A crash is heard from downstairs. "Where the fuck are you, bitch?" He roars. I call the cops next.
I push further back into the closet, letting the clothes fall in place in front of me. Someone's speaking through the phone but I never get to answer.
Jace’s bedroom door is kicked off its hinges, the sound of wood splintering echoes to me.
I quietly kick my phone under some clothes on the floor of the closet.
It's silent for a moment. I put a hand over my mouth so I don't make any noise. And he reaches in and grabs me.
Tears fall as I squeeze my eyes shut.
Three more days and I don't have to stay.
Three days and then I'm gone.
I won’t. Go. Back.
Chapter 8 ~
Rory ~
It's dark when I go back.
I held off my return as long as I possibly could but once the shadows emerged, everything seemed to jump out at me.
I stopped by Target on the way and got some pyjamas. It makes me nervous using Mum’s money. I don’t know how long it will last. The bank won’t release the information until I’m eighteen and I need enough to be able to get far away from here.
The roller door's open when I get there. I get the keys out of my car and shut the roller door.
Anxiety pricks at me as I walk through the house. Luc scrambles to stand from the couch when he sees me.
"Rory," he says relieved. The rest of the guys who are positioned around the room, get to their feet. My eyes get stuck on Jace who's awkwardly standing behind Luc.
Those grey irises are filled with pain and guilt. He looks so different but god, he’s exactly the same. I feel numb. I can’t possibly cry any more than I already have but I feel my throat tighten.
I rip my gaze away and keep walking.
"Ro," Jace whispers and something comes over me. Red flickers in the corners of my vision.
"Don't you dare call me that!" I yell. "You haveno right!You lost it that day."
His face falls and I storm off. Well, I'd like to think I’m storming off but with my ribs I more so walk quickly.
I resist the urge to slam the bedroom door.
Dropping the go bag on my bed that I finally got out of the car, I notice someone brought in my school books and stuff from the car. It's set up neatly and ordered on a desk in the corner of the room.
I open the drawers and they're filled with clothes. I just stare at them.
Why is this happening to me? I met this amazing group of people and Jace shows up. Now he's my legal guardian for three days. How?! How did this happen? How did all of this happen and he didn't know it was me?
I can't believe the guys arranged all this and didn't tell me. It's unbelievable. After all they said about helping me. They weren't asking—they did all this behind my back.
At the same time, my fondness for them grows. They did all this so I wouldn't have to go back. Whoever Alec's father is, he's big. I could see it in the cops faces and in the way Alec changed everything I'd come to know about him for a brief moment before returning to normal.
He was wary to say his name in front of me. Like he was scared I'd recognise it.
I resist the urge to pull out my laptop and search his name. I don’t doubt that something would come up but I'd rather he tell me.
