Chapter 47

Francis found me lying there, bound and sticky, a few minutes later. The rest from there was a blur. I knew I was escorted from the school; I knew I repeated over and over that I really wasn’t hurt and I only just looked bad. I also repeated that I would not tolerate it if they took me to a hospital. All of that though seemed like it was occurring in the background. I wasn’t sure if the cops were called, wasn’t sure if Francis called him. I wasn’t sure of anything until I saw Luke later on.

Francis drove me back to his parents’ house where he dropped Brooke off for the day earlier (she didn’t go back to school for a few more days). He called up Luke and told him what had happened over his cell phone as he drove. Luke would be over soon enough. Meanwhile, when we pulled into the driveway of the grand house, Jan immediately attended to me and cleaned me up. Still in that daze, she patched up my stomach, let me shower off, and gave me some of Shannon’s old clothes. Jan then led me down the upstairs hall and showed me into one of the guest bedrooms where I laid down, following her words to get some rest. She didn’t bother trying to talk about what happened though, which I appreciated. As far as they knew, it was just some random kid from school that did this to me.

Vague. Daze. Blur. It wasn’t like I was so troubled, I couldn’t talk. I just had enough for the day. I didn’t want to bother talking about it; there was no point. I also had no patience for my own hope. I was pissed off and sick of the drama. I knew that as of now, they were trying to find who did it at school. Even if I said it was Clare, it wouldn’t matter. I was crazy. So let them work their asses over nothing why not. I was content laying here in bed so not my problem.

My mind snapped back into focus when I heard the bedroom door fly open loudly. Light poured into the darkened room from where Jan closed the curtains and blinds tight, keeping out the afternoon sun. Light from the hall now rushed in and flooded the space. With the abrupt bang of the door flying open and the sudden light, I sat up slightly from where I was in bed. I looked towards the door and my eyes widened slightly before I cringed.

My eyes on him instantly, my initial and absolute thought was that Luke didn’t need to see me like this. He lost it yesterday. Imagine what he will do now. At least he wasn’t seeing me soaked with pop and taped to the floor with a bloody stomach. Imagine what he would have done if he were the one that found me?

Right now though, I saw his eyes start to melt and thrive in pure anger and overwhelming sadness. His body, I could see, was now physically shaking before me. Fists clenched, lips in a tight scowl, he stood there and stared at me, eyes looking me over instantly for damage. What he probably didn’t know was that it wasn’t that bad. He couldn’t see anything; my stomach was only cut up a bit. I expected a look of relief because I knew I looked fine having just went through a massive clean-up job thanks to Jan. That didn’t happen though. So I could only assume Francis told him about the state he found me in.

There was intense silence between us before he slowly shut the door behind him. “Let me see it,” he said in a low voice, his face supporting a mask he was having a hard time keeping up. And honestly… it was kind of scary. His eyes, his entire body… he looked crazy. He was ready to lose it; hell, the insane vibe that came off him already said he was breaking.

I didn’t respond. I just continued to stare at him, unable to take in such a strange sight. He stepped closer and when his tight lips parted again, his teeth were clenched. He swiftly came to the side of the bed and he ripped off the covers that were over me, looking down at me. Gasping at his quick movement, he came to sit down on the side of the bed and carefully, he grasped the bottom hem of my shirt and folded it up just below my chest. All the while, I couldn’t take my eyes off his face. So… so angry. So crazy. His eyebrows acted in waves, the jade light in his eyes darkened as he took in the bandages.

He took a wavering breath before he slowly ran his fingers over the bandages and my skin, making me shiver in delight at the soft feeling, the coolness of his fragile fingers. His eyes staring down at it, he closed them, trying to get it together. I just took him in with mixed feelings too. I wanted to scream at him and hug him at the same time.

"Who?" he asked in a hiss. "Some other random student you didn't know?" He was physically shaking. It would be interesting to see the state he is in after I tell him this. Hell, I knew him well enough to know he might not be any different; he wouldn't believe me.

