Page 33

Chapter 32

Aria

T hree minutes.

That's how long I've been sitting with my back against the door, staring at the flooring of the expensive bathroom. My face is coated in silent tears,painful whimpers silently strangling in my throat as I cover my mouth so Tobias doesn't hear me.

I look down at the screen of my phone, rereading my sent message to Gabriella.

Me: I'm at the Corsewall Lighthouse Hotel with Tobias, but we leave in two hours. Please, hurry. I locked myself in the bathroom. Please don’t call me.

Gabs: I'm at the police station now. Hang tight and stay in the bathroom. We're coming for you. I love you.

I'm broken, feeling like a traitor for tricking Tobias into thinking I was going to have sex with him.

This is it; this is the moment I get him the support he needs. He may be criminalised for kidnapping and everything else, but at least he will get the proper treatment for whatever mental disorder he has.

I truly believe Tobias has a form of psychosis; maybe he's even a full-on psychopath who tricked me into feeling sorry for him. We will find out soon, but either way, roaming the public is a hazard to himself as well as everyone around him.

I need to help him.

I hear Tobias at the door. He tries to pull down the handle, knocking on the door when he realizes it's locked. "Aria?"

"I'm coming," I answer, my words getting stuck in my throat. I can't stop the sob I inhale, my bottom lip shivering. "Give me a minute."

"Why are you crying?"

The back of my head hits the door, my vision blurring with the tears pooling in my eyes. "I'm not."

"Bullshit." His voice is no longer above me; he must've slid his way down on the opposite side of the door. "Talk to me."

"I'm just so tired, Tobias."

"With me?" he asks. "Are you tired of me?"

My body shakes, hugging my knees to my chest, checking the time on my phone. Six minutes have gone by. I tuck my phone under the mat in the middle of the floor, hiding it from him.

This is most likely my last moment with Tobias before he's arrested, and although I'm terrified of one side of him, the other side has me standing, unlocking the door, and opening it to him as he quickly gets to his feet.

He takes me in with a nervous look, frowning at me in confusion as my lip trembles and tears fall, hugging myself as I walk until I'm in his arms. I settle my cheek against his chest, listening to his racing heart. His hand rests on the back of my head, holding me to his large frame.

"Aria..." Tobias tries to look down at me, but I keep my eyes squeezed shut, shaking my head as I wrap my arms around his waist. "Did I make you cry?"

"Yes," I reply, burying my head into his chest more. "I'm not afraid of you. I'm afraid of who you've turned me into." He sighs in response, and I feel his cheek on the top of my head. "It was supposed to be just sex."

Releasing a breathy laugh, he tightens his hold on me, lifting me so my legs wrap around him, walking us to the bed. He sits on the edge, so I straddle him, holding my face in his hands. "You're stronger than before, Aria."

I shake my head, my face screwing up with the ache in my chest.

I shouldn't be feeling so much heartbreak, using our final moments together to weep to him, wanting him to hug me one last time. It hurts, my heart yearning for us to run. It feels like a knife slowly piercing my skin until it's buried deep in my chest, causing me to lower my head on his shoulder and cry harder than ever before.

"We need help, Tobias," I gasp out, tightening my arms around him. My words are almost incoherent, but he holds me closer in his arms. "I love you," I say quietly, uttering those three words for the last time. "I need you to know that."

He pulls back, wiping my tears away with his thumbs. "What's going on?" he asks.

I rest my forehead against his, my heart and mind having a war. "Kiss me," I beg, running my fingers through his hair while he frowns at me. "Please."

This is torture. Not only are they taking forever to get here, but I'm also so close to telling him to run, to hide from everyone coming after him. I don't want him to hate me, but I know he will when he finds out I've completely backstabbed him. I want them to burst through the door, but also, I want to lie in his arms and forget the world.

I need help just as much as he does.

I see the image in my head of his future, bright and safe, his mind calm. I keep myself together, remembering that although I'm doing this for myself and everyone around me, I'm also doing this for him.

Tobias kisses me, pressing his soft lips against mine as we both deeply inhale through our noses. I melt against him, trying to ignore everything else going on in my mind and just focusing on him—us.

I may be confused with everything, and I may be insane for allowing Tobias to warp my mind while still sitting here, kissing him, enjoying his hands holding me, but I don't regret it. Meeting him has been a whirlwind, and he tests my patience more than Ewan ever did. I care for Tobias, enough to do what's necessary so he gets the help he so desperately needs.

"Distract me," I say demandingly against his mouth, fastening my hold on his hair between my fingers. "Ask me something."

He looks confused, but he clears his throat and tucks my hair behind both ears, stroking my cheeks with his thumbs. It feels good, something I’ll try to remember. "What do you want to do when we get to Ireland?"

My lip starts to curl in once more, fighting back another surge of tears. "You tell me."

He thinks to himself, a smile playing on his lips. I search his features, memorizing his deep dimples, how long his dark lashes are, his defined cheekbones. "We don't need to get jobs for money. I have plenty. Unless you want to, of course. I guess we can just enjoy being together." His lips gently touch mine, and I feel myself falling apart inside. My jaw tenses as I plaster a fake smile on my face, another tear slipping down my cheek. "Stop crying, Aria. Please."

"I got Ivy into the trials. She leaves for Denmark in two days."

His face lights up, genuinely looking pleased for me as he shows his perfect smile. "I knew you could do it. You should be proud of yourself. I sure am."

"Thanks," I reply, grimacing slightly. "You know I care about you, don't you?"

