Not made for each other - 21. Sometimes Love is Enough...More Than Enough

Chapter 21: Sometimes Love is Enough...More Than Enough.

Soon a realization began to sink in: Jake was gone.

Edward drove us to the police station in record time. We didn’t say a word during our ride as our minds were occupied with thoughts about all the horrible things that could happen to Jake.

We got to the police station and I spoke with an officer to take my statement back. Matt was not around; I thought he would be here, but I guess he was off duty today.

The whole time I was in there, my breath was caught in my throat because the police officers were staring at me with odd looks on their faces. It was probably because of my decision to suddenly withdraw my complaint, but thankfully they didn’t ask any unusual questions.

As soon as Edward and I were out of the police station, I ran into the car. My eyes were heavy and brimmed with tears. We sat there for good fifteen minutes in utter silence.

“Zune?” Edward’s concerned voice made me to look at him. “He’ll be fine.”

“He has to be fine. He…he has to be fine.” I wiped away my tears. “Can you please drive me to Kev’s house?”

“Why?” he asked in a troubled voice.

“Because Daryl lives with him and…and I need to talk to him. Right now,” I answered staring ahead.

“Zune, I don’t think—”

“If you can’t get me there then I can always get a cab.”

He huffed and started driving. Ten minutes later, Edward parked his car outside Kev’s home and started to open his door.

“Edward, stay here. I’ll be back in five minutes,” I insisted in a commanding tone.

“But—”

“I am going in there alone, Edward,” I concluded and jumped out of the car leaving him inside.

As I began walking towards the front door of Kev’s house, all the golden memories of Kev and me being together hovered in my mind; it was the time when everything was perfect, when everyone was happy. I took a deep breath and pushed those nostalgic thoughts aside.

When I got to the front door I raised my hand and rang the doorbell. After a few seconds, I heard someone opening the door. It was Kev. He looked exhausted and his eyes had dark circles under them. The thick growth on his face showed that he hadn’t shaved in weeks. As his eyes found mine, a small smile formed on his face.

“Zune.” He said my name in a mere whisper but even that whisper made me gasp and my heartbeat started pounding in my chest. We stood there staring into each other’s eyes. I felt like every moment we had spent together was playing before my eyes.

“I…I need to talk to Daryl.” My voice made both of us snap back to reality. He stepped aside, never looking away from me and I went in the house, hastily averting my gaze, reminding myself of why I was there.

“DARYL!” I shouted his name once I was in the living room.

“Zune, what happened?” Kev asked worriedly.

I snapped my head around and gave him an irritated look. “As I just said: I need to talk to Daryl.”

Before he could respond I caught sight of Daryl coming out of his bedroom. He looked in my direction and in a blink of an eye his face showed shock and guilt.

I took long strides towards him while his legs ceased to move further. I stopped when I was a few inches away from him. “I have taken my complaint back.” Daryl’s rigid face lost some of its tension lines.

“I knew someday you’d realize that Daryl is innocent.” Kev’s happy voice made me look back at him. I stared at him in pity; he didn’t even have a clue who he was relying on.

I stared ahead at Daryl. “Innocent!” I chuckled sarcastically.

“I am innocent,” Daryl defended himself shamelessly.

“Think whatever helps you to sleep at night, asshole, but you know that I know the truth and I know that you know the truth, so at least stop acting so naïve in front of me because I FUCKING KNOW WHAT A NASTY PIECE OF SHIT YOU ARE!”

Daryl was staring me in awe. He opened his mouth to say something lame I assumed, but I showed him my hand to stop and he gulped down his words. “I’m not here to see your disgusting face or to listen to your pathetic voice. I’m here to inform you that I have taken my complaint back. I have done my part so let your bosses know this.” My anger subsided and my voice began to break when I started talking about Jake. “Tell them that…that I have done my part so I’m begging them to let Jake go.” I blinked away my tears and tried hard not to cry. “He’s innocent. He has nothing to do with all this mess. He…he got caught in between this chaos just because he’s my friend so leave him alone, spare his life.” I inhaled a deep breath to compose myself and to get some confidence back in my voice. I took a step closer to Daryl. “Because if Jake doesn’t returns or something happens to him, I won’t leave you…I won’t leave any of you; you have no idea how far I would go to make everyone’s life in your little clan a living hell, which every one of you truly deserves. I just need my Jake back. I need my friend back, otherwise I swear Daryl, I’ll kill you with my own hands.” I turned around and walked away. Kev kept asking me what happened to Jake, where was he, and what the hell was going on. I ignored him and his questions but he got a hold of my hand and I looked back at him, then at our hands; he instantly let go of my hand. I turned around slowly and moved closer to him. “I think whatever I say, you would not believe me…again. You’ll call me a liar…again. You’ll be standing right next to your cousin, against me…again. And…and I’ll be hurt and broken…again. So please do me a favor and don’t ask me anything because I can’t tell you anything more than this: Jake’s life is in danger.” I didn’t wait for his reaction and ran out of his house to Edward’s car.

He didn’t ask me anything as I settled into the car and buckled my seatbelt. He just gave me the thing that I needed the most at that moment: silence. He quietly drove us home. It was three in the afternoon and no one was home yet. I got Mom’s note informing us that she would be home around seven in the evening after her shift. There was another note from Becca stating that she would be late tonight because she had some important work to do at the café, where she works as an accountant. I sighed and joined Edward on the sofa who was staring unblinkingly at the floor.

“I won’t forgive myself if…if anything happened to Jake,” he murmured, still gazing at the floor.

“Neither would I.”

“Why did I say those mean things to him, to the person who’s one of my best friends, who cares about me as much as my mother? Why did I hurt him when I knew those words were gonna crush him? Why?” He finally looked away from the floor and leaned his head back on the sofa, closing his eyes. I knew the remorse was killing him inside but there was nothing I could do to help because honestly, even I was pissed at him for hurting Jake, but somehow I was feeling badly for Edward too.

