Chapter 18: Chapter 18

Sometimes, all you need to hear is those three amazing words to know that everything will be fine; everything will be okay.

- Grace Chanbee

[Justin's POV]

I laid on my bed, counting how many lines were on the ceiling and trying to imagine pictures of different animals there, staring down at me.

It wasn't like I enjoyed doing that, but when you were locked up all day in a cell and you weren't eating or on the field with other inmates, what could you possibly spend your time doing?

There was no phone to scroll through the news feed on Facebook or Instagram so you could laugh at your ex girlfriend, pretending to be happy with her hairy gorilla of a boyfriend, nor were there short blonde-haired girls for you to tease.

Oh, Amber! I missed her like crazy. She had been the best girlfriend ever, not that I had gotten to spend much time with her, but I had really enjoyed having her around.

It was so easy to get on her nerves by just teasing her and the way she pouted when she was offended was the cutest thing ever. Her lips were so small like a cartoons's own, soft and kissable.

Had she even known that I actually felt so much intense passion for her or just saw me like a coward who couldn't be honest about his feelings and not send her away because I thought I'd be given freedom as a result of doing that?

How I loved pulling her hair just to make her angry and stroking it just to see her smile. I'd drape my hands around her waist just to tell the world she was mine alone and I'd cook every morning for her then go to bed, pretending to be asleep.

We had barely dated but it felt like we had known each other for years and our relationship had kicked off ever since the world begun.

Getting to see her again four days ago even though I had thought it was not possible for us to ever cross paths after she had left with her father brought all the happiness in the world to me.

Detective Shawn had ordered me not to act happy about seeing her and send her away for her own good and I had done that, an act which made me sob for nearly an hour in the bathroom.

I couldn't even show her that I was happy to see her again and I had pretended that I was free, I could only imagine how hurt she must have felt being so eager to see me when I had just treated her like I was better off without her.

Of course, I wasn't, and if there was a next life, I swore to kind of change how things were in this present one.

It was so hard being away from home and not having the slightest idea of what was going on in the outside world.

I really hoped Grams was fine without me being around. What had kept her going after my parents passed on was the fact that she had to take care of Nelly and I. She always acted strong but I knew she was fragile and weak at heart.

If anything were to happen to either Grams or Nelly, I was going to make sure Gilbert Sanders paid dearly. If only those bastards who had tried to get rid of Amber in the first place could be caught, I had nothing to worry about.

"Justin Al-Hassan?" The warden called, unlocking the gate.

With a sigh, I arose from the bed and walked outside, wondering what Detective Shawn wanted from me this time around as the warden handcuffed my hands.

I was led into a furnished office with a cardboard sign just on the door of the office, signalling it was the head of the department I was being taken to.

When I stepped in, I was greeted with a cold stare from none other than Gilbert Sanders. Detective Shawn was standing by his side while there was a tall man with muscles and grey hair sitted opposite Gilbert Sanders, probably the head of the department.

"See how he looks; defiant and unapologetic," Gilbert Sanders said.

I rolled my eyes. "What do you want from me again?" I asked, unconcerned.

"Where is my daughter?" He asked.

I guffawed. "Are you crazy? How on Earth am I supposed to know where your own daughter is?" I asked after I managed to stop laughing.

"How are you supposed to not know? Her cousin overheard her telling someone over the phone that she was sneaking off to go and see you," Mr Sanders said, his frown not leaving his face.

"Wow, she still loves me! So you're here for what exactly?" I asked.

Gilbert Sanders stood up and faced me squarely.

"What is it? You want to fight? That's not fair, my hands are literally handcuffed. Anyways, I'm willing to give it a try. You're an old man after all, no handcuff can stop me from whipping your ass," I said, intentionally trying to get on his nerves.

He clenched his fist and was about to strike me when Detective Shawn held him back, calming his nerves down.

I scoffed. "You should have left him to hit me, detective. He has no shame. He killed my father and now, he wants to kill me as well."

"I didn't kill your father, the coward killed himself," Mr Sanders said.

"Because of what you did to him, bastard!" I yelled.

"Justin, mind your language," Detective Shawn said.

I took in heavy breaths and tried to relax, not saying a word, trying my best to ignore what Gilbert Sanders had said.

