Chapter 28: Chapter 28

Everyone is always too quick to judge others when no one is even perfect; the first step to knowing what life entails is understanding that no one is perfect.

- Grace Chanbee

[Amber's POV]

I tossed and turned in my bed, trying to fall asleep, but I couldn't no matter how hard I tried. I was dizzy but just could not fall asleep and I didn't know why.

I was very worried about Justin. It had been two days since he had left the house in search of the van which he recognised may belong to the man who intended on killing me.

I had called him on the phone but he didn't reply, even sent him text messages but there was no response forthcoming. Grams didn't have a phone which I could use to reach him and I didn't want to use my mum's phone in case he didn't like that.

Justin was full of surprises and tended to even get angry over minor issues and I so badly didn't want to get on his nerves; so all I could do was just lay here till whenever sleep took its course.

Was it because it was weekend? I shook my head, disagreeing with that thought. In the past, he came to the house even on weekends so why were things different now? Maybe something had come up, that's why all these was probably happening.

My head ached badly and nowadays, I was beginning to experience more than just my usual Amnesia. I forgot little things like what I had for breakfast and couldn't decide if I wanted coffee at night or porridge in the morning.

I was seriously losing it and I needed Justin to be by my side. I didn't even know why I wanted him beside me, I just did and I thought it was going to be better off if he were here with me.

The pain in my head increased gradually and I winced in pain, holding my head with my two hands, shaking it hard. If I had thought that was going to make things better, I had been dreaming. The pain only became worse and my head banged like horses were stampeding on it.

I made a resolve and slid out of the bed, leaning heavily to the wall so I didn't fall. I staggered unsteadily and kept on holding onto the wall till I was able to get to my drawer where I crashed heavily to the floor, missing the location of the chair.

My vision was blurry and I felt my head spin in circles like I was under a spell or being hypnotised. It was as if my drink had been tampered with, as in spiked because I felt intoxicated.

Like a drug addict, I rummaged through my drawer blindly in search of my medication. I slept whenever I took it and they say you can feel no pain when you are asleep; such was my case.

The drugs seemed to be worsening my condition day by day. Still, I tried to remain optimistic by consoling myself that I could merely be experiencing side effects and in the course of time, I was going to be fine once my body system got used to the drugs.

I found them and immediately began to pluck them out one after another till they were complete.

Water... I needed water. I glanced at my mini fridge which seemed too far a distance. I was probably never going to make it even if I attempted to go get water.

Taking out deep breaths, I motioned the courage to ignore the bitter smell and taste of the medicine and threw them in my mouth, gulping them down my throat.

Had I known, I'd have just let out a cry for help instead of taking the medicines. It was as if a hundred Hyenas gnawed and were fighting to slit my throat as I instantly vomited, wretching my balls out, the medicine's taste all over my mouth, making me puke harder.

The sound of me vomiting seemed to catch the guards' attention as they stepped into my room in a hurry and ran to me.

Even as light evaded my senses, I saw the disgusted look they had written boldly on their faces as I gave way to unconsciousness once again.

*****

[Justin's POV]

I stared at the drawing laying on the table over and over again. The goatee, the wrinkles, the bushy hair...these and more had been detailedly inclusive in it, giving away the full facial appearance of the psychopath; yeah, the same one who had tried to murder Amber.

I heaved a sigh and gulped down the cup of coffee Grams had placed on the table, wiping away the beads of sweat on my face with a handkerchief.

Two days had passed since I saw that my Uncle had turned into a different being entirely. He blamed rich people, but then, if you do something bad, what's the difference between you and those you're judging? Honestly, life was just one hell of a piece of shit where people condemned others for sinning differently.

After the discourse I had with my uncle, he had given me $50 to go back home and keep the change that was left off the money.

I had been surprised upon finding out my uncle could actually afford to live in a big city as Los Angeles, but the most surprising of it all was that he was now a drug Lord.

One might wonder how I got to know that since he didn't disclose that information to me himself. However, when I got home that day, I asked Grams why she had disowned Uncle Mark without even informing Nelly and I.

All these years, I had felt it was just that he was too busy to come and see us not knowing Grams had actually issued him a strong warning not to ever come near our dwelling.