“You are mad at me too?” It was a statement but he voiced it as a question.

“Someone told me once that dogs get mad; people, they get angry,” I repeated his strange theory, which he once told me. A reluctant smile crept over his tensed face. He opened his eyes, looked in my way and his smile got wider.

“You still remember that?” he asked, trying hard to suppress his surprise. I just nodded and then we fell into silence, anxiously waiting for Jake to come back. This wait was unbearable for both of us; it was getting hard to just sit there and wait in anticipation. Every passing moment was destroying my hopes of seeing Jake again.

“Jake will be back soon,” Edward assured me as if he knew my fear. “Do you think Jake will ever forgive me?” His voice wavered as he looked at me with sad eyes.

“As much as I want him to make you sweat for his forgiveness, I’m sure he’ll forgive you in a heartbeat because he’s Jake. The noble guy, the good boy,” I reasoned.

We were quiet again for a good twenty to thirty minutes, each lost in our own thoughts. “Do you think Kev or Daryl would have told Ron about Jake’s kidnapping?” Edward asked out of the blue.

“I don’t know.” I shrugged.

“I know Ron cheated on Jake and they are not together anymore, but they had been together for more than three years. I don’t think feelings go away just like that.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean if Ron finds out about Jake, I’m sure he’ll be here soon to see if we have heard anything.”

“And why are you so sure?”

“Because while we were at my granny’s he called me many times to ask about Jake but requested me not to tell him,” he explained.

“Why would he do that?” I was curious now.

“He probably still loves Jake; he still cares about him.”

“Jake loves him too, even after knowing that Ron cheated on him, even if he’s not with him anymore.”

“Why is love not enough to hold two people together?” Edward asked resting his elbows on his knees.

“Love is never enough. You need trust and respect for each other too. By cheating on Jake, Ron threw Jake’s respect away and by deciding to stand up for me instead of Daryl, Jake lost Ron’s trust.”

“But love is still there between them.”

“Yes, it is.”

‘If love was enough to hold two people together, then Kev and I would still be together now; we wouldn’t be against each other. Well, love is damn complicated.’ I thought in my mind.

“What are you thinking about?” Edward asked stopping my train of thought.

“Nothing,” I lied, not being able to meet his gaze.

He chuckled. “Try Kevin.” I didn’t say anything. “You still love him.” It was not a question.

“As I said, love is never enough.”

“You’re right, love is never enough,” he said in a shaky voice. I looked at him. He was staring at me like he wanted me to tell something. There was something in his eyes which was trying to convey a message but I couldn’t understand it. We held each other’s gaze for God knows how long, until someone rang the doorbell and intruded on our private moment.

We both jumped out of our seats and ran towards the door. My heart raced in hopes that Jake was on the other side of the door. Edward opened the door to find a keyed-up Carol on the other side. We were definitely surprised to find her on our doorstep.

“Carol!” I voiced my surprise, knitting my brows. She looked tired but alert. Her clothes were slightly disheveled.

“Why the hell did you take your complaint back?!” She asked incredulously, staring me.

“Why do you care?” Edward came to my aid, stepping ahead.

Carol eyes shifted to Edward who was right behind me. Her facial expressions changed immediately. She seemed extremely pissed off. There was a look of ‘I’m so gonna kill you’ in her eyes. She began ambling towards him like a lioness lurches towards her prey. Edward swallowed audibly and began stepping back.

“I…I’m sorry.” Poor Edward had no idea what he was apologizing for but he didn’t want to be the victim of Carol’s wrath. “We…we can talk about whatever I…I did to piss you off.” Edward couldn’t back away anymore as his back was pressed against the wall. “I…I…” Carol didn’t give him the opportunity to finish his sentence. She lifted her knee and attacked his manhood with all the power she had. Edward cried in pain, grabbing his crotch, and landed on the ground. Shit! I knew it would hurt real badly, because a few days back I hit him in the same place with the same maneuver.

“Carol!” I automatically moved to Edward to help him.

“What was that for?” Edward asked, moaning in pain with his hands still wrapped around his genitals.

“I know all the mean things you said to my innocent Jake, asshole!” Carol barked. How in seven heavens did she know about that?

“How did you know that Edward said those things to Jake? You weren’t there.” I asked in bewilderment, staring at her suspiciously, while helping Edward up on his feet again.

“I’ll tell you everything, Zune, but please tell me why you took your statement back and…” she looked around frantically, “and where is Jake?”

“I can’t tell you that,” I stated, avoiding her penetrating gaze. She held my shoulders and reluctantly I had to look at her. Her pleading eyes were desperate for answers but I couldn’t jeopardize Jake’s life by telling her everything. “Carol, please don’t ask me anything at the moment.” I was trying to hold back my tears.

“Zune, please. This is…this is my only chance to prove everything.” She started shaking my shoulders gently.

“Prove what?! That Zune is a liar and your asshole of a boyfriend is a saint?” Edward blurted bitterly, but thankfully Carol didn’t pay him any attention.

“Zune, for the sake of our friendship, for the sake of Jake, please tell me everything.” I stared into her eyes in quest of the genuineness of her words and the only thing that I found there was honesty and concern.

“Zune, don’t!” Edward warned me, looking back and forth between Carol and me.

“Zune, please.”

“Zune, don’t.”

“Carol, don’t make me regret this.” As I said those words, Carol relaxed a bit but various tension lines began to form on Edward’s worried face. I told her everything: how Mitchell came to kidnap me on our way home and how Jake became the scapegoat in this whole situation.

Carol was shocked. She slapped her palm on her forehead and put her other hand on her waist. “You took your statement back for Jake’s freedom?! Do you…do you really think that after you have taken your statement back, those assholes won’t do anything to Jake?” She was absolutely right and making perfect sense but did I have a choice? “I can’t let this happen. I can’t let anything happen to Jake,” she began muttering under her breath.

