Not made for each other - 18. Long Road Ahead

Chapter 18: Long Road Ahead

I was anxiously waiting for Ron, leaning against the wall parallel to the front door, folding my hands against my chest. A fire was inside of me. I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible but not before confronting him.

After waiting forever, the front door unlocked and opened. Ron came inside holding his office bag in one hand and his coat in another. He nervously smiled at me and then looked away. He slumped onto the couch with a heavy sigh. I remained where I was.

“You are up early today,” he noticed, leaning back on the couch.

“You didn’t come home last night,” I mentioned sternly, staring at him ignoring whatever he said.

“I had a meeting last night.” He replied nonchalantly while closing his eyes.

“With whom?” I pried further.

“Of course with a client, babe,” he answered looking at me sincerely.

“And somehow your meeting was in a bar instead of your office or some fancy restaurant?” He froze at my words.

“You were following me,” he accused, narrowing his eyes.

“Does your meeting require you to grope some random guy? To kiss him…TO FUCK HIM?” I yelled unintentionally snubbing off his accusing words. Ron stood up in a panic and took a few steps towards me but stopped as I gave him a warning look.

I went to a bar with one of my college friends last night with fake ID as I was still an underage. And there I found something that confirmed my suspicions. I have been distrustful of Ron for a few months now. Ron was all over a guy I never met before. Later, they went to a room upstairs and those rooms are there for one purpose only…to fuck. Instead of witnessing them fucking like rabbits, I left.

I gave everything I had to this relationship but I guess that was not good enough for Ron. I was not good enough for him.

My eyes were brimmed with tears but I was not going to cry in front of him, not at all. The sound of my uneven breaths was the only thing audible in the room.

Ron ran his hands through his hair and inhaled a deep breath. “Look, Jake. We don’t need to overanalyze this situation, okay? There’s no need to overreact and be melodramatic about nothing…”

“Nothing? NOTHING? It is nothing to you? You are fucking cheating on me for God knows how long, and you are saying it’s nothing. I don’t believe you.”

“It was just sex, nothing else. There’s only you who I’m in love with.”

“This is the way you show how much you love me? By sleeping around?”

“Stop it, Jake! You are so hypocritical. Remember Zune, your so-called-best friend, he also cheated on Kev but then you decided to stand right beside him knowing full well what he did, so what’s the difference now?”

With the mention of Zune a sudden anger flared inside me.

“Don’t you dare talk about him, Ron. Yes, he cheated on Kev but it was a onetime thing and even after that he had the guts to tell everything to Kev all by himself, to put up with our wrath, to bear regular humiliation by Kev, but you…I don’t think you are a bit fazed by the fact that you have been cheating on me for months, that you were never going to tell me about it, that you were never going to stop fooling around. You don’t seem a bit guilty for breaking my trust. I don’t believe…”

“Oh please stop it, Jake. I’m not the first guy on this earth to have some fun out of my relationship. In fact, I don’t find anything wrong in it.”

His words stabbed my heart a million times. I couldn’t stop my tears and they began freely rolling down my cheeks.

“Okay, please don’t turn all this into a sappy television show and let’s talk…,” I didn’t allow him to complete his sentence. I took my jacket, phone, and spare keys and ran towards the front door but he instantly came in front of me, blocking my way.

“Where the hell do you think you are going?” he asked suspiciously.

“That’s none of your business,” I retorted vehemently.

“Are you going to meet him?”

“What if I am?” I argued.

“You know I don’t want you to meet him, then why are you going to him?”

“You just said you are not the first guy on this earth to have some ‘fun’ outside of your relationship; believe me Ron, you are not the last one either.”

His face drained of color.

“You are not going to do what I’m thinking,” he warned.

I took a step closer to him. “You can’t stop me,” I challenged, looking directly into his eyes. I turn around and left.

“Jake! JAKE! JAKE!” I heard him shouting my name but I never looked back and began to walk briskly.