Of course, Grams had been dumbfounded and thrown into utter confusion when I had asked her about everything. She kept on asking how I got to know about her disowning her own son, but all I had told her was that I saw him and he revealed it to me himself.

Even after hearing that, she still didn't give in to my request of finding out what could have been the reason for her cutting ties with him.

However, on mentioning that he wanted me to join him in business after my graduation from high school, she became agitated and started shaking her head profusely in negativity, mumbling inaudible words.

I had made her sit on the bed then I sat beside her after giving her water to drink to calm down her nerves. It was after she had slightly recovered from the shock of my outburst that she finally told me the whole truth.

Grams had been in Uncle Mark's house which was in Arroyo Grande at the time to ask for some amount of money. His place was just a bungalow at the time and she had been surprised on seeing guards now guarding the place.

However, after permission from my uncle, she had been let in, but what they hadn't guessed was that she'd go snooping around the place. As fate would have it, she had caught my uncle mixing drugs and giving to an armed man who was to supply it to Kentucky the following day.

Grams had been shocked but had gone back home, pretending she saw nothing. She only let the cat out of the bag three days later when my uncle drove to our house in his new Mercedes Benz to inquire why she had left that day without waiting to speak to him.

He had supposedly brought good tidings but Grams didn't hold it back in telling him what a pathetic loser he was and made it clear that he was no longer her son and she wanted anything but to partake in his ill-gotten wealth.

That had been the whole story of how my grandmother and my uncle parted ways. Honestly, I had never expected Uncle Mark to be involved in such a dubious act.

There I was, always talking ill about rich people because I felt they were the ones with a criminal mindset and just plain insensitive, evil and wicked since they had it all, but now, I suddenly got a change of heart; the things people do isn't about tribe nor race and not even class or status; it is simply based on an individual; rich or poor, high or low, and that simply is the basis of understanding what life really is all about.

Grams made me promise her not to follow the footsteps of my uncle and all I decided to do was just find a way to help Amber recover fully, help catch the bad guys and move on with my life, now having a new belief and view of life.

"Dude, what are you thinking of?" I heard Aiden ask.

I looked up and sighed upon seeing him standing and holding Sally in his arms, scratching her ears and looking concerned.

"What's the issue? You seem always lost in thoughts these days," He noted.

I raked my hands through my hair. "It's nothing. I've just been so bothered about this whole thing. In the day, I'm trying to figure out who's behind all the attacks while I'm worried if Amber is fine at night. I'm getting tired," I said.

He chuckled. "Quit acting like an old man, will you? Anyways, I've got some good news that'll cheer you up," He said to me.

I became interested almost immediately. "What's the news?" I blurted out.

He sat Sally down on the table and brought out his wallet from his pocket then opened it.

"What's in there? Wanna give me some cash?" I asked in a playful tone.

"Money is the root of all evil," He teased.

"Still, money answers all things," I retorted with a shrug.

He began laughing and I joined in as well.

Soon, the laughter dried up and I watched him unfold and smoothen the rough paper he had taken out of his wallet.

He then handed it over to me and I stared at it, not knowing what to think or make out of it.

"What's this? Wanna get a tattoo?" I asked, being that the paper contained the drawing of an Egyptian goddess.

"No, not me," He responded with a wave of his hand.

"Then who?" I asked.

"No one." He then sat on the table, facing me. "Listen, I had a dream."

I chuckled. "Dream? You have dreams?"

Surprisingly, he didn't laugh and just maintained a straight face.

"Wait. You're serious about this?" I asked, seeing his face not lit up so much as a faint smile.

"Yes. And please, don't interrupt me," He said.

"Okay then, carry on," I told him, highly amazed that he could actually be serious for once in his life.

He cleared his throat. "So in my dream, I had a flashback to the day I received that weird phone call from the alleged servant in Amber's home. Although he was putting on black all through, he wasn't wearing gloves and I knew because the hand used in holding his phone was plain and I think he forgot to button his long sleeveless shirt because I saw the drawing of a tattoo ..."

"Wait. Wait. Wait. Let me get this straight. You had a flashback in your dream?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yes, I did. I think it just crept into my sleep due to my subconscious mind because I've been thinking of how I could help you and Amber in this case," He explained.

