บท 39: Chapter Thirty-eight
Kenna
Dimitri and I sit side by side while we face the two police officers, one a detective and the other an assistant—holding onto a notepad with a pen as I feel Dimitri slowly grab onto my hand, trying to calm me down which causes me to smile up at him, assuring him that I'm alright.
''We're truly sorry for what happened to your husband, Mrs. Ashton. How are you holding up?'' He asks, looking straight into my eyes.
My eyes wander to his every features, wanting to take a closer look—he seems to be around my age or probably a couple of years older and it's quite weird to hear him call me 'Mrs. Ashton' instead of just calling me by my name.
''Kenna's fine,'' I mutter.
''Alright, Kenna. You can call me Irwin,'' He leans forward by placing both of his elbows on the desk before clearing his throat. ''We managed to catch the criminal as soon as he tried to get away but he shot himself before we could even respond,'' He adds, leaving me to frown.
Dimitri shifts beside me, ''He killed himself?''
''Unfortunately or fortunately, I really don't know which. The others are locked up in prison for questioning and for their sentences—you can choose to add more to their sentence if you'd like,'' Irwin continues to speak, glancing up at Dimitri for a couple of seconds before looking back at me.
''I don't want me or my family to get involved. I just want my husband to wake up from coma so that we can get through all of this,'' I reply slowly, ''Whatever you choose to do with those criminals, I want no part in it.'' I add.
Irwin seems to be slightly surprised, ''That's a shock to hear from you, Kenna. Usually, they'd be hiring up lawyers for the criminals to get an awful lot sentence than what they deserve.'' Then, he frowns, ''Your husband's in a coma?'' He asks.
''I'm very sorry,'' The other says.
I look down at my hands as I play with my wedding ring, ''Can I watch the security tape?'' My eyes meet with Irwin, who seems to be slightly surprised at my sudden request before blinking a few times.
''Y—yes, that's possible.'' He clears his throat, ''If it's alright with you, can I pay your husband a visit?'' The way he seems to hesitate at first but the words slip off his lips smoothly causes me to nod my head, feeling tears begin to reform in my eyes before wiping them away.
It doesn't take long for the four of us to walk down the hallway and straight towards his room. At first, a couple of nurses seem to have insisted just how they're not allowed to let us in but I manage to persuade them and tell that it'll only take a little while. Now, we're standing in front of Aidan who seems to be 'sleeping' soundly.
Dimitri stands near me instead of standing near Aidan as his eyes are beginning to water which causes me to grab onto his hand before rubbing the back of it; trying to soothe him.
''What exactly happened, if you don't mind me asking?'' Irwin asks, turning to look at me.
''Anterior cervical discectomy which is why they had to perform surgery to remove the pain in his neck. The reason why he's in a coma is because of the swelling in his brain,'' I clear my throat. ''Easy to say . . . brain trauma,'' I add, leaving me to look back at my best friend, my husband who stays motionless, just like that.
Irwin stands still at his spot while his assistant continues to write the details down on his notepad, leaving me to think that they're obviously running some sort of interrogation but in a more polite, casual way instead of dragging me or Dimitri straight to the police station.
Truth be told, what happened to Aidan is still unsure to me—as of why I asked to watch the security tape so that I can fully determine or comprehend the whole idea in my head. All I can know as a doctor is that Aidan was suffering from a severe blow to the head and it has caused his brain to go through into this state, leaving him motionless, not being able to respond.
It's breaking my heart to even see him laying there with his mouth slightly ajar from the machine that's helping him breathe as both of his eyes are closed while the rest of his body remains frozen. Imagine being someone who had to go into the operating room to find out the exact problem that is going on with your husband or something, it's quite a pain in the ass.
''When can I see the security tape?'' I ask, breaking the silence.
''Tonight at the police station,'' He replies.
Just like that, my head nods in an approving way, letting them know just how eager I am to figure this whole thing out without actually falling apart.
''We'll take our leave, Kenna. Give us a few hours to get the security tape and we'll see you tonight at the station,'' He continues to speak. The way he glances at Dimitri's direction as they shake hands before turning to smile at me, then step out of the room leaves me to think that this is not something to be taken lightly—for what reason, I suppose I barely even know.
I turn towards Dimitri, ''You have to be there.''