After walking nonstop for over ten minutes I felt tired. I stopped and dialed my friend’s number who I went to that bar with last night. Just after a ring he picked up his phone.

“Are you okay?”

“Actually no,” I answered honestly.

“After what you saw last night, I can’t blame you. Do you want me to come over?”

“No. I’m not at home, if that’s even my home anymore.”

“Jake, I, I’m so sorry, bud.”

“It’s not your fault. It’s…I don’t know what to say.” I fell silent for few a seconds and then continued. “Yesterday you said you are going out of the city for the day to meet your father. Will you mind if I tag along? Actually, I have nowhere to go and…and I don’t wanna go back to him…not right now.”

“Sure. Sure. Let me know where you are and I’ll pick you up.”

I told him where I was and within fifteen minutes Edward picked me up. He was driving with a solemn look on his face, staring ahead. I knew somewhere he was blaming himself for whatever happened between Ron and me, though he had nothing to do with all of this. It was so typical of him to blame himself for everything.

“Edward, stop thinking that this is all your fault because believe me, it’s not,” I assured him.

“How did you know what I was thinking about?” he asked in surprise.

“Because I know you too well.” He smiled. I smiled and then we fell into a comfortable silence. It was a long ride of more than three hours. I leaned back in my seat and began staring out the window.

Zune, my best friend. I couldn’t stop thinking about Zune since Ron had mentioned him earlier. Where was he? Why has he disappeared? Was he even alive? There were so many unanswered questions which were beginning and ending with Zune. I missed him so much. I was sure if he would have been here, the circumstances would be way better than they were.

Since Zune vanished, everything changed here, everything.

Jenny called off her wedding with Matt. She was…is broken inside. I haven’t seen her smile since he’s been gone. Her life was divided between her shifts at the hospital and visits to the police station to inquire about any progress in Zune’s case. There wasn’t a single day she hadn’t been to the police station with the hopes that there would be a break in the case. But every day she came home disappointed. Matt stood like a rock behind her. Jenny, Matt, and Carol left Jenny’s house and moved to Matt’s house as Jenny was not able to live in that house without Zune.

Matt never showed it but I know he was also very worried about his missing son. He waited years to be with his family yet his family was not complete, not without Zune. Matt was always worried about Jenny whose health was deteriorating day by day due to all the stress she was under. Being a cop, Matt was doing whatever he could to search for Zune.

Carol, being the strongest amongst all of our friends, remained calm and composed, looking after everyone. She never lost the hope of finding Zune one day. She never hesitated to smack the head of anyone who raised a doubt about Zune’s return, but deep inside she was as scared and vulnerable as we all were. She missed him as much as I did. Many a times I caught her calling me, Zune, Zuney baby, or bro. Carol and I were still friends but without Zune it was not the same. It’s like an important link was missing between us.

Kev’s life had stopped after Zune disappeared. For him time stood still since that day Zune was supposed to meet him but never got to his house. Kev was still waiting for him. He shunned us all out of his life. It’s been months and none of us have seen him; Carol was not even able to make him come out of his shell. Carol, Kev, and I were in the same college and we had some classes together too, but it was getting impossible for Carol and I to get a hold of Kev. He barely looked at us let alone talked to us. He ignored everyone and preferred to be lost in his own little world. He was rude and mean to everyone. He was angry all the time. He had made an invisible wall around himself and there was only one person who was allowed inside that wall and that was his cousin Daryl. Daryl was the only person Kev talked to and shared his feelings with. If anyone could get through to him, it was Daryl. A few months back, Kev’s mom passed away from cancer just like his father. It tore him apart and further pushed him away from all of us. Daryl was with him through all this. He even bore each and every medical expense of Kev’s mother,and now he was even paying for Kev’s studies. For Kev, Daryl was the only known person on this earth, his cousin, his friend, his confidant. They were both living together now in Kev’s house.

