Strong arms gripped my shoulders before pulling me up. I blinked, looking around. But once again, it was all blurry.

Still blurry.

"Grace!" A voice hissed at my face.

I blinked and blinked again but I really couldn't make my eyes focus onto the person right in front of me.

"Here. Drink some water." I felt a smooth glass surface against my lips before I gulped down the water, the cool liquid flowing down my throat, which for some reason was burning a little.

For one second, nothing happened. But then, ever so slightly, my stomach churned involuntarily as I blinked again. My vision started getting less blurry than before.

It did help.

I rubbed my eyes with my fingers, the numbness slowly going away. The pain wasn't excruciating, but it was bad. I almost wished for the numb feeling to come back.

My back hurt so bad. My wrists hurt so bad.

My wrists. They weren't tied!

I opened up my eyes and saw a familiar man in front of me, looking at me with apologetic eyes filled with guilt.

"Grace, you need to leave." He said.

"What?" I whispered, realizing that he had managed to untie the leather bands around my wrists.

"We've just got few seconds before one of them comes here to check up in you." He stood up from the bed and motioned at me to get up. "Come on. I know a way where you can escape from."

I remained still in my position. My insides felt numb and sore. I didn't remember what had happened yesterday, or was it even yesterday.

"Jonathan?" I whispered.

He looked down at me impatiently. There was this panicked look in his eyes, as if he really shouldn't be doing what he was doing right now.

"You...refused to help me?"

"Yes I did, Grace. But what they're doing...I can't let them do that. Marcus would never forgive me if he would've been here." And there was guilt in his eyes, as if he should've done this earlier.

I swallowed, scrunching up my forehead as I looked around the familiar white room. Nobody was here besides Jonathan and I.

What time was it even?

I nodded slowly before pushing my legs over the edge of the bed and standing up. He wrapped a supporting arm around my shoulders when I felt my knees buckling themselves. My stomach felt hollow. My head was aching so bad.

"What did they...do to me?" I asked with a wince when a sharp jab of pain went through my back.

He shook his head and went over towards the metal doors. As he pressed onto one of the buttons, the doors opened and I felt him stiffening beside me. He looked outside cautiously before pulling me along.

"They forced answers out of you." He murmured, walking me towards a hallway. A strangely empty hallway. "Burner would really do anything to get it."

I stumbled on my steps, my vision blurring once again. "Get what?"

I looked at him sideways as he spoke, his lips moving as he said the words. But I failed to hear whatever that he was saying. I had to close my eyes shut and inhale a deep breath before my brain started registering his voice again.

He stopped in front of a white door and opened it up. I walked inside along with him, looking around the dark old room. This must've been the only room which wasn't...white. He pulled me inside and almost immediately, closed the door behind him.

"All right. That door–" He pointed over towards another door behind me. "–will lead you out. I don't think there are any guards armed out there. Leave, Grace."

Before he could've let go of my shoulders, I clutched onto his arm. "Jack...I need to find him first."

His eyes weren't just filled with guilt anymore, but now I could see the sadness too. As if I was asking something plainly stupid from him.

"We don't have time for that, Grace." He shook his head. "You need to leave right now. If they...catch up to you, it won't be good."

I felt the hollowness in my chest. I wanted to argue but I knew he was right. I wasn't even in the right state to escape from here all alone. How was I supposed to save him–

I can't just leave him here.

"Jonathan–" I started shaking my head but he cut me off.

"You need to leave." He removed one hand from my shoulder and stuffed it in his pocket, before taking out a phone.

My phone.

"Here. I think this is yours." I took it in my hand, nodding slowly.

He opened his mouth to say something else but thought otherwise. I gulped, not wanting to leave Jack behind. I was so close. He was so close to me. I wanted to see him.

My little brother.

"Grace." Jonathan gripped my shoulders once again, capturing my attention. His eyes looked more frantic than before. It just made me feel more panicked. "Be careful, okay? This...this all is way more complicated than you think. Burner has his men everywhere. He can manipulate almost...anyone. Anyone who's close to you."

My insides twisted even more at that. I was having a feeling that I might throw up right this second. However, I willed myself not to.

"You can't trust anyone, Grace." His eyes didn't leave mine, telling me that he was completely serious about this. "People change within seconds. Even those who you really trust."

I felt the corners of my eyes welling up at that. Why was he saying this all? Why wasn't he helping me with Jack?

"Please." I heard my voice breaking a little. "You need to help Jack too."

He looked away then, backing off. "Go now, Grace." He took another step back, away from me. "And please don't stop until you reach somewhere...safe."

Before I could've said something, or even stopped him, he turned around and slipped out of the door we had just come in from. I swallowed the painful lump in my throat, clutching my phone in my hand.

I'm so sorry, Jack.

Opening the door behind me, I stepped outside.

•••••

It took me hours to walk back home. Or maybe not many hours but it sure as hell felt like days as I kept on walking under the night sky.

Every time I thought to stop or look for a cab, Jonathan's words rang in my ears like a constant reminder.

I hated myself more than anything as I kept on walking. I had been so stupid. So freaking stupid. I could've saved Jack. I could've seen him after all this time. But I had been stupid, and I left without him.

What kind of a sickening person was I even?