“Carol, now will you tell me what’s going on? What are you doing here? And…and how did you know about Jake and Edward’s fight?” I asked impatiently, as my mind was bombarded with several questions.

Instead of answering me Carol pulled out her phone from the front pocket of her jeans and blindly called someone.

“Carol, will you tell me what the hell is going on? Please.” Carol ignored me altogether.

“Hello, Uncle Matt.” She called Matt? But why? “I know you’re off duty today but you have to go the police station right now.” She took a deep breath. “Listen to me very carefully, okay?” I visualized Matt agreeing on the other end. “Jake is in danger. All this time Zune had been right; Daryl is guilty and—” I guess Matt interrupted her but right now Carol was out of patience. “Uncle Matt, just listen to me and don’t say a word until I’m done, okay?” She didn’t wait for his approval and began talking like a professional detective. “Daryl is the one who traded Zune to Mitchell. Today they planned to kidnap Zune but instead of him they took Jake with them and…and I know where Jake is, so note down the address and go save him.” Her last sentence caught our attention. She knew where Jake was? She knew where Jake was! Edward and I shared a ‘what-the-hell-is-going-on’ look while Carol dictated the address to Matt. “Uncle Matt you have to save him and please send some of your police officers to Kev’s place to arrest Daryl because I’m afraid he’s going to take off as soon as he knows the game is over.” There was definitely something Edward and I were missing here; since when was Carol on my side? “What?!” Carol’s surprised voice grabbed my attention. “You don’t believe me? You would believe that asshole Daryl over me?” She took some deep breaths to calm herself down. “Okay, first of all, you are a cop so act like one; for God’s sake, please go save Jake and if you find him at the address I just gave you then you have the proof you need to arrest that bastard Daryl, but right now just go and rescue Jake!” She talked, yelled, and pleaded for a few moments and then hung up.

“Carol–” I began to ask the same old question: what the hell is going on? But she cut me off.

“We have to go to Kev’s place…now. I’ll tell you guys everything as soon as we get there. Let’s go!” With that she turned around and ran towards her car. Edward and I had no time to register what the hell was going on but still I followed her and I was sure Edward was right behind me. Carol hastily hopped in the driver’s seat. I accompanied her riding shotgun and Edward slid into the backseat.

“Carol, will you tell us something? What is this all about?” I was irritated as my questions were being constantly sidelined.

Carol buckled her seatbelt while staring at me with a serious look on her face. “It’s about Daryl. It’s about you and…and it’s about Jake.

“What are you talking about?” Edward asked in exasperation.

“You’ll know soon.” She tapped out some texts on her phone, then threw it in the cup holder closest to her and began driving like a maniac. She broke every speed limit, went through every red light and didn’t stop her car until we were right outside Kev’s house. Kev and Ron were outside the house as if they were waiting for us.

As we came out of the car, Ron ran towards us, frowing at Carol. “What did you want to tell me about Jake? Where’s he? Kev told me that he’s missing?” It was evident from his voice that he was worried and scared for Jake; he was actually panicking.

“Why did you tell me to wait for you guys outside and not to say a word about this to Daryl? What the hell is going on?” Kev joined the question parade. Just like Kev, everyone was actually thinking the same thing: what the hell was going on?

“I’ll tell you everything guys, but first let me do all the things that I wanted to do for so long.” Carol moved towards Ron and slapped him across the face. “How could you cheat on a guy like Jake, you bastard! He bloody loved you. He gave you everything he had and you…” Another slap on the other cheek. Every one of us was stunned for a moment. Both of Ron’s hands were on his cheeks. “I don’t think you ever loved him.”

“I do love—” This time Carol punched Ron on his face and he stumbled backward but managed not to fall.

“The hell you love him. Don’t give me that crap! I’m not Jake so stop trying to fool me, asshole!” Carol was damn pissed so we all did the best thing we could do in the present situation: we kept quiet.

“I know I’m an asshole, I’m an idiot, but believe me, I do love him. I know I screwed up really badly but I love him.” Ron was on the verge of tears.

Carol turned around and stared at Edward and then looked back at Ron. “Don’t even think that I’m done with the both of you. I’ll get back at you assholes for hurting my Jake,” she threatened.

Ron narrowed his eyes on Edward. “You hurt Jake?” He obviously didn’t seem happy to find out about this.

“Like you are a saint, just like your pimp of a friend Daryl,” Edward retorted.

“Don’t talk shit about my brother!” Kev joined the gang of ‘Desperate Housewives’.

“You can’t stop me from showing everyone his true face.” Edward was getting agitated with every passing moment.

“Oh I so can.” Kev was not ready to back off either.

“Can anyone tell me where Jake is?” Ron was singing another song in between Kev and Edward’s heated cold war.

“Then do—” Edward was very much in the mood to carry on this argument but finally Carol interjected.

“Shut up, dickheads! Just shut up!” Carol shouted throwing her hands in the air and everyone went silent. “Stop bickering, ladies, will you? We are here for something important, something really important.”

“Then, what are you waiting for?” Kev impatiently asked.

Carol briskly walked to her car, opened the backdoor and pulled out a hockey stick from under the seat.

“What is that for?” I asked as I realized that Carol would never carry a hockey stick with her for no reason; I couldn’t decipher her motives but they definitely seemed dangerous to me.

“As I said, I want to do everything today that I wanted to do for a long time,” she answered, and started walking towards the front door. She pushed the door open with the hockey stick in her right hand and went inside. The four of us were right behind her.

Daryl was sprawled on the sofa, watching television. As his eyes caught sight of Carol, a smile spread over his face. “Hey, babes.” He quickly stood up, walked towards her and hugged her, but Carol never hugged him back. Soon Daryl’s eyes laid on four of us and his smile evaporated into thin air. “What…what are they all doing here?” Then his eyes fell on the hockey stick in Carol’s hand. “And what are you doing with this…this hockey stick?” He chuckled nervously.

Carol stepped back with a sigh. “I bought this hockey stick the day Zune returned, the day he accused you of…of trading him.”

