sweets || bryce hall

Chapter 64: Nothing to Say

This is one of the chapters that was previously published in the sequel before being moved into the book. If you were up to date on the sequel, you should skip to Chapter 70!

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Just a warning quickly, this chapter contains mentions of indirect physical and mental abuse. Meaning the characters are reflecting on the fact that it happened. Also there are mentions of the psychological effects of abuse.

Please know what you can handle reading, I don't want my writing to hurt anyone.

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"Basically, I need to disappear. Just for a few days. I'm going to stay here with Kio, and you guys are going to go about your lives. Kio is going to do me a favor and not officially announce that he's in LA for now, so less people are looking for his address."

"People will ask questions Ro, and by tonight it sounds like your family will be knocking down the door to get to you. What are we, what is Bryce, supposed to do then?"

"You don't let them in. You entertain them a bit, make them think you feel the same about me as you do, but that you'll be no help to them in getting to me because of that. That I'm in the wind. Again,"

"I don't know if I can do that, Sweets. Talk to them?"

"It's just for a few minutes. Just long enough to convince them that you don't care about me, and that you aren't invested at all. You need to seem just as uninvested in me as them. Because if they aren't invested, and you aren't, they can't use you for anything, they won't have any other ideas, and hopefully they hate me as much as I think and they'll leave because the effort isn't worth it. I'm not worth it to them. So, Bryce, and anyone they speak to, needs to seem like less of a part of my story than you are so you aren't useful,"

"Rory, after everything they did to you, after everything you've told us, you really don't want us to call the police on them? Do something real or legal about it?"

"No. Jaden, no. I don't,"

"Sweets, I-"

"No. Guys, babe, I'm not. No matter what happened? Before I left, and even them coming here, I need it to be over. I don't need to relive it. Okay? That's the last thing I want."

"But Ro, I think tha-"

"Jaden, I said... I said no. Okay? I'm really serious about this. I don't see them as my family, but they are. I don't need to put them through it. Or myself. I don't need that. Actually, I don't need anything except for them to leave my life forever. I want to be in control. They're done being in control and it's time I take that. Or at least I'll try. So I'm going to get rid of them, and then I can move on finally for real, for the first time."..."But my question is, will you help me?"

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Bryce POV

I lean against the door, listening to Alijah and her father argue back and forth on what to do as Blake, Josh, and Noah stand out of sight on either side of the door where they have been.

"Dude, they're disgusting," Blake whispers quietly, wincing with the same disgusted look that's on the other two boys' faces and that I am now finally allowed to let slip onto mine. Noah nods, shivering slightly. I listen closer, hearing footsteps recede down the steps, away from the door before I finally relax and slide down the door. The boys don't say anything for a minute as I stare at the floor, or more glare at the floor.

Eventually I feel Josh and Blake sit down on either side of me, Noah moving to the couch a few feet away and facing us. We sit in silence, contemplating what we just heard, the bits and pieces of Rory's past that we know, some more than others, and all of the little things about Rory that just make sense now.