''I'll be there with you. Don't worry, Kenna. We'll get through this and before you know it, Aidan's going to wake up and everything's going to turn to normal. Just like that,'' Dimitri replies before he starts to wrap his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer towards his body; leaving me to nod my head a few times.
--
Dimitri and I both walk inside the police station with coats covering our bodies due to the cold weather, leaving us to gaze around the station and see that not a lot are on night duty but Irwin's figure comes into spot as he makes his way towards us. ''Come with me,'' He says.
We both follow him down the hallway and straight towards a room at the back, somewhat hidden as we enter, revealing an unidentified box in the middle of the table with a laptop, specified to be playing the tape—or more precisely, the tape in the pen drive.
''Are you ready?'' He asks, looking up at me.
I take a seat near the laptop as Dimitri stands behind me with his hand laying on my shoulder, somehow giving me strength in which I appreciate. Within seconds, Irwin has already clicked play on the laptop, making me look down in order to not miss a thing. ''That's him,'' I mutter under my breath but loud enough for Dimitri and Irwin to hear.
My gaze follows Aidan's figure as he stepped inside the bank with Flynn trailing behind him. To my surprise, he stopped in the middle as he got a little bit off balance which causes me to shift on my seat before glancing up at Dimitri.
''This was a few minutes before the robbery. It looks they have planned it for months because a bank robbery is rarely successful. They didn't succeed but to keep people in danger for as long as they did was quite a threat to the society,'' He speaks up while I remain focusing onto the screen.
Aidan took a seat on one of the benches before the whole chaos started, leaving him to drop onto the ground as soon as he saw those criminals shooting carelessly onto the ceiling. My heart clenches at the sight of Aidan being pulled up before they started to beat him up, leaving me to replay the images of his bruises from before.
''He was already in pain,'' I mutter.
''What do you mean?'' Dimitri asks while Irwin turns to look at us, somehow wanting to participate in this conversation.
''He stopped earlier and he was holding onto his neck. Why didn't I notice this before? I thought that maybe due to the impact that he started to feel the pain in his neck but it started before he even got hit,'' I place a hand on my mouth as I try to recollect any moments of him ever being in pain, any severe headaches but none came.
''For fuck's sake,'' Dimitri breathes out. ''And neither of us noticed this before? Did he even show any signs or were we both plain oblivious?'' The way the words escape his lips seem to show just how much annoyance is passing in, leaving him to blame himself for the things that was almost impossible to notice because he didn't show any signs.
My eyes widen at the sight of him being hit by a baseball bat which causes me to close my eyes for a few short seconds before imagining just how much pain he went through. The impact was harsh and it's even a miracle to have him alive yet in a coma but it's better than him being dead.
''We didn't know . . . '' I blink.
Irwin turns the laptop around to end the tape as I feel my hands beginning to shake before trying to calm myself down by standing up, running them through my hair but my heart's racing, my lips' trembling and my whole body feels like I've just ran a marathon.
''Thank you, detective.'' Dimitri says, while I close my eyes in order to slightly calm myself down.
''It's my job.'' Irwin replies, ''Once again, I'm truly sorry for what happened and if there's anything that I can do—''
I cut him off by shaking my head, ''No. No, detective. You've done your job. Like I said, I want no part in this investigation—whatever you do to them, I don't want to care. Thank you for showing me the tape and I appreciate that but getting myself involved is not going to wake my husband up from his coma,'' I answer, clearly.
''Of course. Thank you for your cooperation,'' He nods his head.
We step out of the police station and straight into Dimitri's car as we both let out a deep sigh, as if we have been holding it in for hours. It's such a shame to see ourselves in this situation where everything was alright five months ago but for some unknown reason or luck, here we are.
I lost my dad and it was a shock—he didn't deserve to die like that. He deserves to die at home where he's old and surrounded by his family, not because of a car accident. Definitely not as tragic as how it turned out to be. ''How the fuck did we end up here?'' I stressfully lean my body forward before pulling onto the roots of my hair.
Dimitri scoffs, ''You tell me.''
I cup onto my face as I wipe away the fallen tears before turning to look at him, ''Did we do something wrong to someone to deserve this? Did we unknowingly kill someone?'' I frown, seeing him turn to look at me, probably eyeing the redness in my eyes as they get teary but light chuckles are escaping my lips.
