Aria Graice - 23. Chapter 23

It seemed to take forever before sirens wailed in the distance, but it couldn’t have been more than five minutes. A few minutes later the car park and drive were full of police cars, vans, a paramedic car and an ambulance. Drew reluctantly left Amara to the professionals and went to talk to the police. Jeff joined him.

“You gave it your best shot,” Jeff said softly as they stood outside the house, ten minutes later waiting for the police to get to them.

Drew glanced back. The ambulance had just left, taking Amara with it, and his friends were slowly making their way back across the lawn.

“It wasn’t good enough.”

“There was nothing you could have done. I was in front of you and I still couldn’t do anything. It wasn’t me who saved Amara. I was down. If he hadn’t freed himself we’d have lost both of them.”

Drew frowned. “How the hell did he free himself? That guy was twice his size.”

“You should know, Drew, size doesn’t always give an advantage. He’s a quick learner but to be honest, I couldn’t tell if it was self defence or pole dancing.”

“Maybe both.” Drew chuckled but sobered when images flickered through his head in quick succession—of Amara on the pole, and in a desperate struggle with the goon.

“Whatever, it was pretty impressive. The boy’s got guts, I’ll give him that, and he’s a quick thinker, although way too impulsive. Once he gets over this I’m going to kick his arse for going after the car like that.”

“Yeah.” Drew wasn’t listening to Jeff anymore. His mind had wandered down dangerous roads. Until this very moment, Drew had seen both Aria and Amara as vulnerable children who needed protecting at all costs. It wasn’t the first time he’d been surprised by their maturity, in different ways, but it was the first time the idea that they might not actually need protecting after all occurred to him and it brought with it a whole raft of other thoughts about the twins, Amara in particular, as grown-ups. If Jeff hadn’t been there he would have groaned aloud.

He was saved from his own personal hell by maddened harpy, all screech and claws.

“You. It is your fault. You failed him. You failed ma petite angé. I will have your badge. I will have your licence. You will never work again, never. Because of you, my baby is gone.”

Drew struggled to keep Julianna at arms’ length after sustaining a deep gouge across his cheek from her nails. He was surprised when she was gently-but-firmly pulled away from him by two, vaguely familiar, men in Victorian evening wear.

“Julianna, darling,” a voice purred at his side. “You are overwrought. Come, let me offer the use of my limousine to take you home. You should not be alone at a time like this.”

Julianna spluttered and hissed, but when Alice took her arm and led her away she could do nothing but follow, especially as Alice’s bodyguards were a step behind. Alice threw Drew a wink over her shoulder, leaving him shocked and wondering what the hell had just happened.

“You’ve made a good friend there,” Jeff commented. “Never hurts to have friends in high places, and they don’t come much higher.”

Drew snorted, gently touching his cheek. “Ouch.”

“We should put something on that,” Jeff said. “You don’t know where those nails have been.”

“I’d have thought she’d be more interested in going to the hospital with Amara than throwing a fit here.”

“Oh, I doubt we’ll be seeing her anywhere near the hospital.” Jeff said tightly. “She’d be way out of her comfort zone and have to commune with the common people. She’d never get away with pulling a stunt like that there. One step out of place and the nurses would have her out on her ear, especially if she wound Amara up, and I can’t see how she wouldn’t. Imagine how that would look in the press.”

Drew snorted. “Quite.” He dabbed his cheek again. It was bleeding but not enough to need staunching. “I’ll get this cleaned up at the hospital.”

“The hospital?” Jeff raised an eyebrow, and Drew sighed wondering if he was in for a fight.

“As Amara’s bodyguard, you’re going to need to be there as long as he is. I’d imagine the police will put a guard on the door, or at least the ward, but it’s protocol…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know all about protocol, and I can assure you I was about to head out. What I’m not so sure about is why you’re going to the hospital.”

Drew ground his teeth.

“Because that’s where they’ll take Aria when they find him. There’s nothing I can do to help search, so the least I can do is be there for him when they bring him back.”

“Ah, so you’re going for Aria.”

“You don’t still have the ridiculous idea I have feelings for Amara.” Drew kept his face turned away as they made their way to the car park, which was a chaos of people and cars. No one quite wanted to leave, but the excitement was over and all the sparkle had gone out of the night.

