Page 11 of Dissolving Prejudice

“Want me to join you?” Andrei offered, and I nodded.

“Sure.”

After we got a vase, we went outside to search for Levi and Jessie. They’d both calmed down and were busy playing with Toro under the shade of some tree. Jessie seemed to have fallen in love with my cat, so much that when I offered him to go back up instead of me, he refused, claiming he and Toro were still far from being done playing. Levi, on the other hand, did join us and hadn’t stopped complaining since we parted ways with Jessie.

Waiting for one of the two elevators to arrive, Andrei turned to face Levi.

“So what’s the problem if he likes Toro?”

“What do you mean, what’s the problem?”

The elevator finally arrived, and we all walked in.

“I mean, he looked happy out there,” Andrei said, pushing the floor’s number.

“Of course he was happy. Animals make Jessie happy, but now he wants a cat,” Levi grunted while rubbing the bridge of his nose. “We already have turtles, and it’s plenty of work. A cat would be even more work.”

“You have turtles?” I raised a questioning brow at him.

“Yes. Two. Jessie insisted on having turtles, and now I’m the one taking care of them.”

“How hard is it to take care of a turtle?” I snorted as the elevator reached the third floor. “I mean, what do they do other than eat lettuce?”

“You’d be surprised. They also eat carrots,” Andrei added, and we both laughed while Levi told us to shut it. Apparently, turtles took lots of time and care.

“Chief, we found one,” Andrei called while raising the vase in his hands after we saw him standing near Soren’s room while speaking on his phone. Once he noticed us, he hung up the call and shoved the phone into his back pocket.

Just then, the second elevator, the one we didn’t ride up in, tinged, and I turned in time to see its doors open. My heart immediately paused, and my chest tightened as if all the air in my lungs was vacuumed out of me when a glimpse of blond caught my eye. Unable to move a muscle, I stayed rooted to the floor as Shay-Lee walked out of the elevator. Time stopped moving as he slowly walked out, looking just as I remembered, only better, so much better. His hair was long again, reaching his shoulders and looking like a halo. His skin was tanned and beautiful, not pale and beaten as I’d last seen. He was fit and strong, not the broken bird who testified on that stand. He was my dreams, my life, my fucking God.

My breath caught in my dry throat, and my whole body ached with the anticipation for the moment he’d turn his head and our eyes would meet. I could already imagine the expression of surprise that would shine through his brilliant eyes and could hardly wait. My heart pounded so fast it felt like someone was constantly punching my chest, and I clenched my fists, almost tempted to call out his name. I’d waited four long years to see him, and somehow, these mere seconds in which I waited to catch his attention felt like an eternity.

My prayers were answered a second later as Shay-Lee turned his head and our eyes met. Like a dying man in his final breaths, I strived for this moment, where Shay-Lee’s stare hit me like the first ray of sun after a long storm, reaching the frost that had covered my heart for too long. My knees turned weak, and my muscles trembled as a slight shiver ran through me. With my eyes locked on his beautiful face, I was finally able to make my body function. The corner of my lips quirked up for the first genuine smile I had held in years, and I waited for him to react, only he didn’t, and his face remained a mask of indifference, almost like he didn’t recognize me. I’d waited for this moment ever since I’d last seen him, only for it to be over in an instant. Without so much as struggling, Shay-Lee averted his gaze and continued to walk toward Chief like I wasn’t even there.

What. The. Fuck.

“Shay-Lee,” I called after him and took a step closer, ignoring Andrei and Levi, who shifted uncomfortably beside me.

Still not acknowledging me, Shay-Lee stopped next to Chief. “I’m sorry it took me so long to get here,” he said while holding Chief’s hands.

Despite not talking to me, I cherished hearing his voice again.

“I was in Milan when you called, and a rainstorm delayed my flight,” he went on.

My heart nearly exploded with my need for him to look at me.

“Don’t worry about it. You came, and that’s what’s important,” Chief said, his eyes darting to me over Shay-Lee’s shoulder before returning his attention to him.

From the pity on Chief’s face, I guessed I looked as pathetic as I felt. Like a dog begging his owner to take him out for a piss, I kept staring at Shay-Lee’s back. But despite how badly I wanted him to turn around, he didn’t, and instead, he asked Chief if he could see Soren. Chief nodded and walked inside Soren’s room first, followed by Shay-Lee, who closed the door behind him as if I wasn’t right there waiting for him with my breath caught and my tongue nearly hanging out of my mouth in desperation.

“Diesel, are you okay—” Andrei began asking when I turned around to look for something.

My eyes latched on a small mirror that was on one of the walls, and I walked toward it, not caring that I’d pushed some nurse out of my way to get to it.

“Diesel—”

“Have I changed that much?” I asked, checking myself in the mirror while brushing my hand over my jaw. Apart from the ink I got on my neck, I had a few more scars added and had permanently rid my face of its scruff, but overall, I looked the same. Or maybe I didn’t?

I jerked my head aside, eyes locked on Levi. “You,” I barked, startling him. “Did I look different when you first saw me?”