A few days after Zune went missing, Daryl got a loan from one of his friends and decided to begin his own business. He offered a partnership to Ron and Ron happily accepted it. Ron left his job at the mall and Daryl discontinued his photography course, and together they started their business which was very successful now. Daryl was the one person who helped each and every one since Zune disappeared. He was the only person Kev talked to. For Matt, he was like his second son. Daryl met up with him every day. He was a good moral support system for Matt and he always accompanied him and Jenny whenever they visited the police station. He and Carol were still dating and going strong. They were even thinking of moving in together. Sometimes I envy their relationship. They were so perfect together, unlike Ron and I.

As for me, things were not so good. I came out to my parents after graduating from high school. As expected, my parents threw me out of the house like a disease. By then, Ron had already begun his partnership with Daryl. He suggested that we move in together. I was not so sure about it because we were too young for that kind of commitment but he didn’t give up and I finally agreed. For a few months my life was heaven. Ron’s love made me forget the pain of losing Zune but my happiness was short-lived. He began to change or I should say money changed him; he began smoking, drinking, and gambling. I tried to stop him. I even asked Daryl to make Ron understand and Daryl did try his best but it was of no use. I knew this was the beginning of the end of our relationship.

Edward also went to the same college as Kev, Carol, and me. I had more than half my classes with him. At first it was awkward being with him in the same class, but with time I came to realize he was a different Edward now. He joined the college’s GSA club and confessed at the very first meeting that he was bisexual. It came as a big surprise to me as I used to think whatever happened between Edward and Zune was unintentional and nothing more than a mistake for him, but now I was not so sure. Edward was the most helpful guy known on campus. He was strong, sweet, and fun to hang out with. It was like Kev and Edward had switched their personalities.

After doing some college projects with Edward, it was next to impossible to not to be friends with him. I never ever dreamed that the guy who used to bully me in school for being gay would be bisexual and the closest friend of mine in college. Life was so unexpected. Carol, Daryl, and especially Ron, were against my friendship with Edward because of the ‘Edward-Zune-Kev’ episode, but I followed my instincts, and went against my friends.

Edward often talked about Zune; he talked about how Zune changed his life for the better, how he made him believe in himself, how he helped his mother, Rebecca, to be independent, and how he made him realize the meaning of friendship. Whenever we talked about Zune, I saw in his eyes how much he missed him and there was no one he could share his feelings with…except me. There was one thing from our conversations that I was sure about; Zune was not just a friend for Edward, he was way more than that to him.

Rebecca divorced her husband John Woodsworth a month after Zune went missing. Edward was eighteen by then. He decided to stay with his mother but promised his father that he would meet him every month. Rebecca got a job as an accountant at Grey’s Café where Edward and Zune used to meet.

Rebecca sold her lavish, big house and rented a house near the cafe; the house she rented was Jenny’s house.

I had talked to Rebecca a few times and she often mentions Zune. I don’t think there was a person who knew Zune that never praised him, ever talked badly about him. He was…is magical.

Edward’s father John permanently moved to another city and as Edward promised him, he has been driving for more than three hours to meet his father every month and today, for a change, I was with him.

John Woodsworth was a homophobe and he made it pretty clear he was not going to change, even for the sake of his son. He still tried to ‘change’ him every time they met, and Edward tried to make him understand that liking boys didn’t make him less of a man. Rebecca hated her ex-husband and vowed to never see his face again until he accepted Edward for what he was.

After driving for nearly three and a half hours, we reached John Woodsworth’s house. Edward introduced me as his friend. John eyed me suspiciously when Edward clarified in an irritated tone that I was just a friend and straight. I frowned at him for saying that last part. He looked at me apologetically. As John thought I was straight he seemed relieved and somewhat happy.

Every part of John’s house screamed discipline. There wasn’t a single family photograph, not even an image of Edward or of John for that matter. It was strange. Later, Edward told me that his father hated being photographed. Now the lack of pictures in the house made sense to me.

After spending some excruciating and awkward long hours at John’s house we finally left to go home. It was a long drive ahead and it was already dark outside.