“Oh, it’s not an idea, Drew. I know you have feelings for Amara. What I don’t know is what you intend to do about it.”

Drew huffed. “If I had feelings for Amara, which I don’t, I am professional enough to make sure those feelings do not interfere with my job. Besides, Amara is a vulnerable child and I would never take advantage of someone in his position, especially not now.” As Drew spoke the weight of his words increased. He believed them, and it hurt his heart in a way he’d never thought possible.

Jeff laid a hand on his shoulder, startling him and bringing him to an abrupt halt. “I believe in you, Drew, and I love you like a brother, and that’s why I’m asking you to walk away from this job before someone gets really hurt.”

Drew opened his mouth to snap that someone had already been hurt but realized the childish futility in such a response to a comment that was made with love and right on the ball. He knew Jeff was right, but could he do it? Could he really walk away?

“I will. I promise. Let me see this through and as soon as Aria is safe I’ll take myself off the case.”

Jeff stared at him for a few minutes, then nodded. “I’ll give you that.”

Anger surged. Who the hell did Jeff think he was. Give me that? What the hell does that even mean? He reigned in the anger though because he knew Jeff was right and his response came from his own hurt not anything Jeff had said. He nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

“Well, there’s no way the car’s getting out of here anytime soon. Hang on, I’ll be back in a bit.”

Drew lurked at the edge of the car park, feeling lost and strangely empty. Logically, he knew he wasn’t to blame for Aria’s kidnapping, but that didn’t help the feeling that he’d let both Aria and Amara down.

“Nuts isn’t it?”

Drew glanced up. Jay was slouching nearby, their hands in their pockets. He smiled at them. Jay looked wretched and it reminded Drew that there were so many more people who had a right to feel bad about this than him.

“It surely is. How are you doing?”

Jay shrugged. “The driver says we’re not going anywhere for a while.” They sniffed. “Half these people are press, looking for a story. They weren’t supposed to get in, but I guess once the police turned up and they knew something was going on they jumped the wall or something. Some people went back in there to eat”—they nodded toward the house—“but I’d choke on it if I tried. I can’t get it out of my head. It’s like a scene in a bad drama. They will find him, won’t they?”

Jay gazed at him, sincerity written all over them. They truly believed Drew had the answers. How often had he stood in Jay’s place, with Jeff? Jeff always had something wise and helpful to say.

“The police have the app. As long as they’re close enough to pick up the signal, they’ll find him.”

“But what if…”

Drew laid a hand on Jay’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “There’s no point in what if’s. What if’s drive you mad.”

“But…”

“Go home, Jay. Go home, take a bath and watch bad films on Netflix. What will be, will be.”

“I want to come to the hospital with you.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I don’t care. Take me with you or I’ll find my own way there.”

“You don’t know which hospital.” Drew tried to be reasonable because he could see Jay was distraught, but the last thing he wanted was the highly-strung teen hanging around at the hospital making a scene.

“It’ll be Princess Grace, I expect. Unless they take him to a general hospital by accident. He won’t be too happy if they do. Was his father with him?”

Drew shrugged. “All I know is that his mother wasn’t.”

“Yeah, I saw. She’s spectacularly crazy, although I wouldn’t believe it all. Most of it’s an act. It always is. Amara can see that, but I don’t think Aria ever did, not really.”

“I think he does now.”

“Yeah, I guess he does.”

“Drew.”

He turned to find Jeff hailing him from the terrace. He glanced at Jay who had a determined expression on their face. “I’ll walk if I have to,” Jay said.

Drew sighed. “Come on then.” He headed off toward the terrace, not checking to see if Jay followed.

Jeff raised an eyebrow when he saw Jay, but he didn’t say anything, and he led them across the terrace to the steps that led down onto the lawn.

“There’s a police car waiting at the gate, that’ll take us to the hospital. I was warned it’s a bit of a circus down there.”

Drew paused for a moment at the top of the steps and looked out over the lawn. Trees hid the gate, and it all seemed peaceful, but he could quite imagine it would be very different outside.

He wasn’t wrong. Several media vans were parked on the roadside around the gate and there seemed to be dozens of people. The road gate was closed so they went through the guard box. Before he’d taken two steps on the other side, microphones were thrust into his face and half a dozen flashes went off, blinding him. Three police officers inserted themselves between them and the crowd, while another ushered them to a waiting police car that was idling at the side of the road. As he ducked into the back seat, Drew was surprised to hear some of the reporters calling Jay’s name. He wouldn’t have expected them to know who they were.