"For the last time, Justin, where is my daughter?" Mr Sanders asked after a moment had passed by with the room being quiet.

"I'm locked up in jail and you expect me to know where your daughter is? You're crazy," I said.

"He has a point which I've been thinking of all along since you arrived. How do you expect him to know where your daughter is when he's being locked up?" The head of the police department said suddenly.

"Thank you, sir. It seems even among fools, there's a reasonable person," I said, eyeing Detective Shawn and Mr Sanders.

"Mind your language, boy," The head of the department said.

I shrugged. "If you must know, since Amber supposedly sneaked off to see me, she must have gone to my place at Arroyo Grande. As a detective, you should have gone to check there first instead of disturbing my life. Also, try to find the real culprits who tried to kill Amber. It'll be painful if an innocent man is in trouble because you couldn't do your job well," I said, looking at the detective.

"Noted!" Detective Shawn said, looking like he could murder me had it been both of us alone in the room.

He then made gestures at the warden to lead me out of the office and back to my cell.

"You couldn't even bring yourself to tell your daughter you imprisoned an innocent man and yet, you have the guts to call my father a coward," I said with a sneer as I walked out of the office, eyeing Mr Sanders.

I wanted to ask to speak to Grams but I knew I wouldn't be allowed. The monsters were just freaking trampling on my rights because they knew I had no one to tell. Without money nor connections, life was made unfair to you.

******

[Amber's POV]

I sprayed my mouth with the mouthwash Aiden had given to me as we were on our way back to Los Angeles.

I hadn't so much as slept a wink in about fifteen hours as my heart was troubled. Thankfully, Aiden had been waiting in the car outside and had assisted me in taking Justin's grandmother to the local hospital.

She had been put on a drip and had been administered oxygen which we had only been able to pay for with the money Daisy had given to me.

Although she was yet to regain consciousness, the doctor had informed us that she was in a stable condition and she had only had an increase in her blood pressure which she was going to recover from in no time.

He even commented that she was a strong woman for her age, leaving me feeling relieved and better off, as a huge problem had been solved.

When I asked Aiden why he hadn't informed me Justin wasn't home in the first place, he said he had to be in Arroyo Grande the previous day so he could return the car he was driving to the owner who needed it to travel.

Apart from that, he had felt that the prison doors wasn't going to be welcome to visitors at the time I intended on seeing Justin. He had been apologetic and had told me he only wanted the best for me by taking me to stay with Justin's grandmother so we could all go to see Justin the next day which was actually today.

It was disheartening that Justin had still been locked up even after my father promised to set him free on the account that I went back to my roots. I knew my father to be very harsh but I had never thought he was one to back out of his promises.

As if locking the innocent guy in prison wasn't enough, he had gone ahead to deprive anyone of seeing him. Aiden informed me that he hadn't so much as received a call from Justin neither had he seen him since the day he left as he hadn't been allowed to see him when he went to pay him a visit at the cell he was in.

With me by their side, he had hoped they were going to finally see him and it was bad that his grandmother wasn't here with us now.

"How did you know the cell he's in?" I asked.

"He already told me the location the day you left, have you forgotten?" Aiden asked.

"Oh, that's true," I said.

He squeezed my hands. "Stop worrying, okay? This wasn't your fault," He said.

I shook my head in disagreement. "No, it was all my fault. The day Justin sent me off to a psychiatric home, I should have just stayed there. If I had, all these wouldn't have happened," I said, my voice hoarse from all the tears I had been shared.

Aiden gave me a warm smile. "You didn't ask to be born into an unreasonable home so it's not your fault," He said.

"I'd never forgive my father should anything happen to either Justin or Grams," I vowed, seething with anger.

Aiden gave a light chuckle. "Normalize not referring to Justin's grandmother as Grams when we see him," He said.

I was finally able to give in to a smile. "He'll be so mad if I call her Grams in his presence, always so immature," I said.

Aiden smiled back. "Still, he's a good guy. He just has a sad past and had to grow up so fast due to how life treated him."

"I know, right? That's why he's so tough and uptight," I added.

"Yeah. It makes me wonder how he rushed things with you, it's so unlike him," Aiden noted.

