58- Jealousy Issues

I woke up when I felt extreme suffocation strangling me. It was suddenly hard to breathe. And there was nothing but darkness. I could not even comprehend if it was a dream or if it was happening in reality. All I knew was that I was struggling to breathe desperately.

"Eva..." the sound came from what it seemed like very far away.

"Wake up. What is wrong with her?" the sound came again.

"Eva?!"

My eyes snapped open and I finally started taking in deep breaths, filling my lungs with the much needed oxygen. It was hard and painful, but it was so much needed.

"Oh god," I whispered and sat up in an attempt to push back the fear of death that had consumed me.

"Are you okay?" Rush asked, rubbing my back gently. His voice filled with worry while Liam urgently picked up his phone to call someone.

"Don't call a doctor." I said as my breathing slowed down a bit, "I am okay now. Don't call anyone."

Liam rushed towards me and sat on the edge of the bed, his hand coming to my thigh, "what happened just now?"

"I don't know." I whispered, "Post- traumatic stress I guess. I felt like I was back in the ocean and could not breathe anymore."

My gaze went to the watch on the wall. It was four am in morning. Clenching my eyes shut, I tried to ignore the rush of pain that was in my chest. Fucking hell.

"Do you know how I fell in the water?" I asked while keeping my eyes shut.

Hailey was an important person to both of them. I could see that with the way she behaved around them and the way that they spoiled her. For heaven's sake, Hailey's parents had left their teenage daughter to go live with two single, grown- up men alone, so obviously, the trust between families and people ran much deeper than it appeared on the surface to others.

And since they had been such good friends, I did not really want to be the reason that they have a rift between them.

"Our wolf sensed something was wrong." Rush answered, "we could feel your fear and panic, that is something that just comes with our mating bond with you."

Rush and Liam looked at each other for a moment before their gazes came back to me.

Liam took my hand in his and continued, "when we reached the dock, Hailey was panicking and asking people to save you, saying you had fallen into the ocean. If she had not been there and called us over, I don't think anyone would have noticed your fall."

I heard their words with wonder and disbelief. Hailey was sixteen. SIXTEEN. How can a person at such a young age be so cunning and good at acting was disbelief to me.

"Would you believe me if I said that she was the one who pushed me in the water?" I whispered gently.

There was a complete silence followed by my question. I could not hear anything but the breathing of two people sitting by me, giving me a sense of notice that they were right there in the room.

I opened my eyes to gauge their reactions. They were sitting there silently looking at each other before their gazes returned to me.

"Are you sure?" Liam asked, his hand tightened in mine, "she said that she had accidentally caused you to fall because you and she were trying to talk while being close because the music was too loud."

"Yeah," Rush put his hand on the back of my head and caressed gently, shifting closer to me and embracing me from the side, "and you know that she is just a kid. It is possible that you had not realized if the push that came was intentional or accidental."

I stared at both of them. Worry was clear on their faces and I knew that they cared about me much more than they cared about Hailey because of our mate bond. But if I told them that their niece had tried to murder me and threatened me before causing my fall, the relationship would perhaps get broken completely.

"Okay," I smiled a little and shifted back, falling back onto the pillows, "maybe. I will leave this matter here. I am safe, that is all that matters in the end."

I was angry at Hailey. But maybe this was not the right way to punish her. Causing permanent damage in the relationship that she had since she was born, it would not be the right thing to do.

"Tell us, Eva," I heard Liam's voice as he climbed up on the bed on the other side, slipping down, facing me, and taking my hand in his own, "is there anything that we need to know?"

For a moment I was tempted to let them know that their niece was crushing on them to the point of being ready to murder anyone, but then I just shook my head in a no and closed my eyes. I needed peace of mind. Maybe tomorrow I am going to find out that Hailey came back in the dead of the night, packed her bags, and left without telling anyone from an early flight because she was too humiliated to face anyone. This was my wishful thinking and I wanted it to come true. Gosh, I wanted it to come true so bad.

*****

I woke from the sound of someone sobbing loudly. At first, the sound made me confused, but then I opened my eyes and looked at either side to find that both sides were empty. The sound of someone crying still continued.

I got off from the bed and came out of the room. Hailey was in Rush's arms, hugging him tightly while Liam strode ahead with a glass of water towards them.

"I did not want to tell this to you, uncle." she said in a soft whisper, "I really did not. But I can not hide it anymore. I am so, so scared."

Scrunching my brows in confusion I stepped out of the room to get closer to them. Was she telling them the truth? Had the sun risen at night time today? What was happening?

"I just came here on vacation. I did not even think that staying with you guys was going to be such an issue for aunty. If I had known, I would not have come here. She had scared me so much and it was my birthday. It was not even the first time when she had threatened me to stay away from both of you. She called me names that I can not even say aloud. I don't think I have ever done anything bad. I don't know what to do."