''Probably in our past lives,'' He joins me.
''Very funny,'' I push him lightly on the arm which causes him to grin before driving down the road. As his eyes wander down the road, mine goes to look at what's beside me, trying to find some sort of peace from this car ride.
''How are you, Dimitri?'' I ask, realising how I've never gotten the time to ask.
He blinks a few times, ''I'm the same as always. There's nothing interesting happening in my life,''
''Oh, come on. Don't lie,'' I lean closer towards him. ''There must be something . . . someone? Anything and other than having to be in the middle of my marriage,'' I chuckle.
''Not really. Why? You're bored seeing me throwing away my youth by being single?'' He raises an eyebrow as he makes a right turn, speeding down the road.
''That's it. Tell me,'' I turn to face him.
''What? Tell you what?'' He asks, looking a bit more confused than before.
''What kind of woman do you like? Long hair? Short hair? Brunettes or blondes? Light eyes or dark eyes? What about her personality? What kind of person do you want her to be?'' My questions seem to have humoured him as he let out a soft chuckle, letting me raise an eyebrow at him; seeing him shake his head with his hand gripping onto the steering wheel while the other runs through his dark, thick hair.
''Can't I just walk past her and say like 'she's the one' kind of crap?'' He continues to laugh.
''Be serious!'' I playfully punch onto the side of his arm which causes him to laugh even louder as he controls his breathing.
''Okay . . . okay, calm down.'' He smiles, ''There's never a specified 'type' of woman that I like but if I get to fall in love with someone again, I'd prefer it if she has short hair—probably shoulder length? She has got to be a brunette, I'm going crazy over dark-haired girls, man and I've always loved women with hazel eyes because I find it exotic and somewhat warm yet light at the same time. She should be funny, brave, ambitious, everything that I'm not . . . so, we can complete each other with what we lack.'' He replies and it doesn't take me long to notice how he talked.
The way his eyes light up as he imagined his dream girl, it's somehow beautiful even though we both know how this is all an imagination and that kind of woman would be almost impossible to find. Yes, she can have short dark hair with hazel eyes but it's hard to find someone who can complete Dimitri especially after what Chloe did to him.
He's like a maze, now.
There are things that he hides away from people and only Aidan and I would know because he has been scared of commitment. Not scared of making progress in his life or scared of meeting with someone new but scared of a commitment where he can keep them together but the other person would end up ruining everything. He's terrified of another heartbreak; even though he knows how he's ready to love and be loved.
''She sounds perfect,'' I mutter under my breath with a small slowly creeping up my face.
He chuckles, ''Too perfect to exist. It's funny to think how perfect it would be to fall in love again but I'm much more determined, now. I don't just want to fall in love with someone and taking risks until I know and sure just how much I can protect her just as much as she can protect me. I want my next relationship to be a complete one,''
''Not perfecting the other but each other,'' We both say in unison which causes us to smile.
''Exactly,'' He adds.
I lean closer towards him, ''Believe it or not, Dimitri. You're going to find that perfect woman and you're both going to complete each other,''
''Yeah . . . we'll see, right? I might walk down the street and bump into her,'' He continues to speak with his eyes focusing onto the road. ''I just want my next relationship to be something admirable and memorable. Not perfect but something I'd always keep in mind—not like how Chloe and I had because what we had was perfect but perfection proves how it doesn't hold a relationship or marriage,'' He breathes out.
''I guess you're really French,'' I scoff.
Both of us end up laughing with the song playing slowly at the back, somehow unnoticeable by the two of us as we continue the conversation.
''Hey, I'm half French! You can't blame it that I'm born this way,'' He shrugs both of his shoulders with a smirk slowly creeping up his face, letting my blue eyes wander to see him proudly raising his eyebrow at me for a couple of times.
''Aww, little Dim . . . you're perfect just the way you are.'' My hands begin to wrap around his arm for a short couple of seconds before resting my head on his shoulder, causing him to pat onto my forehead which causes me to slap his hand away.
''I guess I do sound perfect, huh? Me being half french and 1/3 Spanish that I can understand the song Despacito perfectly,'' He starts to trail off by singing the chorus of Despacito, moving his body side to side as he grips tightly onto the steering wheel, letting me lean my head back in laughter.
