Blood and Sweaters

Chapter 19

"You know what I bet I know what you thinking. You were thinking about yourself as usual. You were thinking about how you might never catch Marta, about how you might never avenge your family's death. That's obviously all your world revolves around right?"

"Ran I- I-"

"No! You don't get to talk your way out of this. You claim you'll always do anything for your family. You said I was your family. So if I'm your family, why do you keep hurting me? Don't you know every time I see you hurt, it kills me? Or does it not matter to you? You know what never mind. It's obvious I don't matter to you as much as you matter to me. There's Veronica, she'll drive you back to the hotel."

Shrugging off his wet leather jacket, he wrapped it around Aria's shoulders before leaving her on the sand in tears.

~~~

"All fixed up Aria. Now I am going to give you something for the pain," the doctor explained as he fished out an injection and a vial from his bag.

"Listen up doc, if you give me anything that going to make me sleep, the first thing I'll do when I wake up is hunt you down and kill you," Aria threatened in a low voice.

"That's the second time you've warned me, believe me, there's nothing in this that will make you even the slightest bit drowsy," the doctor nervously gulped.

After administering the injection, he hastily left the room, leaving Aria to her miserable thoughts. She lost every good thing in her life. Now she had lost Ransom too. Just then she heard the click of the doorknob, in walked an exhausted and defeated Ransom. Dropping his head into his hands he leaned forward, resting his head against the bed. Aria carded her fingers through his dark hair but Ransom pulled her hand away. Tears stung in her eyes, threatening to spill, he was rejecting her touch.

"I- I- I'm going to be okay, you know. You don't have to worry," Aria sniffed.

"You'll be okay? You'll be fine? What about me?" Ransom seethed, clenching his jaw.

"What would I have done if something happened to you?"

"Ran-"

"No! I get it, okay? I get it! You'll be okay, you'll be fine, but what about me?! Don't do it for yourself, do it for me! Please, Dew! Please live for me! Because if you die... I can't even think about what would happen if you die. You have to do this for me, or I'll never be able to forgive you!"

"For dying!? Aria questioned, confused at what Ransom was saying.

"No! For making me love you, Dew! I love you and I can't lose you!" Ransom screamed out as the tears fell from his eyes.

"Come here love," Aria called out to Ransom while opening her arms for him.

Ransom gently got into the bed and laid his head on her chest. She hesitantly ran her fingers through his hair.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking straight. Hell, I wasn't thinking at all. But when I hit that water my whole life flashed in front of me and the one regret that I had was that I'd never get to see you again. I'd never get it to start a family with you. Or to grow old with you."

"I'm glad you didn't die, Dew. It would have really sucked for me to be in love with a ghost." Ransom chuckled.

"Even as a ghost, I would still kick your ass."

~~~

John and the rest of the gang had just got back for the night. They had searched high and low and there was still no sign of Marta anywhere. Maybe it was a mistake, maybe they had received the wrong information.

John sat down in the nearest chair available. Immediately he felt soft hands running along his shoulders, messaging the knots and relieving the day's stress.

"Any news?" Veronica questioned softly.

John just shook his head. He didn't know what to say. He loved Aria but the more time that passed by, the more he believed that it was a false sighting.

"Roni. What're the chances of this being false information?"

"It's Tio's source. He's never been wrong before. Why would he be wrong now?"

"I don't know Roni. Just the more time that passes by the harder it is to believe that she is actually around. We would have at least had another sighting by now. We've looked everywhere we thought she could have been." John answered honestly, pulling Roni around the chair to sit on his lap.

Veronica rested her head on his chest, listening to the soft beats of his heart. She toyed with the buttons of his white shirt. John's words played over and over in her head. That's was until something stood out to her.

"What if that's the problem?"

"What's the problem?" John questioned.

"What if we've been looking in the wrong places?"

Veronica sat up, John could see the gears turning in her pretty little fiery head.

"What if we should be looking in the places we least expect her to be? She knows the entire gang is on the lookout for her. There's no way that's she would be hiding in an easy place. Even she isn't that stupid."

John and Veronica exchanged a knowing look. They may have just figured out how to find Marta Cabrera.

~~~