My legs ached in protest as I walked along the isolated streets. I could've called someone with my phone. I could've even checked the time. Except that I hadn't wanted to.

My brain was slowly shutting down. My legs were about to give up on me. I felt...lost.

I could've just stopped walking and slumped down in the middle of any street, but I hadn't done that either. Jonathan hadn't risked his life to save me for this.

I couldn't act stupid all over again.

So desperate for answers. So desperate to find out who killed my parents.

Did it make any difference now that I knew who killed my parents? I knew who killed my parents and I had been so useless. I hadn't even saved my little brother.

A small groan escaped my lips as I leaned against the familiar wooden fence around my house. The entire street was empty, meaning that it was probably way after midnight right now.

I looked up at my house and sudden rush of relief filled me. I hadn't been expecting to see it anytime soon, but I was here now.

I forced my legs to keep up a little longer as I pushed the wooden fence and stumbled towards the front door.

"I'll find Jack." I whispered to myself again and again, blinking rapidly. Between my self-reassuring whispers, I somehow managed to hear other voices too. Hushed voices.

Not around me but a little far away.

Don't stop until you reach somewhere safe.

I leaned heavily against the front door, rubbing my face frantically, just so my brain wouldn't shut down. I needed to get inside first, before I passed out.

I rummaged in my hoodie pockets, knowing clearly well that I had placed the house keys there before leaving—leaving with Cynthia.

But I found no keys.

I covered my face with my trembling hands, taking in harsh breaths. Pulling away, I frantically tried opening the door, rattling the knob, hoping that it would somehow open up even if it was locked.

"Grace?" I heard a voice right behind me.

The only vigilant part inside me that wasn't yet exhausted, freaked out. Like really freaked out.

Don't stop until you reach somewhere safe.

So much so, that I continued struggling to open the front door. Panicking in such situation was the worse thing I could've done. But here I was, doing the exact same thing.

"Grace...is that you?" I could feel that person coming closer. And God only knows why I thought it was one of Cynthia's men, or maybe even Burner's.

I pushed my unruly hair behind my ears when I knew that the door wouldn't open itself. I stepped back, stumbling down the porch steps until I felt a hand on my arm.

I pulled away hastily, almost about to runaway. I didn't know what I was doing. The only thing that my brain was shouting at me was to somehow get inside my house, be safe and away from these people.

The sudden strong grip on my arms stopped me from running. "Gracie."

Instead of pulling away, I looked up at him and recognized the person in front of me. It wasn't Cynthia's men. Or Burner's.

It was Luca.

"Where were you?" He looked down at me with a deep frown, his brown curls falling over his forehead. "Where the hell have you been this whole week?"

I was still trembling, and half of my brain didn't know what the hell was going on.

"Keys." I blurted out. "I can't find the...keys."

My voice came out in just a whisper. Or maybe it was just me who thought that it was a whisper.

I saw his brown eyes trailing across my face, the frown still there on his face. "Are you all right?"

I was nowhere near all right.

"He told me to...not stop." I had to grip his arm when my legs could not hold me any longer. "Before I reach somewhere safe."

His frown deepened at my words. What was he even thinking about? Didn't he hear me? Why wasn't he saying anything?

"Grace, you do not look fine." He spoke up before I felt his hands on either side of my face. Slowly, his frown disappeared. "You're freezing."

I blinked and pushed his hands away. "Please help me find the keys. They'll come back. I don't want them to find me."

Luca stared at me for few more seconds before lightly cursing under his breath. "Come on." He gently gripped my arm and started dragging me away from my house.

I looked back at my house, panic overwhelming me at this point. "No, no, no! Where are—I need to go there!"

"The doctor, Grace."

I willed myself to stay put as I jerked my arm away from him, stumbling back. He turned around and looked at me with a worried frown.

"No." I shook my head frantically. The lightheaded feeling was coming back again. Even if I was glad that there wasn't anything white around me, the surroundings started to feel suffocating. "I'm not going with you. I'm going back in my–"

"Grace–"

"They'll find me!" I think I shouted then, because his eyes went wide at my words all of a sudden.

My vision started edging with black spots. Familiar black spots. And I really, really hated this feeling.

The next instant, his arms were around me and he was pulling me against him.

"Gracie, you need to drop it. Whatever that you're talking about. We need to go to the doctor, okay?" He murmured in my ear. I closed my eyes, shaking my head. "You're trembling and freezing and sweating at the same time. And I don't think you're all right."

I shook my head again. "You don't understand–"

"What's going on?" I heard another voice, a deeper one, behind Luca.

Luca stiffened a little but didn't let go of me. Even when I tried looking up at that person, he just pulled me closer.

"I have to go." It was Luca this time. And I had a feeling that he wasn't talking to me.

"Jackson–"

"Can't you fucking see? She needs me right now." I pressed my face further against his jacket, closing my eyes as the lightheaded feeling overwhelmed me.

"You know the rules, Jackson." The voice sounded more threatening now, or maybe it was just my fucked up head.

"I don't give a shit about your fucking rules." Luca was angry. That much I knew. "I'm going right now. And you're leaving too."

I let the darkness envelop me after that.

_______________________________________________________________________

Crystal 🌿