''You understand Despacito because you speak Spanish, you dimwit.'' I roll my eyes.
''And another six languages. Look at me, baby, I'm the perfect package—come on . . . good-looking, rich, funny, loyal, caring and even intelligent. I mean, name one person who can speak more than five languages that you know other than the damn MVP, Dimitri?'' He turns to glance at my direction for a couple of seconds.
I keep quiet before clearing my throat, realising how the surrounding has somehow changed from fun and loud to being quiet and sorrow. ''Aidan?'' My lips slowly curving up into a smile as he stares at me for a few seconds, somehow out of words.
''Honestly, that's very attractive.'' I add, after not receiving a response from him.
''What is?'' He asks.
''Being able to speak other languages. Fuck, being able to speak more than two languages is already attractive to me and to a whole lot of other XX chromosomes.'' I lean back on my seat as I laugh, wanting to cheer the situation up even though we both know by mentioning his name would cause us to fidget. It's horrible how Dimitri and I are having a proper conversation as we listen to the musics being played on the radio while Aidan is laying unawake in the hospital, not even knowing whether he'll be awake in the nearest future.
''You can speak three. So, you're like also complimenting yourself.'' He replies.
''You mean I speak English, crap and bullshit?''
The sound of our laughters are only getting louder and louder as he makes a quick left turn, heading straight down the road to my apartment or more precisely . . . my husband's apartment.
''We are here,'' He mutters under his breath as he stops in front of the apartment, leading me to look and see the lights are not turned on; leaving me to sigh deeply.
''Here we are,'' I say before stepping out of the car after grabbing onto my bag.
Just as I've closed the passenger door, Dimitri presses down the window to look up at me, causing me to gaze into his eyes as they wander around the neighbourhood. ''Don't forget to lock the doors as soon as you get inside. Then, take a warm shower to clear your head and just get some rest, okay?'' He looks at me with a small smile plastered on his face.
''Okay,'' I reply as I smile back.
Dimitri is like a big brother to me even though we're the same age but he cares more than he should. It's like having a brother who doesn't exist whenever he teases me around and all but he's also caring and irresistibly kind especially when it comes to me.
''If you feel like you can't sleep and want to take a midnight drive down the streets of Manhattan, you just press on your speed dial #3 and I'll be there. You know I'll be there,'' He adds.
I lean forward near the window, ''What if I want to take a long midnight drive to McDonalds?''
He grins, showing off his perfectly straight teeth before chuckling softly. ''Just press on speed dial #3 and we'll be getting some chicken nuggets,'' He responds off with the perfect answer for someone who enjoys food as I lean back, giving him a thumbs up.
''Drive safe, alright?'' I say as I walk towards my door.
Just like that, he lifts his right hand up before forming the shape of a heart using his thumb and his index finger which causes me to smile as he drives down the road as soon as I've entered the house, greeted by a familiar smell of a particular someone, leaving me to sigh.
My legs continue to take me straight to the living room, instantly reminded of this morning when he prepared breakfast and how the smell is still somewhat lingering in my senses. For some unknown reason, I am reminded of when we were both laying on the couch as we watched some good movies before we started to fall asleep in each other's arms just like how we did back in my apartment before we got married.
''Lock the doors,'' I mutter before turning to lock the front door even though it is formatted to automatically lock by itself with the codes being programmed. Even if I forget to lock the door, it won't cause me any harm.
Within seconds, I'm already standing in the shower as the warm water hits my ice cold skin. The way my body relaxes under the water with my eyes closed and both of my hands pressed against the wall, it feels like Aidan is wrapping his arms around my waist as we both enjoy this warm shower together which causes me to immediately shake it off my head and turn the shower off before quickly stepping out with a towel wrapped around my body. Then, I change into a pair of sweatpants and sweatshirt as I quickly lay onto the bed which seems to be a mistake.
A mistake because the smell of him . . . meets my nostrils in ways that I can't even explain. This room smells more of him than me which causes my eyes to water, leaving me to immediately wipe them away as they stream down my cheeks.
Even without me expecting or knowing, I'm already crying my eyes out as I wrap myself with the comforter that we both use at night by placing one hand at the exact spot where he would always sleep next to me, leaving me to close my eyes as the sobs continue to get louder yet only loud enough to my own ears.
The night passes just like that.
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