Edward’s car was racing down the secluded road. It was half past eleven. I closed my eyes and leaned back comfortably in my seat.

“I’m sorry, Jake.” Edward initiated the conversation in an apologetic tone.

“For what?” I asked in confusion, opening my eyes a bit and shifting my gaze to him.

“For lying to my father about you being straight. I shouldn’t have done that,” he explained.

“Edward, it’s really okay. You didn’t want to have any drama there and that’s why you did what you did so I’m not holding any grudge against you because of that. Chill, okay? I’m fine with it,” I assured him raising my brows a little.

“Thanks.” He gave me a small smile and we again fell into our comfortable silence.

I fell asleep for about an hour and when I woke up I stretched my limbs as much as I could in my seat. It was definitely past midnight. Clouds were rolling in and in a matter of minutes the sky was completely dark. Within seconds the clouds were thundering and it was raining heavily. Rain always reminded me of Zune. He used to love rain. He always loved the tingling feeling of cool water droplets falling on his body. I looked at Edward. He seemed to be lost in some memories; they were probably memories of Zune. I cleared my throat and decided to ask Edward what had been bothering me for months.

“Edward?”

“Hmm?”

“Did you…do you…does…I mean, were you in…in love with Zune?” I asked hesitantly.

Edward braked the car abruptly.

“What happened?” I asked in a fear that he probably was offended by my question but he was still staring ahead. “Edward, what happ…” I stopped in mid-sentence as I followed his gaze. There was someone lying on the wet road. The side of his face was sunk into one of the holes on the road that was filled with muddy water. He was constantly trying to raise his head but was not able to do it.

Edward unlocked his door and went out.

“Edward, what are you doing? Maybe he’s a thug or something?” I tried to stop him.

“Or maybe he’s someone who needs help,” he retorted, as he slammed the door shut and walked hurriedly towards the guy lying out there. It was still raining but not enough to soak you profusely.

Edward mumbled something and the guy raised his head after much struggle.

Edward said something again with an unreadable expression on his face. He knelt down before the guy and cupped his face between his hands. What the hell was Edward doing? Much to my surprise Edward was fucking crying. What the hell was going on? I hastily came out of the car and took a few steps towards them.

“Zune!” Edward nearly shouted and I froze. He quickly but carefully lifted the unmoving body in his arms, stood up, and began walking towards the car with hurried steps. Edward was looking intently at the boy in his arms with countless conflicting emotions on his face as if he were in a dream.

“Zune, you’ll be fine,” Edward assured him in a panicked voice. “Zune? Are you listening to me?” he asked in an impatient tone but he never got any answer. He muttered ‘shit’ under his breath. “Zune!” Edward lost his last bit of patience and screamed.

The boy in his arms barely opened his eyelids and whispered something which was inaudible to me and then he hunched back losing consciousness.

Edward was standing in front of me carrying that guy in his arms and shouting my name continuously to make me to come back to my senses.

“JAKE! OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!”

I quickly opened the back door of the car. Edward placed him carefully in the backseat and instructed me to sit with him. I slid in, cautiously putting his head onto my lap. In no time Edward roared the engine back to life and began driving like a maniac.

I stared at the face lying on my lap. His face was filled with many black smudges. There was mud in his hair and on the side of his face. But even all these things couldn’t stop me from recognizing him; he was my best friend, Zune Williams.

“Zune,” I mumbled. “Zune,” I uttered his name again when reality dawned on me. My best friend was here, with me. We found him. He was alive. He was right here. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

“EDWARD!” I shouted.“He’s Zune! Our Zune! He…He’s alive. We got him. He’s right here,” I announced happily to him as if he didn’t know it already. I saw his face in the rearview mirror above his head. He was crying and smiling at the same time.