"Kind of." He laughs a little, his teeth whiter than white. "I'm sorry I've been quite difficult. I shouldn't have done what I did to you, and for that, I truly am sorry." He rests his forehead on mine, and my breath hitches at his shaky tone. "Trying to love someone and fight for control, it's harder than it sounds. Forgive me?"

The knife buried in my chest is now twisting, a sharp pain rendering me speechless.

Why can't he be like this all the time?

I contemplate telling him I'm pregnant, that we created a precious life growing within me. But for some reason, I can't seem to pull together the words while I stare into his hopeful ocean blues.

My heart completely sinks as I hear sirens blaring outside. Tobias raises his brows and looks to the window, the red and blue lights flashing through the frosted glass.

"Shit. Aria, you need to hide," he says quickly, lifting us from the bed and holding my waist. Turning back to look at me with fear in his eyes, he grabs my face, kissing me hard and pulling away to look at the flashing lights getting brighter. "They must be here because you ran away from the hospital. You need to run." I stare at him in disbelief, shock slapping me that he thinks they're actually here for me. "Run!"

"Tobias, I..."

He rushes around the room, tossing me my clothes and throwing his own on, then our shoes. I'm silent, staring at him pacing the room with his hand running through his hair in frustration.

He looks terrified.

"I can't lose you," he begins, cupping my cheeks in his palms with blazing eyes. "I promise I won't let them hurt you."

"No, Tobias," I cry, my hand shaking as I reach up and stroke his cheek. "You?—"

I scream, jumping back as the door is kicked open abruptly. Tobias grabs my arm and guards me with his back to my front, protecting me from the flood of officers storming into the room.

Tobias grips my hand in his, backing us into the wall as the group advances towards us. "Don't you fucking dare touch her!" he threatens, raising his forearm as one of them strikes him. He grunts with each land of the long, black baton, doing everything he can to keep me safe.

It's breaking my heart even more that he thinks they’re here for me, protecting me from a threat that doesn't even exist. "Tobias." I try to grab his attention, but he moves away from me and lands a harsh punch across one of their faces, flooring them. "Tobias, stop!"

He's overpowered, tackled to the ground. I stay in the corner and wrap my arms around myself as they kneel on his back, sobbing as I fall to the ground. "Aria...run!" he shouts in a panic, managing to get free and grabbing one of their batons, cracking it into an officer's ankle.

I hear a taser, but he’s still fighting back, throwing punches and biting into one of the officers faces, his mouth covered with blood when he looks at me in desperation.

A tall one approaches me, gripping my forearm and tugging me. I hear Tobias yelling threats at him, telling him he will kill him if he touches me, rip his head off if he hurts me, then silence as a taser sticks into his neck, flooring him.

I smack my palm over my mouth, seeing blood covering Tobias' face, gasping out sobs as the ringing in my ears overtakes any sounds around me. I can see him struggling under the mass of bodies, his eyes begging me to run.

Guilt is flooding me. I did this.

I'm thrown out of the room, and I collide with the wall opposite the door, my head hitting the hard wood of the floor. Another deadly threat from Tobias, a few snarls from him being beaten, and more officers storm into the place, fully padded with protective clothing and shields covering their faces.

Is this all necessary? He is one man; surely, all these officers are wasting their time?

"Aria!" I hear Gabriella yelling, rapid footsteps echoing up the hallway as I look up at my panicked best friend. "Oh my God, are you okay? Why are you lying on the ground? That fucking bastard hurt you, didn't he?"

We both look to the room, the sea of yellow and black uniforms battling, and we notice Tobias standing, his face now fully bloodied as he bares his teeth. He throws his fists around like he's enjoying it, yelling at them to let me go, or he'll snap their necks.

Emergency health workers appear, holding bags filled with equipment as they rush to me. Everything is blurring, my head starting to pound with exhaustion. I hear Tobias yelling, things smashing.

"Are you okay?" Gabs asks, wiping away my half-dried tears, moving my hair out of my eyes. "You did the right thing. I can see regret written all over your face."

"I just want him to get help," I say, my lip shaking so much, I have to bite down to stop it, dropping my head to her lap while the paramedics kneel beside me.

After nearly an hour's worth of health checks and observations in the back of the ambulance, Tobias is still inside the hotel.

"Ewan is in the hospital,” Gabriella tells me. “There was CCTV footage of Tobias hitting him over the head before he came to meet you, leaving him with a gash down his head and face in the middle of the street.”

My eyes widen. “Is he okay?”

“Don’t worry,” she replies, smiling weakly. “He’s got a few stitches but was worried about you. He even tried to leave the hospital without getting his wound closed up.”

My shoulder slump. So many bad things keep happening because of Tobias, and now, he has attacked Ewan, and I know I’ve done the right thing here. It shouldn’t have ever gotten to this point in the first place.

"Can we go?"

On cue, the double doors of the hotel burst open, Tobias cuffed at his hands and feet as he's carried out by a group of officers, blood covering everyone, everywhere.

"Aria!" he begins to yell, struggling in his shackles as his eyes stay on mine. "Let me fucking see her!" He's hit once more, and I wince, looking away. "I'll find you."

"You can fuck right off! The baby doesn't need a waste of space like you!" Gabriella screams at him, making all the blood drain from my face, my eyes widen. "You deserve to rot in a cell!"

He ignores her words, his crimson face in total shock as his stunned gaze doesn't leave mine. He stops fighting back, his body relaxing as his eyebrows furrow. He doesn't attack the officers who stand him up or retaliate when one pushes his head, shoving him into the car.

His once aggressive blue eyes are now filled with something...broken.