Because of Karson

Chapter 26

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. School was finally over, thank fuck. After my encounter with Karson next to the library, I couldn't focus the rest of the day. All I could think about was his thumbs rubbing small circles against my waist.

I gripped my steering wheel tighter as the thought of his body so close to mine crossed my mind. I hate him. I'm supposed to hate him. At this point, I didn't even know what I felt. He was an absolute asshole, but when it was just us two, it was a completely different story.

"Fuck me," I cursed under my breath as my injured hand rested in my lap. Jace was in the passenger seat next to me, his earbuds in as he lightly shook his head to his music.

Olivia was in the back seat just staring at the scenery outside the window. We were on our way home, dreading the inevitable. We knew we had to go home to face our mother sooner or later, even though I wished it was later.

I pulled into our driveway and put the car in park as I lightly tapped on Jace's shoulder. He raised one of his eyebrows and gently tugged on one of his earbuds. "Yes?"

"We're home," I sighed as I glanced at the old car parked next to mine. Our mother was unfortunately home.

He leaned forward, glancing in front of me to look at her car. Jace rubbed his forehead in frustration as he briefly looked at my palm. He ripped the other earbud out of his ear and climbed out of the car.

He slammed the door shut and went to get Olivia out of her car seat. I knew he was just pissed at our mother for what she did to me the last time we were home. I knew not to take it personally if he was angry, because just like me, he didn't know how to deal with his emotions very well either.

I took a deep breath as I mentally prepared for what we would encounter when we walked through our front door. I pressed my lips together in a thin line as I subconsciously ran a finger over my stitches. I roughly opened my door and got out, hearing the small beep after I locked it.

Jace held Olivia in his arms as she gave me a reassuring smile.

"It'll be okay. I'll be okay, don't worry," I reassured them as a fake smile tugged at my lips.

Jace didn't look convinced but he stiffly nodded his head nonetheless. I walked in front of them and walked to our front door. I put the key in and slightly turned the knob to let us in.

I almost gasped at the sight in front of me. The door shot wide open and my eyes traveled around our trashed house. What the fuck happened in here?

My eyes traveled to see the few picture frames we had smashed to the floor, the glass scattered around everywhere. There were empty beer bottles smashed against the tile and the smell was pungent. I smelled a mixture of weed and alcohol as I slowly stepped into the house.

"What the fuck?" Jace whispered from behind me as he followed me into the house. He shut the door behind him as he cradled Liv tighter in his arms.

"Be careful," I warned as my shaky hand pointed to all the glass on the floor. "Watch your step, there is glass everywhere."

I slowly stepped over the pieces of glass that were in the foyer. I walked further into the house, noticing pillows thrown all over the place as the remains of cigarettes and weed were scattered all over our coffee table.

What the hell was she doing?

My body immediately stiffened when I heard my mother's voice come from the kitchen. I slightly stepped back when I saw her swaying figure come into view. I almost stepped on glass, but Jace grabbed my elbow in time and quickly moved me out of the way.