I started to laugh and from the look that came upon his face, I could tell he didn't hear the humor in my voice. He heard the absolute hatred in my laugh as he just stared at me with wide eyes at my sudden outburst of laughter. Our eyes met in a clash of feeling and I could feel the insanity in me. I could feel the need to lose myself and let it all out. Feel that need for destruction as I did the massive amount of awkwardness between us.

"Of course not!" I said in a light voice. "Of course, Clare's got to get her little say in the matter of how much I must suffer."

His eyebrows raised and his jaw dropped slightly, breath increasing. His body tensed more and his eyes were so far under in emotion, I had no clue where he stood.

"C-Clare...? She did that to you?" His voice was heavy. I didn't know why. It wasn't like he believed me.

Laughing, I said lightly, "Oh you bet. It wasn't too bad though. A few cuts. What really, and I mean really, puts the icing on the cake is that she got away. And it doesn't matter because therefore, it never fucking happened."

He didn't know what to say, his eyes lost in his thoughts. I felt him grasp my hand gently and his breath picked up, his body shaking even harder. Luke's lips wound tight and he looked as crazy as everyone claimed me to be. He found reality and abruptly let my hand go, as if it shocked him before he spoke. "Albany I really--"

I cut him off, laughing louder it seemed. I felt something build up inside me even more and I couldn't handle it. "It's just so funny. First, it's Mark trying to straggle me. Then, narrow-minded teens at school on the first day. And now..." I laugh, shaking my head. "Now, Clare's got to do something to me. Well, I think that's just about everybody accounted for. I'm just waiting for you or your family to try and kill me too." My laughter trailed off when I saw the look that came over his face. Pale now, his eyes grew wide with hurt and a fire, so hot and hate-filled at having this happen again to me.

"Listen!" he said, clenching his teeth. "You need to understand that I can--"

"Tell me," I growled at him, my heart racing. The air was thick between us and there was something between us, building and filled with pressure. Ready to break. "Tell me you don't believe me. I want to hear you kick me while I'm down." I leaned up more and suddenly was yelling in his face. "I want to hear you take her fucking side. I want you to break me down and tear me up. Because you are the last person left that still needs to do that to me. I'm just waiting now."

I wanted him to finish me off. I was breaking as it was. And the strange part was that I was under control, I was fine about what happened. Then he stepped in the room and I couldn't take it. I couldn't stand him anymore. Because I wanted him so bad. I craved him and couldn't have him. So why not just bleed all I can because of him? I didn't want to live like this. Not just with being beaten down. With watching him love someone I hated so much. With seeing he won't believe me. Him having so much love to give and giving it to someone who doesn't deserve it. Yet at the same time, he's trying with me to help. It was the biggest headache in the world and I felt my body shudder in pain with not being able to have him. So why can't he just show me that I will never have him? Why can't he just hate me because that's what I wanted to feel over him. Hate. I wanted to hate him for making me feel so vulnerable and so small. So lost because I wanted him and loved him.

"Stop it," he growled. "How dare you think I would ever do such a thing to you. I know that a lot of people hate you, stubborn irrelevant people. I won't ever be one of them. I know it would be easier for you if I turned on you. But I wont. I'm here for you," he said, his hand making contact once more, sliding up my arm more. He leaned closer, stressing his words with his beautiful eyes. It was such an amazing look he gave me, I wanted to save it forever. It was one of care and love and I wasn't sure how to take that. He pursed his lips. "I can't begin to describe to you how much you mean to me now."

Not enough as you mean to me.

"I'm so... beyond done with everything that has happened to you," he went on. "Clare was in that bathroom waiting for you, you said. And hell, at this point who the fuck knows; you might be right. Whether you are right or not, I don't know if I can continue watching you live your life with so much hate given to you. Today... oh fuck," he shook his head. "You can't imagine how frustrated I am right now. How much I would like to ignore the fact that I'm a cop and show all these people that hurt you what I am capable of. I want to fuck them all up," he said, shaking a little harder it seemed. "I want to make them all pay for you." I smiled up at him from where he sat next to me. I saw the need in his eyes and I felt so cared for by him. I could tell how much he wanted to kick every ones ass for beating on me.