“Babes, you know that’s not true.” Daryl tried to convince her but Carol wasn’t listening to him.

“I decided right then that the day I have proof that you are guilty and Zune is correct, I’ll beat you to death with this hockey stick.” The color drained out of Daryl’s face.

“What are you talking about?” Kev was confused and so were we.

“Carol babes, you know I’m innocent. I could never do that to Zune or to anyone else for that matter. And now even Zune has taken his complaint back,” Daryl mentioned but Carol was still paying him a deaf ear. Daryl glanced at us one by one and swallowed audibly.

“Today my wait has ended,” And without any prior warning, Carol grabbed the hockey stick with both hands and smacked Daryl on his legs. In a flash he was on the floor on his back, and holding his legs, moaning in pain.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” Kev immediately came forward to help Daryl, but Carol stopped him with her hockey stick.

“Whatever I’m doing now, we should have done this a long time ago.” Daryl was trying to get back on his feet but he failed miserably. He tossed around on his stomach and began to scurry away on his knees and elbows but Carol noticed him; she gave a firm kick to his guts and the very next moment he was again on the floor on his back, groaning in pain.

“Will you stop talking in riddles and let us know what this is all about?” Kev was losing the last bit of his patience as his eyes darted to his cousin and then back to Carol.

Daryl was still on the floor when Carol attacked him again with her weapon; this time she aimed for his torso. “Zune was right. He never lied about Daryl. Daryl was the one who traded Zune off to that brothel to settle his debts.” Daryl was crying in agony, looking pathetic.

“That’s bullshit!” Kev was not ready to even think that Daryl could be wrong.

“It’s not bullshit, asshole! It’s the truth!” she shouted at Kev.

“And how are you so sure about that?” This time another loyal friend of Daryl’s asked. It was Ron.

Carol stomped Daryl’s hand with her foot and to hurt him more she began grinding her foot over it. Daryl wailed in anguish but Carol showed no sign of mercy. “Because I never believed him in the first place. I had complete trust in Zune’s words from the very beginning but I knew Zune had no evidence to prove that Daryl was guilty, so I planned something.”

“Planned?” Edward asked furrowing his brows together.

“Yes. Planned. I showed this fucktard and everyone else that I believed him, that I was on his side, though I never ever had an ounce trust in this bastard. I secretly began keeping an eye on his every move. I even kept checking his phone but I couldn’t find any clues. For the past two months he didn’t do anything suspicious and I was losing hope as I had nothing to prove him guilty. Absolutely nothing…” Carol shifted her glare to Daryl. “…until now.” She blindly smashed her hockey stick against his face not caring a bit about her target. This time Daryl cried out in pain more loudly but no one came to his rescue because everyone was hanging onto Carol’s next words. “Last night he made a mistake, a mistake I was waiting so long for him to make. I was on a ‘date’ with this venomous snake. Then he received a call, talked in a hushed tone and then told me that he had to go to an urgent meeting, and with that he drove away in a hurry. I knew right then that something was wrong. I decided to trail behind him in my car from a safe distance. After driving for two hours he stopped his car outside an old building. He jumped out of his car and raced towards this huge iron-gate in front of the building. I quietly followed him maintaining my distance. I carefully went behind him; I knew this could be risky but at that moment I couldn’t think of anything else.”

“What…what did you see there?” Ron asked in a tense voice.

Carol started prodding her hockey stick on Daryl’s chest with her left hand while her right foot was still crushing his hand. “He went inside one of the rooms in that old building. I saw him there with a guy who had numerous tattoos and piercings.” I knew that instant that she was talking about Mitchell. “I hid behind a wall and cautiously began peeking through the window to see what was going on on the other side of the wall. I was able to hear their conversation. Daryl was calling him Mitchell; I remembered that Zune mentioned that name in his statement. I already knew that Daryl was the culprit but after listening to everything from his own filthy mouth, I wanted to shout, I wanted to cry, I…I wanted to beat the shit out of him, I wanted to rip his balls off, I…I wanted to castrate him. But I couldn’t. I bloody couldn’t.” Carol gave Daryl’s sweaty face another ruthless blow with her hockey stick; by now Daryl’s lips, cheeks, and forehead were bleeding badly and his deafening screams were echoing in the room.

“But what the hell did you hear? What were they talking about?” Edward asked curiously, taking a step forward.

“The reason for their urgent meeting was Zune. They were talking about Zune; they wanted to get Zune out of their way because his statement against them could have created serious problems for them in the near future and there was only one way to solve those problems: to kill him or to take him back to that hellhole, to that brothel; they agreed on the latter.”

“How did they know where I was?” I asked in an emotionless voice.

“I heard that like a loyal dog, this scumbag…” Carol slammed another ferocious kick into Daryl’s guts then she stared at me. “…this scumbag had informed Mitchell last week that you were at Edward’s grandmother’s house. Since Mitchell got this update, his men had been constantly following Edward, Jake, and you waiting for the right opportunity to ambush you.”

“So all this time Zune was in danger.” It was more of a statement rather than a question. Disbelief was written over Edward’s face.

“Yes. Mitchell’s men even got their chance last night when Jake and Zune went to that bar alone; those three men who followed Zune when he was returning from the bar with Jake were Mitchell’s men but you got there in time and ruined their plan.” Carol inhaled a deep breath to let her anger subside. “I…I heard Mitchell telling Daryl about their failed plan to abduct Zune and the fallout between Jake and you. Mitchell also revealed that today on Zune’s way back home from your grandmother’s house, they would kidnap him again and solve their problem forever. He told him about the place where they were going to keep Zune in the interim, because the next day they were planning to bring Zune back to the brothel. I memorized that address right away. Daryl seemed disappointed that Zune was still out of their clutches but he sounded content that soon his all problems would come to an end. I wanted to kill his sorry ass right there but I knew it wouldn’t do any good at that moment.”

“Th…then?” Ron asked hesitantly.

