Facade of Love (Yvette Scott and Idris Young)
Chapter 294

Chapter 294 Back to Lake City

I did not know what to say to Maxwell. The people buried deep beneath the earth were not my folks. I felt for him, yet I could not truly understand his pain. I asked, "What's your next move?

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If he was set on replaceing his parents, I would be there to help.

He hesitated, then said softly, "I'll let them rest there. Even if we found them now, it would be hard to tell them apart. Knowing where they are is enough for me."

Yeah, it has been a decade. So many lost their lives in that disaster. Even if we dug them up now, how would we know who was who?

I clamped my mouth shut, not wanting to argue anymore.

After a brief chat, Alice and Maxwell took off, leaving me with my mom. I caught her eye and said, "Mom, let's go to the OR, okay?"

She blinked, realizing I meant to check on Charlie, and frowned. "Honey, you've barely come to. The doctor has not even said if you are good to walk yet!"

I offered her a weak smile and slid off the bed. "I'm okay, really. The doctor just gave me the all-clear, remember?"

She knew arguing was pointless. With a resigned sigh, she followed me to the OR. The dark room greeted us upon arrival, conveying the message without words-no one was inside.

I cornered a nurse and got the lowdown: Charlie had been moved. His leg, already messed up from before, got way worse after he hauled me through the mountains for two days and nights. Lorrell was just a small fry of a town, not cut out for this kind of treatment, so they shipped him off to Lake City.

Worry gnawed at me as Mom and I dashed back to our room to pack. We needed to get to Lake City quickly.

Mom watched me, biting her lip, clearly torn. She was scared I was pushing it too soon. I met her gaze head-on. "Mom, I'm fine, really. We'll head to Lake City. If anything pops up, we can handle it there. Plus, we'll have each other's backs. Just shoot Maxwell a text, let him know we're Lake City-bound."

She did not have much of a choice. After a nod, she stepped out to sort out the discharge paperwork.

I had barely anything with me. After slipping into fresh clothes, I automatically straightened the hospital bed and started folding the blanket. That was when the door swung open. Assuming it was Mom back from her errands, I did not bother looking up. "Mom, did you call Maxwell? Oh, and hand me your phone, will you? I need to book our train tickets. If we snag the next one, we should make it in time to catch Mr. Yates and head to the hospital together."

Mid-thought, I remembered something about Inch and paused, turning to add, "Uh, you talked to the local cops to help out..."

It was not Mom. A tall shadow loomed in the doorway. I trailed off, taking a few seconds to switch gears as I faced the man with a stormy look on his face. "Do you... need something?" Chapter 294 Back to Lake City

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The words felt awkward as soon as they left my mouth. I mean, this guy had gone out of his way to help me, and I had not even managed a simple 'thanks.' Now, I was about to skip town without a heads-up. I seemed pretty lame to ask him if he needed something, as if I were the one doing him a favor.

Feeling the weight of my own rudeness, I met Idris's eyes, a twinge of regret hitting me. "My mom mentioned you were the one who brought me back, and you even went into the mountains for them. Thanks for that."

I was not great with words, and even my thanks sounded forced and awkward. The more I thought about it, the more I kicked myself. I wanted to say something cool like, "Hit me up if you ever need anything," but who was I kidding? Idris would not need my help. Throwing out a line like that would just cheapen everything he had done for me. He cared, for real, and I did not want to mess that up by saying something dumb that might hurt him.

In moments like these, I just could not replace it in me to lash out at him with harsh words. Sure, I was upset with Idris, but I was not about to take a cheap shot at his heart. I was not that cruel.

Idris's piercing gaze swept the hospital room before settling on me with an icy look. "Leaving?" he asked.