"I know you do," I said quietly, understanding. "And if you really want to do something, look at the schools cameras to see who did it to me. Just... just please. You're a cop, you can do it. I know better not to put hope into you. You're selfish and blind. So I'll just ask you for this once. Just look at the cameras. She was in the locker room. The cameras must have gotten her coming in or out or something," I said. "She was wearing a blond wig but I'm sure you would be able to tell who she is. And if it wasn't her, you still would have caught whoever did it and would be able to give them the appropriate punishment."

Luke stared me and I couldn't read his eyes. He didn't want to do this; probably because he wouldn't handle it if I was right. His eyebrows together, lips flat, he thoughts it over silently before he nodded just barely. "Okay," he whispered. "I'll look."

"Thank you," I breathed. Hope. It was all I could do now.

"It wasn't her," he said, voice broken and eyes strained with stress.

I pursed my lips. "Keep telling yourself that. That's what you're afraid of, me being right. Because you know how likely that could be." When he didn't respond, I continued, somehow hoping my words would push him in the right direction. "She didn't call, did she? Clare doesn't know what happened because she just didn't hear the message my school left at her work. Ironic considering she's a secretary and it's her job to check messages. And later on, she's going to pretend she didn't know what happened to me."

Before he could respond, if he even would have, the bedroom opened and drew our attention. Luke turned around to see who it was as I sat up a bit, looking towards the door as well. My heart jerked as I saw the little girl that reminded me so much of Emily walk in. Brooke's blond hair bounced around her shoulders as she walked in swiftly without hesitation. I felt a smile crawl to my face at seeing her and it helped me calm down a bit. Her beautiful blue eyes met mine and she came towards the bed. Without a word yet, Luke and I watched as she climbed up on the bed and crawled towards me before she knelt right next to me, on the other side of where Luke was sitting.

"Albany," she said quietly, her eyes looking over me and on instinct, I brought forward the covers so she didn't have to see my bandages. Her eyes met mine and she extended her hand towards me and I noticed then what she was holding. It was a bright daffodil. "Here, this is for you. Daddy told me I could pick it out of Grandma's flower garden for you. But he said not to tell Grandma so it's a secret."

I smiled as I took the flower, admiring it. I never was one for flowers. But I liked what she did for me and thought it was very sweet. "Thank you, Brooke. I really like it. It's very pretty." I raised the yellow flower towards my nose and took in it's sweet scent. "Mmm. And it smells very good."

Brooke smiled at me, her cheeks heating slightly, and I felt my stomach twist in pain at the sight. Ignoring it, I watched as she turned to Luke - who was trying to stay composed and not show how shook up he really was.

"Uncle Luke, daddy said that you need to go to the garden and pick a flower so you can give it to Albany. He said that's what boys do for the girls they like." She smiled innocently and clearly didn't know what her father's message meant but was happy to deliver it. For me though, it made my own cheeks heat at the words Francis told her to tell Luke. That bastard. Luke looked upset and angry towards Francis, wherever he was in this house.

Could you blame Luke though? He just got indirectly accused of being attracted towards me. The strange thing about it was the fact that he didn't look confused over the message. It was as if he knew exactly where Francis was coming from and had talked to him before. Now that I think about it, it wouldn't be too surprising if Francis was also talking to Luke about the possibility of him liking me. Francis kept pushing me on the matter, it makes sense that he would push Luke on it.

Luke forced a light smile to his already unsettling, and now, guilty face. "Sweetie," he said. "Your dad was just kidding around."

"Daddy is never wrong. He said so himself."

I chuckled at this. I could absolutely believe he said that. I watched as Brooke crawled back over to the edge of the bed and climbed off. I watched her with envy as she moved her little feet quickly, running towards the door to do whatever kids her age do (I wouldn't know though).