“Then they divided out some money Mitchell had in a briefcase; I guess they got that money from pimping out some other innocent victim. After that they decided not to meet for another two months and then they both left, but before leaving, that son of a bitch Mitchell locked that iron-gate while I was still inside. I had no idea what to do so I searched for my phone but like the stupid bitch I am, I forgot it at the restaurant where I was on my ‘date’ with this pig.” Carol glanced at Daryl disdainfully. “I was locked in there the whole night. In the morning, someone came and opened the door, probably the caretaker of the building or someone. After proper planning and a bit of risk I successfully snuck out of the building without drawing any unwanted attention from the caretaker and ran towards my car. I drove to the police station as soon as I could but when I got there a police officer informed me that Zune had taken his statement back. I was confused because as per Mitchell and Daryl’s plan, Zune should have been kidnapped by now but here he was not only safe and sound, but he also took his complaint back. I knew something was out of place but didn’t know what. I quickly drove to Zune’s house and then I saw the whole picture. Mitchell took Jake with him instead of Zune. I was sure that he would have kept our Jake at the same place where they were going to keep Zune after kidnapping him, so I told Uncle Matt the same address; I’m sure he’ll be here soon with Jake and that Mitchell guy.” Carol knelt down on her knees. “After Mitchell’s arrested and they hear his statement, I’m sure there won’t be any way that this pimp is going to get away with whatever he did to my brother, to my best friend.” Carol clutched Daryl’s hair roughly and pulled his head toward her. There was nothing but sheer terror in his eyes.

“Carol—” Carol didn’t let him say another word and spat in his face. She threw back his head forcefully. She stood up and turned around to face us. All of us were in shock, at least I was. Carol had always trusted me; all this time when I was thinking she was against me, she was really on my side. She did all these things, took all these risks, to prove me right. How hard would it have been for her to stand up against the person she was in love with? She knew that there would be pain for her this way but she still silently stood by me. My eyes watered as I tried to hold my tears back.

“You always trusted me.” I mentioned the obvious. Carol’s eyes were on me. It was visible that she was also battling with her tears.

“You are my brother; how could I not trust you.” She looked down to hide her tears but her strong-Carol façade was not going to work anymore. I leapt towards her, hugged her tightly, and she burst into tears. “I…I love you, bro. I…I have missed you a lot,” she confessed among her sobs, carelessly throwing the hockey stick to her right. The hockey stick was now lying on the floor, just a foot away from Kev.

“I love you too, big sis, and…and I have missed you too.” I accepted the truth, trying hard not to cry.

After a few moments, Carol composed herself and pulled back. “I’m happy that we are together again but right now it’s time to punish the vulture who ruined your life, who broke our trust, who quaked our worlds, who divided all of us, and who’s the reason Jake is in danger.” Carol stepped away and my eyes fell on Daryl squirming in pain on the floor. I started walking towards him and my heart began slamming against my chest.

The time when he traded me to Mitchell flashed before my eyes, the time when I was crying for help, the time I was begging for mercy, the time I lost everything I had. All the pain I had been through in that brothel, all those despairing depths I was lost in once, came rushing back to engulf me in my haunting memory lane.

I sucked in a deep breath and stopped to look at him. I wanted to kill him; every fiber in my body was screaming at me to take my revenge but I…I couldn’t do anything. He was helpless. He was vulnerable. He was hurt. I fell on my knees, covered my face with my hands and broke down in tears. I don’t know why I reacted that way. Carol hugged me from behind, wrapping her hands around my chest.

“Shh. Shh. I understand.” She kept murmuring those words to me to soothe me and it worked. I wiped away my tears and stood up with my chin up in a sort of strange pride and satisfaction. I don’t think I can ever describe that moment. I somehow felt alive and free at the same time.

I stared at Daryl in disgust with my blurry vision and began stepping backwards until my back was pressed against the wall. This whole time my eyes never left the sight of my culprit and his writhing figure lying on the floor. I didn’t say a word to him because honestly, he didn’t deserve that and what he actually deserved he was already getting: pain.

Ron didn’t wait another moment and sprang over to Daryl. He violently dragged him to his feet, grabbing him by the collar. Daryl feebly struggled to get free but it was entirely futile. “You sick bastard, you, you actually did that to Zune.” Ron swung his fist which collided with Daryl’s left cheekbone while still gripping his collar with his other free hand to hold him in place. His eyes were red with fury; he was barely able to contain himself from killing Daryl. “You are the reason HE went through hell!” He punched him again but this time his blow connected directly with his victim’s bloody nose. Daryl was conscious but incapacitated; he couldn’t even save himself let alone retaliate. “Because of you, my Jake…he is in danger. His life…his life…”Ron didn’t finish his sentence and I saw a tear escape his left eye. He threw him on the floor in disgust.

It was Edward’s turn now. He pulled him to eye level in the same demeanor as Ron did.

“Please…help…save me,” Daryl bleated. He was having trouble keeping his eyelids open.

Edward raised his left brow while he clenched his jaw. “Yeah. Sure.” Without much ado, he began slugging him, punch after punch on Daryl’s already-distorted face. “If it were in my hands you’d be dead by now, but no, that would be an easy escape for you. You deserve to rot in jail; you deserve a lingering death in the most torturous way possible.” When Edward was satisfied with using Daryl’s deformed face as a punching bag, he hurled him towards Kev.

All this time I was glued in place leaning against the wall, and Kev was sitting on the floor hugging his knees which were pulled to his chest, staring at his feet like he was in a daze. Daryl was again sprawled on the floor on his stomach, just a step away from Kev. He raised his head to look at Kev.

“Kev.” Daryl’s muffled voice made Kev lift his eyes to glance at his cousin. “Please…help…save…sorry.”

Kev’s lips were trembling in an attempt to avoid crying in front of all of us. “You were my brother.” Kev’s tone was calm but his voice was unsteady.

“I…I’m sorry,” Daryl cried, still holding Kev’s gaze.