“I know,” he answered. His voice was filled with choking emotions. “But we have to take him to the hospital. He doesn’t look good,” he added worriedly. I nodded fervently. I promptly pulled out my phone from the pocket of my jeans, switched it on, and dialed Jenny’s number. It was unreachable. Fuck! She had the night shift tonight. I called Matt but his phone was off. What the hell? I tried to call Kev but that moron didn’t pick my call. What the fuck was I suppose to do? I sighed and finally dialed Carol’s number but her number was out of the network area.

“Shit. Shit. Shit.” I cursed under my breath.

It was two hours and Edward was still driving. We were half an hour away from the hospital. I was continuously trying everyone’s number but it was like everyone had been shifted to another planet. I was dialing Carol’s number for the umpteenth time and finally her phone rang and she picked my call after three rings. Thank God.

“What the hell, Jake? Is this the time to call? It better be important otherwi…”

“Zune is alive!” I cut off her rambling.

“What?” she asked after being silent for a few seconds.

“Zune is alive,” I repeated my words. I could hear her heavy breathing. She was searching for words to say.

“What…how…when…where…I mean, did…did you see him? Where is he? How, how is he? Is he fine? Goddammit Jake, say something. I’m dying here!” She was on the verge of tears.

“I don’t know anything except the fact that, that Zune is right here with me but he is unconscious. We are taking him to the hospital…Lifeline Hospital where Jenny works. I tried to call Jenny, Matt, and that fucktard Kev but I couldn’t reach any of them. Then I called you…I…you just…”

“Okay. Okay I’ll tell everyone and we all are coming down to the hospital ASAP! You, you just take care of him and, and…just take care of him and never let him away from your sight and just take care of him!” she ranted and then hung up.

I caressed Zune’s forehead and assured myself more than to him, “You’ll be fine. You’ll be fine.”

I never took my eyes away from Zune. Edward was asking me every other minute, ‘Is he fine? He’s breathing, right?’ He was freaked out as hell. We both were. But Zune was finally with us. I couldn’t be happier.

After driving for half an hour we arrived at the hospital and immediately took Zune to the ER.

I asked about Jenny at the triage desk. The receptionist informed me that Jenny had come out of the operating room minutes ago and was in the staff room right now.

While Edward was with Zune I ran towards the staff room. I hurriedly opened the door to the staff room with my fumbling hands and shouted, “JENNY!” I ran my eyes around the room; every pair of eyes was on me. Jenny was seated with her fellow colleagues on the sofa, which was a few feet away from me. She stood up instantly.

“Jake! What are you doing here? What happened? Are you okay?” Jenny asked in a concerned voice, walking towards me.

“Zune. He’s here,” I revealed when she was steps away from me. She stopped dead in her tracks as if her feet were glued to the floor.

“Zune? He’s…he’s here? You are sure? I mean…where?” she asked in bewilderment. In the space of a few seconds I saw a number of emotions flashing on her tired face.

“Come with me,” I instructed. I turned around and began running towards the ER. Jenny was racing with me. Seconds later we were at the door to ER. Edward was waiting outside the room for the doctor to come out.

“Where is he?” Jenny asked. “How is he?” Her voice was betraying her calm and composed face. “Is he okay?” Her eyes were brimmed with tears. She swallowed hard and stared at me with pleading eyes for her answers. I tried to comfort her but she was restless. She tried to barge inside the room but Edward stopped her.

“Ms. Williams, please. One of the doctors is examining Zune and will be out soon. You just calm down.”

“Calm down? I haven’t seen my only son in ages and now he’s inside just a few steps away from me and you are telling me to calm down? I can’t calm down. Let me go in!” she shouted.

Before I could explain anything to Jenny, Matt and Carol came running towards us.

“Where’s Zune?” Matt asked.

“Is he, is he okay?” Carol asked, looking at me with glistening eyes.

Jenny ran into Matt’s arms and burst into tears.

“He, he’s inside. I don’t know what happened to him. I…I don’t know anything; I just…just want to see my son. Please, Matt, please, please,” Jenny begged in desperation. It was getting impossible to calm her down.