I chuckled. "Love changes people."

Aiden laughed and so did the taxi driver who was the one taking us to the police station where Justin was held unjustly.

"Your friend must be a good person," The driver commented.

"He is," Aiden and I chorused, then burst into laughter.

"You know, you should ask Justin about his past. Maybe you'll understand him better then," Aiden said after the laughter had dried up.

"You think he'll open up to me about what's eating him up so badly?" I asked.

He nodded.

The taxi pulled to a stop and I saw that we had arrived at our destination.

Aiden removed a ten dollar bill from his pocket and paid the driver, muttering a "thank you."

He touched the door handle and was about to open it when I held his hand, stopping him from alighting from the vehicle.

"What is wrong?" He asked.

"Over there," I muttered pointing towards the direction I had just seen someone I could only feel hatred for now.

"Isn't that your father?" Aiden asked.

"It is he. That's why we shouldn't come down now, let's wait for him to go first," I said.

"Whoa! He looks really angry, I'm sure he already discovered you're missing. Maybe that's why he came here, he probably asked the police to find you, good thing you saw him first," Aiden said.

"Yeah, or he probably would've dragged me home with him," I said.

"What if the police informs him that you came here?" Aiden asked.

"Let me worry about that," I said.

"He's left, you can both leave now," The taxi driver said to us.

I looked around and saw that his car was no longer in sight. How that had happened in such a short time when I wasn't looking was surprising.

"Thanks," I said as I alighted from the taxi with Aiden.

Stepping into the police station, the first person I came across was Detective Shawn who I shot a disappointed look.

On the other hand, he looked really surprised upon seeing me.

"Where have you been? Your father was worried sick about you," He said in a concerned tone but I was ready to have none of it.

"Where is Justin?" I asked.

Detective Shawn grimaced. "He's not here," He said, apparently lying cause he had his tongue in his cheek.

"He is, you liar," Aiden said.

"Woah! Woah! Who are you?" He asked.

"He's Justin's best friend," I responded.

"No wonder. Birds of a feather flock together, not so?" He asked rhetorically, annoyance laced in his voice.

"You do know that restricting a suspect or even a criminal from seeing his friend or family is a crime, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, so?" Detective Shawn asked, not budging.

"I'll file a case against you," I said.

He scoffed. "You'll do only what your parents tell you to, daddy's little girl," He said.

Turning to a police officer who was just onlooking, he said: "Place a call to Mr Sanders, tell him to make a U-turn because his runaway daughter has been found," He ordered.

"Yes sir," The officer saluted.

"You'll wait here for your father to come and get you. Explain to Justin's best friend that he'll end up in the same shoes as his friend if he doesn't leave this minute," Detective Shawn said in a vicious tone.

"This is unfair! Why can't we see him? His grandmother is lying almost dead in the hospital because she was deprived of the right to see her own grandson, the one who is always there for her and who is her backbone. She freaking did nothing wrong, neither did Justin. What's their crime? Hunh? Is it because we're poor and we can't do anything? Talk to me," Aiden yelled on top of his voice.

However, Detective Shawn stood, unflinching, not seeming like he cared at all.

Tears slid down my eyes. "I thought you were a good person. This isn't right. He doesn't deserve to go through all these because he saved my life, it's not fair," I said.

"Who do you want me to see again?" I heard Justin's voice growl.

My ears twitched as my eyes searched frantically for him. Had I heard his voice or had I been imagining things?

No, I had heard correctly because just then, my knight in shining armour stepped out, handcuffed and shabby, but still as good-looking as ever.

I didn't know when the tears dried up on my face and how my mouth broadened into a smile.

Justin opened his mouth in awe as he saw me as well. I'm sure he couldn't believe his eyes.

Not caring who was watching or what Detective Shawn was yelling about, I ran forward and wrapped my arms around Justin, giving him a smothering hug.

"Amber, what are you doing here?" He asked in a low tone.

"I missed you so much, Justin, and I love you as well," I said, not letting him go.

After a moment of awkward silence between us, he whispered the three words that always made everything okay. "I love you too," He said.

And hearing that was more than enough for me. It gave me a renewed hope that everything was going to be fine. At least, for the time being.