Finally, they were safely tucked away inside the car, and it pulled off. Drew sat in the back with Jay, while Jeff sat in the front with the driver. It was hard going for a few feet and Drew was startled more than once by bangs on the car or flashes firing through the window. Jay didn’t seem affected.

“Used to all this attention, are you?” Drew asked, as a joke. He was surprised when Jay shrugged.

“I don’t think you ever get completely used to it. It can get frightening sometimes, but no one I know’s been seriously hurt, so I just try to ignore it as much as I can.”

“Do you get mobbed often?” This time, Drew was only half-joking and he wasn’t as surprised by Jay’s shrug.

“Sometimes. Not always for the right reasons.”

“What do you mean?”

Jay turned to Drew and narrowed their eyes. “You have absolutely no idea who I am, do you?”

“Should I have?”

Jay snorted and sat back. “Nope. Not at all.”

“Well?” Drew asked after it became obvious Jay had said all he was going to say. “Are you going to tell me?”

“Tell you what?”

“Who you are.”

Jay snorted again. “I’m Jay,” he said. “I guess you don’t follow too many YouTubers.”

“Until I met Aria I didn’t even know what that was.”

“And you still don’t watch?”

“Not even Aria unless he makes me.”

Jay laughed aloud. “Okay,” he said. “So, it means nothing to you that I have more than ten million subscribers and my last video topped five-hundred-million views?”

“Those are some big numbers.”

“Yes. Yes they are.”

“Bigger than Aria’s?”

“Much, much bigger. Not as big as Amara’s though.”

“Amara has a YouTube channel?”

“Sure, he has. It’s not like Aria’s. He doesn’t do many vlogs, but it uploads all his music videos. Some of them have a billion views.”

Drew was floored. He had no idea what to say. In making the army his life, he’d clearly missed a lot of living. “I think I need to watch more YouTube.”

“You seriously don’t watch at all?”

Drew shrugged. “Why would I?”

“You know it’s not just vlogs and music videos, right?”

“I don’t even know what a vlog is.”

“It’s like a blog, but…” Jay paused and shook their head. “You don’t know what a blog is, do you?”

“Of course I do…kinda.”

“When the dust settles you and me are going to spend a day together. Much to learn you have, paduan.”

Drew laughed. “At least I understood that reference.”

“I’m shocked, but I bet you haven’t watched the new ones, have you?”

“Umm…”

“Scratch a day. I’m going to need at least a week.”

This was a day for shocks, that was for damn sure. Everything Drew though he knew about Jay went spiralling down the drain. There was nothing shallow or empty-headed about them, no matter how flamboyant and carefree they acted. Drew was beginning to see, more and more, that there was far more depth to the lives of the twins and their friends than he could have imagined.

The hospital was like none he had ever been to before. As soon as he walked through the doors he knew he was in a different world. To his eyes, it looked more like a fancy office building or even a hotel. The front desk was manned by two smiling women dressed in a smart uniform, and the waiting room had cream leather sofas. It somehow still smelled like a hospital though.

Drew wasn’t surprised he had to wait. It wasn’t the first time and it probably wouldn’t be the last he’d sat in a waiting room waiting for news. It would probably be the last time he’d sit in one like this though.

Time moves differently in situations such as this, more slowly, more heavily. It affects people in different ways. Drew paced nervously, while Jay sat at ease, their legs crossed and their nose buried in their cell-phone. Jeff worked on a crossword puzzle in one of the newspapers on the coffee table, chewing the end of the complimentary pencil and scowling at the paper. Occasionally he would ask the room in general—“Five letters, second one H, Letters linking a ship to its anchor.”

More often than not, it was Jay who answered. “Chain,” they said setting aside their phone. “Would anyone like coffee?”

“Does a bear shit in the woods?” Jeff said, not looking up. “Milk, two sugars please.”

“I’ll get it,” Drew said. “I know how the old bear likes it. He’ll growl at you if you don’t get it just right.”

Jay chuckled and picked up their phone again. “I’ll have mine black please.”

“Really? I’d had you down for the latte type.”

Jay arched a delicate eyebrow. “Well, let that teach you not to make assumptions.”