"Yeah yeah, that's absolutely possible," I told him.

"So when I woke up, I was able to remember how the tattoo looked like perfectly and I drew it on this piece of paper," He said.

I gave a broad smile. "Good job, bro. This is the best news I've heard in such a long time. All we need to do now is find out who has this tattoo engraved on their wrist in Gilbert Sanders' home," I said, my heart overwhelmed with joy.

His face also became gleeful. "Really? You think this can help?" He asked.

"I don't think this can help, I know it can," I replied.

"Justin, how are you going to find out about this so-called servant? Who will be willing to give you such information? We both know Amber doesn't recall anything," Aiden said, becoming worried again.

"Don't worry about that. I already know the perfect person to help us out," I said.

"Who?'

"Eunice Sanders," I replied.

"Oh, you're absolutely right. From the stories you've told me about her, I'm sure she'll be more than willing to help," He said.

"Of course," I replied then sighed heavily.

"What's the problem again? We've already found our solution, isn't it?" He asked.

"But come to think of it, what if we find this servant, the game planner, the one we suspect to be behind this and he denies it?" I asked.

Aiden chuckled, making it seem as though I was saying something stupid.

"What's so funny?" I asked, getting slightly offended.

"You are. There's no way he can deny it once we find him with the tattoo as proof and his yellow eyes," He said.

I chuckled once more at his lack of understanding.

"I saw those eyes, Amber did too and in case you've forgotten, being an eye witness is an evidence," He said.

"I understand where you're coming from but seriously, Aiden, these things don't work like this. No one saw anyone on the day Amber was attacked in her own room. There's no one with yellow eyes in their home..."

"So? It could be contacts!" He yelled.

"Exactly! So where's the proof when the man supposedly looks all normal and responsible in daylight but turns into a total monster at night?" I inquired.

He seemed thoughtful and sighed. "You're right. And anyone could have this tattoo. Damn! This is total bullshit," Aiden said angrily.

"Sssh! No cuss words here," Grams yelled from the bedroom and Aiden cowered while I simply giggled.

"Why didn't you tell me she was around?" He asked in a whisper.

I shrugged.

"Anyways, I figured out something. My drawing is pathetic but I was hoping that if I sketched a bit and provided the police the plate number of the van which I already informed you about that Amber also saw, they'd be able to track his partner down," I said.

"Okay. And?"

"And the partner will confirm who the original brainbox is," I said.

He nodded, acting like he was absorbing all the information I had just dished out.

"But do you think his partner will betray him? There's something called loyalty, you know," He said.

"I do know. However, I have faith in detectives. They can break any man and believe me when I say that they will break this short psychopath as well," I said.

"Okay then. Let's just hope and pray that this so-called partner or preferably the mastermind behind everything that has been happening really bought the van in their name," Aiden said.

"I agree with you, Aiden. That's the only way the police can find out the exact location of the murderer," I said.

"Attempted murderer," Aiden corrected.

I shrugged. "Whatever. I'm sure he'd have succeeded in killing someone in the past. Thankfully, he's met with his Waterloo."

"Nice. What are we to do in the meantime? Sit back, fold our arms and keep our fingers crossed?" He asked.

I shook my head in negativity. "No way. Right now, we'll head over to Los Angeles and you'll submit all the evidence we have to Detective Andrew while I go on my way to The Sanders' abode and see if I could talk to Amber's mum," I said.

He nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me," He said.

"Great! Just so you know, I have a good feeling about this. It's high time we stopped letting criminals get away with crime. This matter has been going on back and forth, let's end it once and for all, what do you think?' I asked, meaning my every word.

"I'm with you on this," Aiden responded.

I shot him a small smile. This rat race was ending soon with only one side emerging the victor and like all other good stories with happy endings, the good side definitely had to be on top of the game.

However, there were tragic and sorrowful stories as well. What if this turned out to be a defeat on my side with all the odds stacked against us? How could I possibly face Amber after not helping her like I should have?

Brushing aside my pessimistic feelings, I decided to do everything in my power to make sure Amber was safe irrespective of the outcome of this one-way battle.

She deserved all the happiness in the world.