Shadows In Durango

Chapter 127

*:kkxG0fig's POV*Fkkx

By the twe finally left Vincent's place, | was surprised to find the sky blanketed in darkness. How had it

gotten so late, so fast?!

It felt like we had been talking for hours and it was clear now that we actually had been...

My head was still spinning from everything that had cout during our conversation too as | struggled to make

sense of it all.

I had used the bathroom briefly before we left, finding my face to be extremely puffy and raw - nothing new at

this point since | seemed to always cry over my sad fuck up of a life - regardless of how hard | would try to fight

back the tears! But as | now sat amongst the rumbling engine of the car, reflecting, | had to say that the main

statement that stole the show tonight was when Vincent said he loved me.

Vincent Walker actually said that he loved me? Let that sink in...

| was still trying to wrap my head around it, the way those words had just slipped out of his mouth so carelessly.

My breathing increased at the memory alone, as | refused to look at him during the entire drive.

Did he even realise what he'd said?

Or was it just something he thought might help to fix things between us?

How many girls had he said the exact sthing to before in the past?!

I had been so angry at him, so explosive, with this being the first tthat we had finally rehashed the whole

secret dealings he had made with my father behind my back, and honestly, | felt that | had every right to react

how I did... Keeping something like that from me... it was a betrayal, no questions asked.

But now, with a long silence settled between us, givingtto look back on our heated dispute, a knot of

guilt soon began to creep its way in.

I had lashed out on him incredibly hard, harder than | had ever done in my whole life with anyone else, and

maybe, just maybe, | hadn't given him a fair shot to apologise.

He had said sorry over and over again but | didn't want to fall vulnerable to believing him so easily. | just wish |

hadn't yelled like | had, cutting him off whenever he tried to explain things to me...

Surprisingly, Vincent hadn't lost his temper once withtoday - even when he was being screamed at. That

alone was worth brownie points, and hinted that he did actually feel guilty for it all or he would have made more

of an effort to defend himself.

| suddenly felt bad, like | had been the one who had crossed a line with how the conversation went, but would |

admit that right now?

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No way.

I wouldn't.

Not yet.

All | wanted right now was to hurry up and get back to the hospital. Back to Emma, and more importantly, back

to Daryl.

The image of him unconscious, lying in that hospital bed, had hauntedever since we'd left him there the first

time. The thought of hopefully seeing him awake this time, hearing his voice... it was the only thing keeping me

grounded.

The car ride was an excruciatingly quiet experience for the both of us.

The silence between Vincent and | felt cold and awkward, like we were both balancing on the edge of something

fragile, too afraid to push it any further with one another.

He was givingspace - like he had promised to - but | could feel his frustration in the way his hands gripped

the steering wheel, his eyes fixed strictly on the road ahead like he didn't dare to look at me.

| appreciated the distance though, even though it made my anxiety coil tighter with each passing minute.

As the towns lights blurred past us, | couldn't stop my mind from wandering back to everything we had just gone

over.

The stalkers.

The pictures.

The business dealings between our fathers.

The money offered for me.

The proposed marriage.

Ashton.

Daryl being shot.

Every little detail played on a loop in my head, makingquestion everything.

How had it even gotten to this point?

How had | ended up here, with my father still looming over my life like an attached shadow that I couldn't yet

escape, no matter how far | tried to run from him?

How had | fell head over heels for a guy whose damn father was in connection with my very own blood?

| had fucked this up so much that it was hard to see a way out... to find a plausible escape.

My father was managing to pull the strings through the use of Vincent, the last guy | thought he would ever be

able to get to... helping him to get to me! Vincent walked right in to his trap...

| shifted in my seat, glancing back out of the window with a shaky breath.

| wanted to feel something other than this gnawing uncertainty. | had no idea what the future held forstaying

here in town now.

What good was there here for me? For Vincent? For any of us?!