“I’ve already learned that—more than once. Maybe the lesson will sink in eventually.”

Drew wandered to reception and asked about a coffee machine. The receptionist looked shocked and pointed him toward a beautiful, if miniature kitchen, well stocked with drinks and snacks. He pocketed a few cereal bars and found a tray for the coffee, then stared at the coffee-pot and tried not to think.

“They’re not as vulnerable as you think they are, you know.”

Jay’s voice from the doorway startled him and he spun, almost spilling the coffee he’d been pouring. He was losing it if suddenly people found it so damn easy to sneak up on him.

“What?” he snapped, more sharply than he would normally have, carefully setting the pot on the counter.

“Aria and Amara. They’re not the weak, childish, vulnerable people you think they are. You only see one side, and they feel safe with you.”

“That’s why they’re vulnerable.”

Jay laughed. “We’re all vulnerable, darling, and we all hide it from everyone but those we’re closest to. My life’s not been a bed of roses and I haven’t always been the delightful creature you see before you. I’ve walked the dark side and I know truly vulnerable when I see it, and the twins aint it.”

“Okay, I hear you. Why are you telling me this now?”

“Because you need to change the way you look at them.” Jay slid into the kitchen and got up closer than Drew would have liked. “I’ve seen the way you look at them,” Jay purred. “I know what you’re thinking and you’re wrong.”

Drew stood immobile while Jay brushed his cheek and tucked hair behind his ear.

“The boys need you, and not as their bodyguard. They have no idea what real love it—they’ve never had it. They need to be shown, and you my dear toy soldier, are the one who needs to show them. You want them; they want you, don’t wait too long or you’ll miss out on the best thing that ever happened to you.”

Words streamed into Drew’s brain, stumbling over themselves to be said, stalling before they reached his lips, and all he could say before Jay took his coffee and wandered off, casting amused glances over their shoulder, was “What, both of them?”

Drew was shaken inside and out. Did everyone know? Did the twins know? Jesus, what a mess. He was half inclined to just walk out of the hospital there and then and never turn back. But something stopped him. He had to see this through. He had to know Aria was alright. Then, he’d leave.

Pouring the two remaining coffees, Drew managed to calm down enough that his hand wasn’t shaking as he carried them back to the waiting area. Jeff grunted when he placed the mugs—bone china, of course—on the table.

Drew sipped his coffee, his mind racing. Jay was lost in their phone again and didn’t so much as glance Drew’s way.

Unable to sit still, Drew took his coffee and continued his frantic pacing. What the hell was he going to do? Jeff had seen something, Jay had seen something, what if the boys had seen something too. Hell, he didn’t even know what that something was, except there was something. Had he been alone he would have growled.

“Sit down, boy,” Jeff said, not unkindly. “You’re giving me a headache.”

“You know me, mate. Never one for sitting waiting patiently.”

“No, but you learned; you had to. So, sit.”

Grumbling, Drew sat and set his coffee on the table. Jeff was right. He had learned to sit quiet and wait. There had been plenty of call for it. On the other hand, it had usually been accompanied by extreme stress and the need to be coiled and ready for action at a moment’s notice. He was good at waiting in a ditch, up to his armpits in stinking water, waiting for a convoy to pass, to make his strike. He was good at sitting in a bar, or wandering aimlessly around a bazaar waiting for his mark, but he’d never learned to sit patiently and wait for news on someone he cared about, which had happened more than once.

Drew shot to his feet when he heard a door open and footsteps echoed down the corridor. He held his breath until Henley appeared, dishevelled and pensive, gazing at the floor. When he glanced up and saw Drew he paused.

“Ah, Drew. I was hoping you’d be here. Could I have a word please?”

Drew’s heart thunked uncomfortably, and his mind raced. Why would Henley want to speak to him? He hurried over and Henley guided him into a room that appeared to be some kind of meeting room.

“How is Amara?” Drew asked immediately.

Henley frowned at him, severe although his gaze was not unkind.

“My son is very upset,” he said.

Drew’s stomach gnawed at his insides, apparently trying to eat its way out.

“That’s understandable, given what’s happened.”

Henley gazed at him intently and although he held Henley’s eye, Drew quaked. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

At last, Henley took a breath. “Can you tell me, Mr Chance, why my son thinks he’s in love with you?”

The floor fell out of Drew’s world.