The doctor finally came out of Zune’s room and every one of us was staring him expectantly.

“How is he, Mr. Adams? He’s fine, right?” Jenny asked urgently.

“Jennifer, is he your son?” The doctor asked looking at Jenny very seriously.

“Yes, he’s our son. What happened? Is something wrong?” Matt asked creasing his brows.

“He’s still unconscious. We have to run a few tests but before that I want to talk to both of you. Please follow me into my office.”

“Please Mr. Adams please I beg you, please let me see him once, please.” Jenny prayed to the doctor as if her life depended on the doctor’s ‘yes’. It was not possible for any of us present to hold back our tears.

“Okay, but only one of you can see him and a nurse will accompany you.” The doctor agreed hesitantly, pushing his glasses above his nose. Jenny immediately went inside. Matt’s situation was not any better outside. It was killing him not to able to see his son. Edward touched his shoulders to soothe him. Carol came closer to me and put her head on my chest. I put my arm around her shoulders to comfort her.

“He’ll be fine, right?” she asked in a frightened voice.

“He’ll be fine. I know he’ll be fine,” I assured her.

She pulled back and wiped her tears away.

“I tried to call Kev and Daryl but I can’t get through. I think I should go to their place and let them know about Zune,” she suggested.

“You should stay here with Jenny and Matt. They need you. I’ll go to Kev’s place and inform them about Zune, okay?” I offered and she nodded in gratitude.

I borrowed Edward’s car and drove as fast as I could. It was again raining hard. Within ten minutes I parked the vehicle outside Kev’s house. I ran towards the front door. By the time I got there, I was drenched and I was panting. It was four in the morning. I began ringing the doorbell impatiently. Soon someone opened the door. It was Kev. He was in a loose white t-shirt and brown pajama pants. His face looked like he hadn’t shaved in weeks. His tired red eyes were the proof of his countless sleepless nights. He seemed irritated to get disturbed at this time of the morning.

“What the hell are you doing here at this hour?” he asked gruffly, pressing and moving his fingers against his forehead; he probably had a headache.

“I…”

“Look, if you are here to talk about your shitty relationship with your ass of a boyfriend then…”

“Zune is alive.”

His fingers ceased to move as I said ‘Zune’. I knew I had his full attention. He was staring me in astonishment. He stepped towards me.

“Zune…Zune is alive?” he asked, controlling his emotions. I nodded slightly. “Where was he? Where is he now? Is he…is he okay?” His choking voice was betraying his calm demeanor.

“He’s in the hospital right now, where Jenny works. Everyone is there. We thought you should…” Before I could utter another single word, he took his keys and ran towards his car and in a minute his car was racing down the road. I was about to follow him when Daryl came downstairs and walked towards me.

“Jake? What are you doing here? Are you okay? Is, Is Ron okay?” he asked.

“We found Zune,” I revealed, taking a step towards him. He didn’t react the way I thought he would react. He didn’t react at all. He was just standing there like a statue. He was gawking at me unblinkingly.

“You…you are not joking, right?” he asked after a minute, inhaling a deep breath.

“Do you really think I’d joke about this?” I asked in disbelief.

“No. No. I am just surprised, happily surprised,” he clarified, imposing a fake smile on his face. What was his problem?

“I’m going to the hospital. Are you coming?”

“Yeah, yeah sure,” he answered in daze. I drove us to the hospital in complete silence. He seemed somewhere else during our ride. There were visible lines of tension and fear on his face. I hope it was nothing more than my delusion.

When we reached the hospital, Daryl told me to go on ahead; he said he’d be there in a minute. He was damn confusing today. I just nodded and rushed towards ER. I got informed that Zune had shifted to room no. 132. I turned around and raced towards the said room.

I found silence outside room no. 132. Everyone else was there, and two cops were also waiting with them. What were they doing here?