“You knew I loved Zune. You knew what he was to me, and I trusted you. I…I…I chose you over him. You made him look like a liar, like, like he is crazy.” Kev’s tone was angry as he accused his cousin. His eyes were filled with tears but not a single one rolled down his face. I knew he was holding back a volcano which was bound to erupt soon. “You…you traded him off like a herd. He was…he was…” Kev couldn’t get out another word without crying. He looked at the ceiling, took deep breaths and again shifted his gaze to Daryl. “He was raped there. He had been through hell. I…I had been through hell. You…you…how could you? You destroyed everything. You destroyed everything and I will never be able to fix it.” He shook his head, and anger, disgust, and disappointment flitted across his face. I had no idea whether those emotions were directed towards Daryl or himself. “Thanks to you, I…I won’t be able look at my face again in mirror without hating myself. I will be disgusted with myself for the rest of my life but I guess that’s what I truly deserve since I trusted you and not Zune.”

“Kev…please…I’m your…broth–

Kev cut him off with a yell which took me by surprise and I shuddered. “DON’T SAY THAT!”

Daryl was now incapable of keeping his head up to stare at Kev; I don’t think he had enough strength left to do so anymore. That’s probably why he let the side of his sweaty and blood-streaked face fall on the floor, but his pleading eyes were still fixed on Kev. I was sure he was hoping his cousin would show him some mercy. He looked ready to pass out.

“You can’t be anyone’s brother! You are nothing more than a selfish bastard!” Kev shouted.

“Kev…”

“If I say ‘I hate you’ that would be the mildest way of telling you what I’m feeling about you right now. You, you make me to want to puke. You ruined my trust, you betrayed Carol’s love, you killed a part of Zune’s soul forever and now…and now Jake…” He stopped in mid-sentence and glared at Daryl. Kev was fuming. His eyes drifted to the hockey stick just a foot away from him and then they darted back on the frightened Daryl.

Daryl’s eyes which were bruised slits were now wide open as a look of horror flashed across his face. Kev grasped the hockey stick with a determined look on his face and stood up. Daryl’s eyes looked like they were begging Kev to spare him but Kev didn’t seem in the mood to pity him; on the contrary, the hatred in his eyes told me that he could definitely kill his cousin.

“Kev…no…” Daryl prayed for the nth time.

“I’ll redeem myself today, you son of a bitch!” Kev sputtered, grinding his teeth as he readjusted his grip on the hockey stick.

“Please…”

“FUCK OFF!” Kev bellowed.

“For…forgive me…please…”

Kev swallowed down hard, fighting with his tears. “I’ll kill you!”

“No…I…I beg…I beg you…” Daryl whimpered.

“Zune probably begged you too for help but you were deaf enough to not to hear his screams!” Kev drew back the hockey stick a bit to add more force to his blow and swung at Daryl.

“No!” Kev was about to knock him out with the stick but before it could collide with whatever part of Daryl’s body it was aimed at, I unknowingly shouted at the top of my lungs. In that moment it felt like everything had stopped moving around me, everyone was quiet, everyone’s eyes were on me, everyone’s except Kev’s.

Kev abruptly halted. He didn’t argue about his evident desire to kill his cousin, in fact, he said nothing. He just stood there ducking his head down, holding the stick inches away from Daryl’s face. After a few long, silent minutes he threw the stick down and slowly turned around to meet my gaze.

Slowly and steadily, Kev began walking towards me, staring directly into my eyes. I never looked away. Numerous emotions were flashing across his face with each step he took in my direction; there was shame, guilt, sorrow, pain, anger, and…there was love. Kev stopped a foot away from me. He opened his mouth to say something but then someone’s phone rang and he closed his mouth.

It was Carol’s phone. Carol slid out her phone, looked at the ID flashed on the screen, and then eyed me. “It’s Uncle Matt.” We all walked towards her, completely ignoring Daryl’s broken and bloody form spread over the floor.

Carol quickly picked up the call. “Hello!”

She remained silent for a few minutes, listening carefully to whatever Matt was telling her. During the beginning of the conversation a small smile crept over her tensed face but it soon disappeared and a frown took its place.

“They found Jake, right?” Ron’s voice was so hopeful. Carol silenced him immediately by showing her hand. Poor Ron was getting restless and so were we.

After another few minutes, Carol hung up. The only word she uttered in the whole conversation was ‘Hello’; there was definitely something wrong.

“Carol?” I asked.

“Jake is fine, right?” Edward asked when Carol didn’t respond me.

“Uncle Matt found him, right?” Kev joined in the trail of questions.

Well, Ron didn’t seem to have that much patience. “Carol, open your fucking mouth, will you?!” he nearly shouted.

Carol looked at me and then at Ron. She seemed in a daze.

“When Uncle Matt raided the place I told him about, he found Mitchell with Jake and his dozen henchmen–”

I was hearing an unsaid, imminent ‘but’ somewhere in that sentence.

“They found Jake then,” Ron interrupted her in absolute ecstasy. He was ready to jump for joy.

As I said, there was indeed a ‘but’. Carol began glancing everywhere but at Ron. “But…but Mitchell was able to escape along with…” She gulped down the iron ball of emotions and hesitantly lifted her eyes to look at Ron. “…along with his two men and…”

“And…” It appeared as if Ron was warning Carol not to say what he was not ready to hear.

“And…and Jake.”

“You mean Jake…Jake is still with those pimps?” Ron asked in a defeated and lost voice.

“No.” Carol’s answer confused us all but thankfully she continued without any pause. “Uncle Matt chased them until he caught up with them and arrested Mitchell, but his two men and Jake were not with him.”

“So where the hell is Jake?!” This time it was Edward who was losing his temper.

“Jake was able to escape from Mitchell’s claws before Uncle Matt could reach them, and when Uncle Matt eventually caught Mitchell, he had already sent his men after Jake…and into the woods.”

Ron slumped to the floor on his knees. He was breathing hard. “You mean Jake is there alone in the woods, running away from those bastards?”

