Chapter 12

Cousins

When Peach raised her gaze from the floor and absentinindedly gaze to her right, she was stunned to
see Elijah, Matt, Rookie, Ryan, and James walking into the waiting room.

Her eyes widened, and a huge gasp came out of her mouth. Her heart thumped against her chest,
making it harder for her to breathe as she wondered what they were doing there.

When she and Elijah’s eyes locked, Peach turned her eyes back to the floor, hating the unreadable
expression on his face.

With a calm look in his eyes, James said as he sat down beside Peach, “How are you feeling?” A weak
smile formed on her face, and tears began forming as the thought of her mother still flashed in her
mind.

“Well, my mama has to have another PCI surgery because she had another severe heart attack,
“Peach said, pinching her fingers together nervously. “My mama has been really sick lately. She has
always been since my dad died.”

“I am sorry to hear that. Is there anything we can do for you? Anything you need?” James asked,
eyeing Elijah for a second before glancing back at Peach.

Sniffing, Peach shook her head and said with a faint smile, “No, thank you, James, for asking.”

The five of them knew she was lying, but neither of them wouldn’t say anything, and they didn’t push
the subject any further, knowing the last thing Peach needed right now was a bunch of nosy assholes
telling her everything would be okay when it wasn’t.

It didn’t take long until a nurse approached the group, looked down at her teary-eyed, and asked,
“Peach? May I speak with you privately for a couple of minutes?”



Hesitantly nodding her head, Peach stood up and followed the nurse out into the hall, ignoring the
looks of concern the other four sent her.

When the nurse stopped, Peach sighed and said, ‘How is my mama? Did the surgery go okay?”

Nodding solemnly, the nurse said, “Well, it was a bit risky because this was her second time and her
health was not quite ready to handle it again. But, after three hours, luckily the procedure went
smoothly.”

“That’s a relief,” Peach sighed heavily, a small tear dripping from her eye, as she wiped it away quickly,
embarrassed about being caught crying.

Smiling gently at Peach’s reaction, the nurse continued saying, “The doctor needs to speak with you
briefly. I believe it will take less than five minutes. Would you like to come with me?”

As Peach was about to answer, she frowned slightly, watching Elijah approach her with a cold look on
his face.

Seeing the way her jaws clenched at the sight of him, Elijah grew even more pissed, but he wanted to
know what the hold-up was because he was getting sick of waiting in a hospital since he had plans for
today. “Hey,” Elijah said when he stopped right in front of Peach, whose lips twitched at the sight of
him.

“If you two are close, then it would be best that you accompany Peach to see the doctor for moral
support and comfort,” the nurse suggested, giving Elijah an amused smirk while Peach rolled her eyes,
glaring at him.

Neither of them wanted to clarify her, so she took their silence as a ‘yes,’ and said, “Please follow me
this way.”



Quietly, Elijah walked after Peach and the nurse down the hall until they reached a door marked, ‘Dr.
Ben’ and pushed it open.

Inside the room was a middle-aged man wearing glasses and holding a clipboard who looked rather
tired. But when he saw Peach, he gave a slight smile, letting out gently, “Miss, Hayes,”

Immediately, Elijah froze, his eyes widened slightly, and he wandered into his head, frowning slightly as
he thought if Peach and Melina were families, and it sickened him to his stomach.

Glancing over to Elijah for a split second, Dr. Ben’s brows snapped together and lines etched
themselves into his forehead as he stared even harder at him.

“You…!” Dr. Ben blurted out. “You are Melina Hayes’ Ex-husband, right?”

Immediately, Peach stopped in her tracks and turned around to look Elijah in the eyes as a hint of
confusion and concern etched across her features.

“Ha, of course, you are. Your face has been all over the news for a day or so now.” Dr. Ben continued,
staring intently at Elijah’s face as if he was trying to read his mind. “I never knew you and her cousin
were close.”

“Stop telling others about my connection to those devils… we are not family! The only living relative I
have is my mother, got it?!” Peach yelled at him, clenching her fists tightly at her sides,

She hated hearing that name, ‘Hayes.’ It carried a lot of hurtful memories with it and ones she’d rather
forget, let alone talk about.

“I am sorry, Miss Peach. As someone who used to be your father’s personal doctor, the information is
hard to erase for my brain,” Doctor Ben apologized, lowering his head slightly, “But, please forgive me,
for revealing such things private about you.”



Ignoring the Dr. words, Peach turned to Elijah, her eyes narrowed, and said with a cold, venomous tone
of voice, “Get out!”

A look of disbelief spread itself across Elijah’s face, and he stuttered, “Wha–what?”

“I said get out!! Get the hell out!!” Peach screamed, pointing at the door aggressively.

Without thinking twice, Elijah immediately turned around and left the room, slamming the door behind
him, leaving Peach crying and shaking in anger. Once Elijah reached the waiting room where James,
Matt, Ryan, and Rookie were, he walked straight past them, and immediately, they stood up and
started walking after him.

When Elijah reached the old, filthy pickup, he stopped, resting his hands on his hips and

taking deep breaths to try and calm himself down. The fact that Peach was the one who got mad after
learning the truth just pissed him to a great extent, and his anger was taking control of him once again.

Frowning, he slammed his fist into the door of the pickup angrily, causing James, Ryan, Rookie, and
Matt to jump slightly. 1 His behavior was completely unlike Elijah’s, and they weren’t sure how to react,
or respond to

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