Turning back to Luke, I saw the facade drop and the same dead expression was there again. Eyes tilting down to me, he gave me a sorry look. You could tell he wasn't going to get over this any time soon, what happened to me. I also knew it shook him a bit to be accused again of being attracted to me but he didn't bother to address that. He addressed something else but something important, even more so.

"We are staying here tonight," he said a moment later after the silence between us became too much to bare. Tension was growing and every silent space between our words were packed with it, making us both very uncomfortable I could tell.

Looking into his angry eyes, I was trying to understand why exactly he said that. Because I saw that there was more than just the words. There was true feeling and sincerity, a tone in his voice that was lower and not proud. Clare's words from earlier came up. Was it a coincidence that Clare threatened me today to stay away from him when he was saying we are staying at his parents house tonight?

"Why?" I asked, hiding the smile I wanted to show.

His eyes told me enough. He was upset with Clare over something. Luke didn't want to really say anything but he knew I understood enough so he told me anyway. "We had a fight."

"Well it must have been a doozy. After all, she took her anger out on me today at school while she was on her lunch break. And yes, the times match up perfectly," I said, already on track with knowing she went on lunch the same time mine began.

His eyebrows lowered and he tried getting past those words. He took in a slow breath, trying to keep control. "That's too big of a risk, her coming to your school to attack you over a fight she and I had."

I smiled. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say the fight was over you and me spending too much time together. Either that or that you have 'changed' because of me and therefore are drifting away from Clare."

I was nearly positive that was what their fight was over. After all, she threatened me to stay the hell away from him because she didn't want to lose him. I could only assume their fight was over me getting in their way or something along those lines.

He confirmed it with the catch in his breath, the stiffness his body gained, the widening of his scared jade eyes. Everything was there for him to believe me. He knew it couldn't be a coincidence that I would know that. I knew he was so incredibly desperate to make his marriage work. But after so many things, he should believe me by now. There was something else there that was making him deny it all. It was something I was desperate to uncover and understand why that was.

"I said I will look at the footage from the cameras. Don't push it," he said tightly.

Before he had another meltdown like yesterday, we headed downstairs to relax and keep our minds busy. I sat on the couch next to where Mike was sitting and Luke sat on the love seat adjacent, attention now turned to whatever was on TV, somewhat forcefully. After a few sympathetic words from Jan and a half hour of TV, Francis walked into the room. And when he did... the large amount of tension in the air already changed. The atmosphere shifted, the tension growing, and even doubled when Francis sat next to me on the couch. Glancing to Luke, I noticed his attention was no longer on the news update on that case going on in Oklahoma. His eyes sparkled in conflict as they moved back and forth between Francis and I. He was tense and his eyebrows dipped as if in pain. It was such a strange moment, especially because I felt Luke's presence start to dig into my heart and plant itself there. It stuck out so noticeably, that he was clearly pondering over something of a large subject.

His eyes met my observing ones and when he realized I was watching his swift eyes, he turned away from me with an even more disturbed expression. I saw his chest was moving up and down unevenly and he appeared so on edge... it was scary. I could tell it wasn't just about what happened today at school for me that was causing this from him. I could see many things swimming in his eyes, things I realized he was still hiding from me.

"I need some air," he said curtly as he got to his feet quickly, striding towards where the door was and out of my site. I heard a second later the door open and shut swiftly with a loud noise that still seemed to echo in the pit of my stomach.

I heard Mike sigh from next to me and saw a sad expression cross his face. He looked very worried, like all parents would be. Glancing to Francis, I saw him smirk down to me and before he said anything to me, I elbowed him. "Don't even start," I said, leaning into him and whispering in his ear. "He is upset because of what happened to me today. Plus, I don't think he likes the thought of me and you hanging out. He's protective of me," I said, trying to get those dumb thoughts out of his head of Luke possibly liking me. "That is all."