“Uncle Matt has also sent some of his police officers to scour the woods and find Jake. In the meantime, Mitchell has confessed everything, including ratting out Daryl, telling them he was the one who traded Zune off. The cops will be here any moment.”

Everything happened so fast that it was difficult to keep a sense of reality; it all seemed so surreal.

The whole house was silent. There was no talking, no noise, no movement, nothing. Everyone was waiting for the cops to arrive. Ron was still slumped on the floor boring holes in the carpet. Edward was leaning against the back wall staring at the ceiling. Kev was sitting on the sofa; his elbows were on his knees, and his hands were on his head. I had no clue what was going through his mind. And, Carol…she was darting her eyes from one person to the other.

“What are we still doing here?” As expected, Carol was the first one to break the silence.

“What do you mean?” Kev asked, lifting his eyes to look at her. He was as clueless as we all were.

“Uncle Matt told me about the place where Jake fooled Mitchell and ran into the woods.” I had no doubt that she was hinting towards something.

“What are you suggesting?” Edward asked in a whisper, like he already knew what Carol was talking about.

“We should all go there and search for him. I know Jake won’t still be there but instead of sitting here dying in anticipation, going out there and looking for him somewhere sounds better to me.” She sounded a bit sarcastic.

“But what about this dickhead?” Kev asked.

“It isn’t like he can run away or anything and the cops will be here soon too. They can get him to the hospital,” Carol responded nonchalantly.

“We can’t just leave like that. We beat the shit out of him. We just committed a crime. The cops will definitely arrest us for nearly killing this bastard. As far as I know, running away from here will be another criminal offense.” Edward put the practical side of the situation in front of us.

“Look guys, we will all get arrested eventually when this bastard Daryl opens his mouth in front of the cops but don’t you think before taking a trip to the jail, we should make sure that Jake is fine?” Carol said ‘a trip to the jail’ as if talking about ‘a trip to the Paris’. I had no clue how she could be so casual about this whole scenario but somehow her words were making sense to me. “Think about it.” It was clear that Carol wanted us to get out of here before cops arrive so that we could look for Jake. “We’ll have to decide what’s the priority for us at this point: to go out and search for Jake or…or just wait here for the cops to come and arrest us with Daryl just because we gave this shithead the well-deserved beating.”

The next moment the five of us were running towards Carol’s car. Carol had her weapon with her, I mean her hockey stick. She threw that stick under the seat and hopped in the driver’s seat. I joined her again riding shotgun. Edward, Ron, and Kev were jammed in the backseat. Kev was sandwiched between Edward and Ron. Without wasting another second, Carol put the car in drive and sped down the road.

The higher the speed the car was gaining on the road, the more prominent the silence was becoming inside the car. The atmosphere in the car was as somber as a funeral.

“When my parents kicked me out and I had no idea what to do, it was Jake who was with me. He urged me to get a job, he…he inspired me to continue my studies. He was there; he was always there like a rock supporting me. He gave me confidence to live my life with my chin up. He…he made me learn the meaning of love. He taught me how it felt to be loved. And…and what did I do to pay him back?” Ron’s cracked voice hinted that he was about to cry, but still he continued. “I cheated on him. I betrayed him. I treated him like shit. I hurt him. I left him alone when he needed me the most. I…I disappointed him. I failed him.”

Kev put his hand around Ron’s shoulders to console him but it didn’t do any good.

After another few minutes of silence, Edward was the one to break it this time. “I bullied him in school, showed him no mercy. I beat him. I insulted him. I made his life a living hell and…and when I enrolled in the college and was all alone, when no one was around me to understand me, to listen to me, to trust me, it was Jake who, against the wishes of all of his friends, decided to consider me a friend. He gave me a chance to be his friend although I didn’t deserve that…I didn’t deserve any of that. And…and how do I repay him? By telling him that even if he disappeared tomorrow from the face of the earth, no one was gonna give a fuck. I’m…I’m such an asshole…such a selfish asshole.”

Edward and Ron’s saddened voices were dripping with guilt, shame, and remorse. And there was only one person who could free them from their guilt of how they treated him: Jake.

I looked at Carol; she was barely holding back her tears. “Stop confessing your crimes like you bastards actually feel badly for hurting my Jake and deserve his forgiveness. Once I find Jake safe and sound, I’ll get back to you assholes for what you did to him, but for now, stop talking, for your own good stop, otherwise I’ll have to kick your butts out of my car,” she spewed angrily, looking up in the rearview mirror. Carol’s troubled face and teary eyes were betraying her pissed off tone.

No one said a word after that. It took us almost an hour to get to the place where Matt caught Mitchell, where Jake ran off into the woods. The five of us jumped out of the car.

I saw a large number of trees, shrubs, and bushes on both sides of the empty road. There was nothing else but a police van a few steps away from us, with two cops leaning against the vehicle. They informed us that Matt had gone to the police station with Mitchell while some of the police officers were still in the woods in search of Jake and Mitchell’s two men.

Ron didn’t wait any longer and rushed into the woods. The four of us ran behind him. The two cops tried to stop us but there was nothing they could do at this point; we were going to look for Jake no matter what they said. The five of us were running into the woods yelling Jake’s name like lunatics.

For the next hour all we did was run and shout Jake’s name, but we couldn’t find a single trace of any human around, except us.

We were all losing hope. ‘What if Jake is not in the woods anymore? What if Mitchell’s men had already found Jake? What if they were on the way to the brothel?’ A shiver ran down my spine as these tormenting thoughts crossed my mind.

After another twenty minutes all our hopes of finding Jake had taken a nosedive down to hell, but Ron was still screaming Jake’s name. “Jake!”

We were surrounded by nothing but trees and disappointment.

“Jake!” Ron kept hollering his name.

“What the hell were you all thinking coming here alone?” We all turned around to find Matt with his fellow cops. “And what the hell were you all thinking using Daryl as your punching bag?”

