“You mean to tell me,” Gerald questions calmly, “that you went to a nightclub after getting wasted in a bar, slept with a random girl who wasn’t using birth control, did not think of using protection, somehow lost your wallet, and now you’re afraid that you might have gotten her pregnant?”“Yes, I am,” I sigh, “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”“No, you didn’t,” Gerald agrees, “no one means for stupidity to happen to them, they just walk right into it.”“I wasn't there to sleep with a girl, honest,” I insist, “I just wanted to have a drink and forget everything, okay? I was mad and pissed, and sad if I’m being honest. I was so tired. I just wanted to forget.”Gerald holds my eyes for a moment, and I distantly wonder what he sees there. Does he notice the misery I have emanating from me? Does he notice how fidgety I am? Does he notice how desperately I need a drink so I could get my nerves settled? We’re sitting in a car right outside the bank after coming here to get all my fi

“What?” Gerald asks, clearly flabbergasted, and I pull at his arm, manhandle his person so he could look out of my window, and point at the person I’m seeing.“Look!” I crow, my heart racing in my chest and my mind tries to do all it can to make sense of what I’m seeing, “the guy right over there, crossing the street right into that little lane Don’t you see who that is?”Gerald squints, “I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about-oh, god.”“It’s him, we need to pursue him!”“Jace, Jace, stop!” Gerald calls out as I scramble to exit the car so I could chase after the guy, “Jace, we need to call backup.”“We’d lose sight of him if we do,” I yell back, “that fucker slipped away from us once, and he’s not going to do it again.”“Jace, no!” Gerald calls out, but it’s already too late because I’m already up and running after him. I push past the pedestrians walking around, garnering dirty looks and cries of outrage, reminiscent of when I followed this exact person through a busy stree

Pushing the salesman away from me and disregarding all his protests I start to chase after Aiden. There is a backdoor to the shop and Aiden slams the door behind him, nearly hitting me who is following him right behind, but that does not deter me. There is only one aim in my mind and that is to catch him today no matter what.Aiden springs into a rather crowded street that’s right next to the backdoor exit, the lane that is next to the one we took to follow him into the shop.The chase is reminiscent of the one I did many weeks ago when we realized where the kidnapper was uploading the torture videos from. However, although I made an impressive chase that day, due to the police interference Aiden managed to weasel his way out to later deliver the final blow to Coraline while I was taken into police custody. This time that cannot happen. I make sure that there are no police officers anywhere as I give chase, and make sure not to bump into people just in case one of them calls upon a po

Aiden points a goddamned gun at me and without hesitation presses the trigger.For a moment the entire world freeze around me. I see it as clearly as I could see a bird flying or a fish swimming, like I’m in the slow-motion section of an action movie. The bullet is aimed at me, and I could see it coming towards me, tearing through the air It should be faster than this, I realize. I should not be seeing it coming towards me, it should already be embedded in my head, taking my life with it. I should be down on the road with another vehicle running over me because I’m too dead to move. So why am I still alive? Why do I see it coming towards me? It’s impossible for a human being to see a bullet with his naked eyes!The bullet comes closer and closer, and I get over my shock at seeing it. It breaks through the glass of the vehicle window, and the glass shatters. Pieces of crystal flew all around my head and I had to pull myself back not to let them get into my eyes. Eventually, the bullet

“Who the heck is Estelle?” Mal asks, voice incredulous, “Why on earth is he asking for her? Has he dosed with something?! Are you doing drugs now, Jace?”The only answer he gets from me is a groan because I'm far too gone into the red-hot heat of my mind to form a coherent answer. “Estelle is…” Gerald starts and then tries to find the right words. “A woman he met last night and well, and danced with? And spent the night with. They met at a nightclub."“Oh.” Both Mal and Lemon immediately understand, especially considering the way Gerald stutters through his words and finds the most non-suggestive ones. It’s strange how part of me is still attentive to what they are talking about, albeit a tiny part. The majority is my consciousness is trying to deal with the pain and the longing for Estelle.“But why her?” Mal inquires. “Why do you need the woman you hooked up with for the night, Jace? What did she do to you? Did she put something in your drink and now you're in love with her or some