"What are you saying?" I exclaimed in shock while coming towards them. The sleep had not even left my eyes completely, "what are you telling them? When did I threaten you and what names?!"

Hailey instantly removed herself from Rush's arms and stepped a few steps back, wiping the tears from her face with her hands and sniffling, "I... I am sorry aunty, I was not bad mouthing you. I... I was just scared because you fell into the water yesterday when you were saying those things to me. I just feel very humiliated and ashamed."

I clenched my fist in anger. I was trying to save the face of this little wicked thing and she is here stabbing me in the back?

"Liam, Rush, don't believe her." I said loudly, my hands going to my hair, pushing them back in frustration at her actions, "She is such a liar. I don't even know what to say right now. I did not say anything bad to her! She is the one who threatened me and then pushed me inside the water!"

"I think we are having a misunderstanding here," Rush said gently while coming to me. Taking the glass of water from Liam's hand he gave it to a sobbing Hailey who gave a broken sob before taking it from his hands, "Hailey is a kid, maybe she misunderstood your words, and you don't know Hailey that much. Maybe you thought Hailey did something bad to you but it was not what you thought."

I opened my mouth to say something but Liam cut me off, "Rush and I know both of you. You and Hailey are both equal to us. If there is something that feels bad to you guys, maybe let's sit down and clear the air. Blaming each other is of no use."

I gritted my teeth in anger. My eyes shooting up to meet Hailey's who gave me a winning look. The look of victory was clear in her eyes like she was challenging me to back down or do anything else.

And I was trying to save this bitch?

What am I? A saint?

Gosh... I am so, so stupid. Was Hailey even sixteen years old? Rush and Liam looked like in their late twenties while their actual age was over eighty. Then was I wrong to assume that Hailey was actually not really sixteen, but much older?

"I did not want to say this," I said in a low tone and seethed in anger while pushing Rush aside and storming off towards Hailey, "you have crossed the line today. I was trying to save whatever little dignity you could have left, but you just ruined your chance to redemption."

"Uncle, please..." Hailey cried out and rushed to Liam's side hurriedly, grabbing his arm and hiding her sobbing face like she had seen a ghost, "I don't want to fight aunty. Please."

I groaned aloud in frustration at looked at both Rush and Liam in disbelief, "Can't you guys see?!" I shouted, "how the hell is her drama not clear enough for you? Can't you see how bad her acting is?"

"Eva, calm down, okay?" Rush said in a high tone, going towards the glass of water that Hailey had put down on the sofa and bringing it to me, "drink some water. I think you are having some jealousy issues with Hailey but baby, she is just a kid. There is no need to get angry at her."

My mouth dropped open in shock at his words. I was having Jealousy issues?

I slapped his hand away that was extending the glass of water towards me as my face turned red in fury. The glass fell down on the ground with a loud crashing sound and broken glass flew everywhere.

"What the hell are you doing?" Rush shouted. And then without missing a beat he came to my side, grabbed my arm and pulled me back, away from the glass that was scattered on the floor.

"She is making up sob stories and you are believing her in front of me! That is my issue!" I shouted, "are you fucking serious? I am having jealousy issues from a kid?!"

Liam took a step towards me with his arm extended but I pushed it away, backing away from him and Rush both, "She is no fucking kid, you hear me? No kid can fucking call me a slut, tell me that she is there to kill me, and then throw me in the fucking ocean like it is an everyday chore for her!"

"Eva, calm the fuck down!" Liam shouted, his fingers almost managing to grab my arms but I backed away again. All the pent up frustration and anger had now left my soul and I was ready to break the place down if that is what I had to do to throw Hailey out right then and there.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" I hissed, black dots had started to appear in my vision but I was too angry to give any heed to anything at that moment, "I am not going to calm down. I have been trying to tell myself that she is just a kid since the moment she has stepped inside our house but for fucks sake she tried to kill me and now when I tried to save her she made up a story so you guys can doubt me? What do you want me to do? Keep listening to this?"

I had barely finished my words when a sharp, blinding pain shot up in my side and back. It was so severe that I fell down on my knees, gasping for breaths.

"EVA?!" I heard Rush and Liam coming towards me with hurried steps, but I felt like everything was happening in slow motion. This was not post traumatic stress. This was something else, something really scary.

My eyes were falling closed and the pain was so sharp in my stomach and back that I could not even keep my body upright. When I was on the verge of falling into darkness, the last thing I heard was desperate calls of my name by Rush and Liam. Hailey was standing right behind them, her eyes meeting mine for a brief second before I passed out.