Jenny was seated on one of the benches that were lined on the left side of Zune’s room. She was staring at the floor without blinking her eyes. Matt was trying to make her talk but even his condition wasn’t any better than Jenny’s. He was trying to hold back his tears but was miserably failing to do so.

Carol was repeatedly muttering ‘he’ll be fine’ to them. She was the most calm and composed person out there right now. Kev was standing, leaning against the wall before the closed door of Zune’s room. He was constantly staring at the door as if ready to pounce on it at any second. His bloodshot red eyes were brimmed with tears and anger. Everyone’s face was clouded with dismay. What was going on?

Edward was sitting beside Carol. His jaw was set in a tight line. His fists were clenched together. He blinked his tears away but soon new tears formed and rolled down his cheeks. I walked towards him.

“What, what happened? What did the doctor say? And what the hell are the cops doing here?” I asked in a whisper.

Carol and Edward stared up at me. Carol stood up instantly and the next moment she was clinging to me as tight as she could and burst into tears.

“Carol? Carol, what, what happened? What did the doctor say? He’s fine, right?” I asked in an impatient voice.

“The doctor…the doctor said that he was….he was…”Carol began in her muffled voice, still clinging to me. I grabbed her shoulders, pulled back and looked directly in her watery eyes.

“He was what, Carol?” I asked losing my patient quota for the day.

“He was…” Carol couldn’t complete the sentence as she again started crying. The strong, calm and composed Carol I saw a minute ago was nowhere here. I was scared now. Something was seriously wrong. I stared down at Edward.

“Will you please tell me what happened?” I pleaded. Edward stood up slowly and walked a few steps away from everyone. I followed him. We were not far from everyone but far enough for them to not hear what we were talking about.

“Now please speak up, Edward. What the hell is going on? How’s Zune?” I asked the same question again.

Edward sighed deeply, wiped his tears away and cleared his throat. He raised his eyes to meet my gaze.

“Zune…Zune was r..raped for months. There are several bruises on his entire body which show that he was, he was regularly beaten up and sexually assaulted.” He averted his eyes to look at the closed door of Zune’s room. I began stepping back in disbelief. That couldn’t have happened. It couldn’t have happened to him. How could someone…No. No. I couldn’t move any further as my back was pressed against the wall.

Before I could think another thought. Zune’s door finally opened, the doctor came out and informed us that Zune was awake now. After much pleadings of Jenny he allowed us to go in and see him but advised to not stay for too long as Zune needed his rest. At first the cops went inside with the doctor. We all were eagerly waiting for them so we could finally see Zune. They came out within five minutes. They told us that Zune didn’t say a word. He was quiet and was not responding to their questions at all. The doctor explained that it would take a long time for Zune to recover. The cops instructed Jenny and Matt to inform them as soon as Zune was in the right state of mind to answer their questions; questions which we also wanted the answers to. Matt nodded and Jenny ran inside without wasting another moment. Carol and I were right behind her.

Zune was on the bed leaning back against the wall in a sitting position, staring unblinkingly at the ceiling. His face was void of any emotion. Jenny stopped a few steps away from his bed to look at her son, her life.

“Zune,” she whispered in a teary voice. Zune blinked as he listened to his name. He slowly shifted his eyes to Jenny. As he saw Jenny his eyes watered and in a flash he jumped out of his bed and raced towards her, limping due to his crippled and bruised legs. He sank into her arms and Jenny hugged him as tightly as she could. Zune and Jenny burst into tears simultaneously. It was heart-wrenching and heartwarming at the same time to see them together.

“Mom,” Zune spoke in between his sobs while Jenny was trying to shush him continuously despite the fact that she was crying as badly as he was. Carol couldn’t hold back herself and rushed towards them. She hugged them both and cried like a baby. It was like everyone was relishing this special moment. Our Zune was back and was with us once again. Nothing could go wrong now. Everything was going to be fine.

