◾ Chapter - 22 ◾

                                    

                                          
*Chloe*
*A week later*
"Blake, I need you to watch my 6. I have a clear view of the opponents, I can take them all." I order and start crawling towards them. 
"I got you sissy." 
"J... You got my 3?" I ask,
"Always my lady." He smirks, making me smile in the intense situation. I take position ready to shoot, when 2 gunshots sound, hitting me directly in the head. 
"BLAKE..." I yell. "You kidding me... we lost it." I throw my controller back on the table and slump back on the couch.
"I seriously don't know where they came from." He argues. 
"Whatever." I say dismissively.
"Its okay princess, You lose some you win some. That's all part of it." Jacob start with his lecture for the 6th time in this week.
"Enough with that bullshit." Blake and I both whine, throwing cushions at him, and he laughs at our misery. 
I don't know what's gotten into him but he's been like that all week. Giving life lessons where ever he can. At first it was fine but now its getting onto my nerves. 
"Aren't you nutshells done yet?" Ashley walks in with a sandwich in her hand, flicking the lights on. 
"Yeah... we lost because of Blake." 
"Finally.... there's the Jacob I've been missing." I grin at him and he starts laughing. 
Suddenly there's a knock on the door. All our heads turn in the direction of the voice. Its Tom, our butler. 
"They're here." He informs and we all literally sprint upstairs. 
"Hey kids..." They greet us and we all tackle them in a hug. 
"We missed you guys too." They laugh. 
=*=*=*=
"And then he fell off the roof." We all laugh as Ashley fills our parents on our week's adventures. 
Its been a crazy week, no doubt. I had the time of my life. We went to amusement parks and fairs. And the diner, was our every hour hangout spot. I finally managed to get Blake Mia's number. Ashley and I purchased almost half of the mall. Yeah... Shopping germs are contagious.
Jacob? 
Well, lets just say we've grown much closer. Not in a romantic way, but like friends. Every time I'm with him, its like I'm with Tristen. He's smart and witty like him and we also share a similar taste in music, which is actually a blessing. 
I haven't talked to Reece or Tristen. I tried, but just couldn't bring myself to click that green button on the screen. I'm afraid to hear their voices. That all the emotions that I've been trying to burry will resurface again. 
"Chloe..." Val's voice snaps me out of my daze. "Can I speak to you for a moment?" She motions for me to come with her. 
"Yeah sure." I silently follow her to the second floor. What does she wanna talk about here. We could have just picked an empty guest room. 
"Chloe... there's something we need you to know. Its- umm.." She hesitates. 
"What is it Val? Is something wrong?" 
"Just promise me that you will not jump to conclusions without knowing the whole truth. You'll let your dad explain everything." She rambles in one breath.
"Explain what? You scaring me now. Is he okay?" Without having to answer my question she unlocks the door to her left. 
Its a study. Smaller than my father's, but very similar. But the moment I look towards the right wall, my eyes go wide. "This was my mom's study?" I ask Val in disbelief, to which she nods with a sad smile. 
The mahogany desk sits in the middle with a spinning chair behind it. Shelves stacked with books stand tall in one corner, while the other is stacked with all sorts of awards and trophies. I sit in her chair remembering how she'd spend hours going through her case files, sipping coffee. 
All sorts of paper used to be scattered around her while she eyed each one with precision. I feel a tear slip out of my eye as her face flasher through my eyes.
I watch as Valery walks to the closet and pulls out a small wooden box. She keeps it in front of me and hands me a silver key. 
"Just remember what I said earlier. Don't jump to conclusions." With that, she kisses the top of my head and leaves. 
Sighing, I open the box, only to find a small blue velvet box and a piece of parchment sitting in it. Once opened, the little blue box reveals a shiny diamond ring. Its a princess cut. She loved them. Never told me why, said she just did. Nevertheless, I think I know now. 
Its her wedding ring. She never wore one. "Its kept somewhere safe." She use to say. 
Keeping the ring aside I open the paper and see her beautiful, Flowey handwriting. 
My dear Chloe,
If you are reading this, then it means you are in New York with your dad and that I'm no longer with you. I hope you are not too hard on your dad. We did what we had to, to protect you. He's a good man, and trust me, he loves you more than anything. I wish I could tell you this in person, but I'm sorry. I wish I could take you to the time when he held you for the first time. The tears and happiness in his eyes. Oh, that day was incredible. 
Nevertheless, this is not why I'm writing you this letter. I'm writing it because I need to apologize. I know I've been a hero in your, Reece and Tristen eyes, but there is a part of me that I'm not so proud of. I did things that I deeply regret and would do anything to take it back. They were dark times and I was not myself because someone dear was taken away from me and your father. A loss that your Grandpa cannot survive. We had no one to lookout for us. So we did that for ourselves. We did what we had to survive. 
I hope you forgive me. I know knowing the truth would be hard, but don't you dare torture yourself for that. It was my choice and my actions that had consequences. It had nothing to do with you. So my little munchkin, forgive me if you can. And always remember that I'll be right beside you. I'll be watching over you from up there. I love you, baby always.
                                                                                                                                                                 -Love Mom.
 What is she talking about? What was taken away from her that made her do stuff that led to her death. What can be so dear to her? 
Wiping off all my tears, I storm out of the room and to the person who can answer all my questions.
*****
There people, everything is falling into place now. The truth is finally coming out. Who do you think was the dear one? Let me know in the comments. 
P.S. My first book hit 400 views. I'm so happy. Go check it out of you haven't yet. 
◾ Peace ◾