“How do you know we beat him up? Did that asshole say anything to the cops about us?” Carol asked with her creased brows.

“No. He didn't say a word against any of you to the cops.”

“He didn't?” Carol seemed surprised.

“He didn't.”

“Then how do you know?”

“Believe me, it doesn't take a genius to know that you all did that to Daryl.”

“You still care about that vulture?!” Carol accused him in utter annoyance.

“Carol, not now,” Matt warned. Carol huffed. “And for your information he’s conscious and alive with a bruised face, a broken leg, two broken hands, a few broken ribs and an aching body,” he informed further.

“As if I care,” Carol merely whispered, staring down. I knew she lied. Deep down…deep down she do care.

“Why didn’t he tell anything to the cops?” Edward was confused and so were we. Why didn’t Daryl divulge our names to the cops?

“Well, he’ll not make any complaint against any of you. He just…he just wants to…” Matt looked nervous as he left his words hanging in the air.

“What the hell does that son of a bitch wants now?” Carol voice was filled with anger.

“Carol! Stop cursing, will you?” Matt chided.

“Whatever.” It was the only response Carol was ready to give at the moment.

“We’ll talk about it later but right now let’s get out of here,” Matt ordered.

“I’m not going anywhere without Jake,” Ron said determined.

Uncle Matt walked over to him and gently put his right hand on his shoulder in empathy. “Look son, I know you are worried about Jake, we all are, but do you really think you could help Jake by running through this jungle, screaming his name? I promise you that we will find him, but right now all of you have to come back with me; it’s not safe here; it will be dark in less than an hour.” Matt tried to explain this as best as he could. We all made up our minds to leave but Ron still seemed indecisive; I couldn’t blame him.

“Jake!” Ron cried his name again, dwelling on the faded hope of somehow finding Jake.

It was twilight and we had to leave. We all began to walk behind the cops. I looked behind me. Matt put his hand around Ron’s shoulder to make him walk. Ron was staring ahead at no one in particular. And for what seemed the last time he whispered, “Jake”, as if praying for a miracle.

Suddenly, a few feet behind Ron, something caught my attention and I heard a scream which was actually music to my ears at that point. “Ron!” Ron instantly lifted his eyes to stare at me. He needed the confirmation that the voice he just heard calling his name was the love of his life.

I looked past Ron at my best friend. Jake emerged from the clump of trees. He was right behind Ron, just a few steps away. His hair was messy. His face had several smudges of dirt on it. He seemed tired. His bloodshot eyes were welled up with tears. He was staggering towards us but his gaze was fixed on Ron. All of us were frozen in place as if trying to convince ourselves that this was not a dream.

“Ron.” Jake said his name again but this time his voice was trembling.

A smile crept over my face. I felt my eyes watering. I shifted my gaze to Ron and nodded rapidly to make him believe that Jake was right behind him. I heard him swallow hard. His eyes were glistening with the salty water. He took a deep breath, slowly turned around and stared at Jake. He cautiously began walking in his direction.

Both of them were moving towards one another holding each other’s gaze; the need to blink didn’t seem necessary to them at the moment. It seemed like they were in some other world; a world in which only Jake and Ron existed. None of us said a word. None of us moved. I knew both of them were holding back a storm of emotions which they needed to let go of. I could sense the countless feelings and the turmoil running through their minds, but I was also able to feel the love radiating through them with their increasing proximity of each other.

Finally, they stopped a few feet away from each other but they were still staring unblinkingly into the other ones eyes.

“You were looking for…for me?” Jake asked in a tremulous voice.

Ron nodded stiffly, never looking away.

“You…you were worried about…about me?” Jake asked again, hesitantly. This whole scenario was heartbreaking.

Ron emitted a short breath and nodded again. Their gazes were still locked on each other. Their eyes were brimming with tears. Ron indecisively raised his right hand and gently placed it on Jake’s left cheek. A tear rolled down Jake’s left eye as he shivered and leaned into the touch and put his hand on Ron’s.

“I thought…I thought…I would never see you ag…” Jake couldn’t complete the sentence as his voice was choking with emotions.

Ron cupped his face in between his hands. “You speak too much.” And with that he leaned down and put his mouth over Jake’s. He was kissing him feverishly. Soon Jake was kissing him back, even more passionately. His hands went to grab Ron’s collar. Ron snaked his hands around Jake’s waist and drew him closer to deepen the kiss.

It all seemed like a scene from a movie where two lovers reunited after a long time, conquering every obstacle in their way.

Matt and the other cops were looking here and there in discomfort while Carol was whistling like a street hooligan. “So cute!” she whooped like a fan-girl.

Jake and Ron were unfazed by all that. They finally pulled back, smiling warmly, resting their foreheads against each other.

“I–” Jake began to say something but Ron cut him off.

“What did I just say about you speaking too much?” Jake’s smile got wider and he put his head on Ron’s chest, inhaling a deep breath as if trying to lose himself in his musky aroma while Ron rested his chin over Jake’s head, embracing him protectively. I looked in Kev’s direction; he was boldly staring at me; I averted my gaze immediately.

Just then I remembered what I said earlier in the day about ‘Love is not enough to hold two people together.’ I was so wrong and the living example to prove that was right in front of my eyes: Jake and Ron, still lost in each other’s arms, in their own little wonderland.

I guess sometimes love is enough to hold two people together…more than enough.

 

TBC.

 

 

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Author's Note : So finally Jake is safe and Daryl is proved guilty. I hope every one of you have loved Carol in this chapter. Isn't she amazing?

Now, Please let me know what you guys think of this chapter. Even if you didn’t like anything please tell me. It helps me a lot to improve.

A BIG thanks to Lisa, Gayhand, Bagnios, Ninecila, Lilansui, Rosicky, Martinlln, Peanutbutter, Dariyo, Jf1978, Locatenate and all my readers for reading, reviewing, liking and following my story. It really means a lot to me. You guys are just great