“Zu…Zune,” Kev croaked, inhibiting his tears but his voice betrayed him. Carol and Jenny stepped aside, wiping their tears and that was the moment when Kev and Zune locked gazes; it was the moment we all felt like time stood still. Everyone around was quiet. Kev started walking towards Zune and Zune began lunging in Kev’s direction. It was like they were reviving each and every moment they spent together. There was a slight trace of a smile visible on their faces. They were standing in front of each other, peering into each other’s eyes.

Before they could say anything, that slight smile I was talking about vanished from Zune’s face as he looked past Kev. Daryl was standing right behind Kev. Kev seemed confused as he saw the changed expression on Zune’s face. He followed his gaze and turned around to face his cousin. His was still confused and so were we all. Anger flashed across Zune’s face. His bloodshot red eyes were brimmed with tears. All of a sudden, he lunged towards Daryl. He grabbed his neck with his hands. Daryl fell on his back with this abrupt attack. Zune was on him, still having a tight hold on Daryl’s neck, choking him to death. Matt and Kev pulled Zune back after much effort but Zune was yelling now.

“HE RUINED MY LIFE! HE FUCKING RUINED MY LIFE!”

“What are you talking about, son?” Matt asked him while he and Kev were trying to control Zune’s violent actions. Daryl stood up instantly. He was coughing badly, rubbing his hurt neck.

Zune jerked Matt and Kev away and screamed, “He’s the one who traded me to that brothel to pay off his fucking debt!” Zune’s eyes were dribbling with tears.

Everyone ceased all movement. I was sure everyone’s mind was paralyzed for a moment. It all seemed like a hallucination. Some of us were staring at Daryl with accusing eyes while others were gazing at Zune in utter disbelief.

“He’s not in his right mind right now. He’s…He’s lying,” Daryl defended himself before any of us could make out another thought.

Zune looked at Daryl incredulously. He was about to retort back something when Kev came between Daryl and Zune.

“Daryl could never do something like that,” Kev concluded hesitantly. Zune never blinked while being called a liar from the guy he was in love with. It broke Zune, as new tears rolled down his cheeks.

“Zune, Daryl is right. You are not in the right state of mind at the moment. You need rest. Let’s get you back to bed,” Matt suggested while trying to get a hold of Zune’s shoulders. Zune shrugged off his touch, never taking his eyes away from Kev.

“I’m not lying! I’m not a maniac! I’m in my right mind and I’m saying the truth. Please believe me! FOR GOD SAKE BELIEVE ME!” He cried and begged us to believe him. Everyone around him was standing there like mutes, lost to their own thoughts.

I knew that after whatever Daryl did to help Kev and Matt, they were never going to believe Zune but I knew he wasn’t lying, he couldn’t lie. He was still staring at Kev with his pleading eyes which were silently praying for Kev to believe him. It was quite evident that at this moment Zune needed someone who could trust him, who could tell him that ‘I believe you’. I decided to assure him.

“I believe you.” A determined voice echoed in the room. It was not mine. It was Edward’s.

Every pair of eyes was on him. No one knew what to do except Edward. He moved towards Zune and repeated his words, “I believe you.”

Edward and Zune remained there, standing against each other, staring into each other’s eyes with an unreadable expression on their faces as if they were talking in their own sort of secret eye-language. In that moment I was sure Edward was in love with Zune, he always was.

Looking at them right now, I was sure about two things: first, Zune was badly damaged and it would be a long road ahead for him to recover, and second, Edward would be right beside Zune on that long road, holding his hand.

Zune hesitantly put his head on Edward’s chest in gratification and closed his eyes. Edward held his arms around Zune protectively and whispered once again.

“I believe you.”

That’s all Zune needed to hear at the moment.

TBC.

span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS,cursive;">Please tell me what do you think about this chapter. You views are valuable to me. It teaches me a lot.
A very BIG thanks to Lisa, Areesha, Silentdreamer, Gregg, Terry P, Lilansui, GulabJamun, Jo Ann, Ninecila and all my readers for reading, reviewing, liking and following my story. It really means a lot. You guys are great
And as usual LISA.