me help you. Lord knows, I need to know what I'm looking for to provide answers."

"I don't need your help."

"But then here you are depriving me of my rest asking me for favours. You don't ask for favours, Ethan. You make demands." Pete exhaled exhausted, physically and mentally.

"You're right. Which is why all I need is for you to find out what happened to Shaylene MacKenzie within the last four years."

"You're making a mistake. You have to let go of your pride else you'll keep hitting walls and losing people." Pete added. "For someone you haven't spoken to or thought about, you seem alot more attached."

When the call ended, he slipped his phone into his pocket still resting on the wall. Pete had managed to get so close to the truth and it irked him. He felt drained. Angry at himself for considering the truth in Pete's words. He sighed. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

For the first time in four years, he had felt the raw need to be close to her again, the adrenaline that came with being her friend, the surge that got him in this mess but he didn't loathe it, all he desired to do was reach for it and it scared him.

Ethan was contradicting himself and he didn't like it one bit. He knew what he wanted and always went for it but with Shaylene it had been wrong. He had been wrong and he was finally coming to terms with it. Being in the same space with her was beginning to cloud his senses. Ethan pushed himself off the wall and turned ready to deal, only to meet Liam's piercing gaze.