The hospital was coming up in the distance, its familiar glow a beacon in the dark and for the first time, | was

actually ecstatic to see it.

Part ofhoped that being back there, seeing Emma, Daryl and Reid might givesclarity on what to do,

or at least they would be a distraction from the chaos running loose inside of my head. Anything to stop thinking

about Vincent's confessions and about my father...

He said he loved me, and | wasn't even sure how to feel about it.

Vincent swiftly pulled into the hospital parking lot, the car coming to a slow, quiet stop. The tension between us

was suffocating, each second stretching painfully as neither of us made a move to get out.

| stared up at the glowing hospital entrance, so close but suddenly feeling so far...

There was still so much unresolved tension between us, so much | still didn't know how to process.

"I meant it by the way..." Vincent's steady words find my ears, as | force myself to look across at him.

"I do believe that I love you Sofia..." He concludes, as | swallow the lump of guilt lodged in my throat.

With a small sigh, | unbuckled my seatbelt and pushed at the door handle to get out, stepping out into the cool

night air and waiting for Vincent to follow my lead.

Eyeing him from across the car, as his face longed to hearsay something, anything, as | cleared my throat.

"Hopefully I'll find a way to move past all of this, just givetto figure it out." | nod, wishing I could give

him more... feeling bad that | couldn't.

It was clear that he was trying, | would give him that.

As we walked inside, the bright lights of the hospital hitlike a shock, momentarily pullingout of my head

space. The familiar scent of antiseptic filled the air, and the sterile hum of the building remindedof why we

were back here. Emma...

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| barely had tto collect myself before | heard her voice.

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"Sofia, you're back!" Emma rushed towardthe second she spotted us, her face lighting up with relief.

She threw her arms around me, pullinginto a tight hug that | didn't realise | needed until that moment. |

hugged her back, feeling a wave of emotion crash overbut | forced myself to quickly pull it together.

Emma pulled back and studiedfor a second, her brows furrowing in concern at the redness of my face, but

she didn't push me, not with Vincent standing so near.

Instead, she glanced over at Reid, her gaze flicking back between the two of us like she could sense the tension

hanging in the air, as he almost knowingly stepped in to help her out...

"Everything okay now?" Reid asked carefully, his eyes searching ours.

Vincent didn't say anything, but the look he gave Reid was enough to communicate what needed to be said:

Don't ask.

Reid's jaw clenched, but he gave us a brief nod, turning his attention back to Emma and me. He thankfully didn't

press any of us for details, knowing that it would get him nowhere right now. "How's Daryl doing now?" | asked,

my voice coming out quieter than | had expected.

The weight of my earlier anxiety was starting to creep back in, wrapping aroundlike a choke hold.

Emma's face softened. "He's been in and out of sleep today, but the doctors said he's improving as tgoes on.

They're hopeful he'll wake back up soon for another bite to eat." She gavea reassuring smile, as | was

thankful for the positive news to help brighten up our dreary moods.

"Can we see him right now?" | asked, my heart racing at the thought of walking into that room of seeing him

lying there, asleep again, when | needed to talk to him more than ever.

Emma nodded. "Of course. Con, I'll take you down. The nurses just let us go in now to see him which is

good."

| felt Vincent's eyes on my back as | follow Emma away from the waiting room, suddenly feeling like | could

breathe again.

"Things didn't go so great with Vincent today huh?" Emma questions the second that he's out of ear shot as |

offer a stiff nod in response.

"I'll tell you all about it tonight..." | promise, as she givesa lazy smile of understanding.

With that, we both walked on, seeing a short nurse cin to view as her eyes seem to light up when noticing

Emma...

"Oh, I'm so glad that you cback just now, he's just woke up!" She beams, as my lips part in shock when

realising that | would be able to see Daryl awake for the first tsince he was shot... "Ready?" Emma turns to

me, her hand finding mine as she offers it a squeeze.

| needed to see him, for my own sanity.

Here goes nothing...