Shattered

Chapter 30

                                                *3 weeks later*

Life was great.

I had good relationships with all my brothers, Mr. Thompson hadn't kicked me out yet, and I felt free.

I still had nightmares almost every night, but I tried not to let them bother me.

Hunter started doing weekly 'check-ups,' trying to show me that doctors weren't scarry.

It wasn't really working, but I was learning to trust him more as a person and not a doctor.

We hadn't spoken about the whole Jack thing since I told him what happened, and I was kind of glad he didn't push me to talk more.

Ace had shown me a few more defense moves and how to get away from someone who has a gun.

At first, I was kind of worried as to why he was showing me, but he assured me it was only a safety percussion.

Charlie and I hang out in the music room almost daily, just fooling around with the instruments and trying to wright songs.

He was surprisingly good at playing the piano and bass, which helped us bond more.

The twins keep trying to show me how to play video games, but I wasn't good at it.

It was still fun, and I knew they enjoyed it, so whenever they asked me to play with them, I would.

My grades did go up by a surprising amount.

They went from low B's and C's to straight A's in a little over a week.

I have no idea how I did it, but Mr. Thompson was happy with me, and he gave me my phone back.

But tonight, Ace, Hunter, and Mr. Thompson were all working the late shifts.

Charlie, Noah, and Daxton were all invited to a party at one of their friends' apartments, and they didn't want me to stay home alone.

So, I had to go to the party with them.

I didn't have a problem with it, except for the fact that there would be other strangers there.

If it wasn't for that, I would be completely happy to go and eat free food.

I did tell Noah, Charlie, and Daxton that I would be fine alone because I knew they wanted to party and have fun, and I didn't want to get in the way of their fun.

Of course, I didn't tell them the that, but they said that they wanted me to come.

And that's how I ended up in the back of Charlie's car next to Noah, staring out the window and snapping the hair tie against my wrist.

Just the thought of being around people worried me, let alone people I didn't know in a place I didn't know.

As Charlie continued to drive, all of us were silent, listening to the quiet radio playing faintly in the background.

Soon, we got to streets that looked very familiar.

I didn't bother to ask where the party was, I only knew it was at their friends' place.

After about 7 more minutes of driving, Charlie pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex Jack and I used to live in.

He drove around it, and parked right in front of the apartment we used to live in.

I froze.

Charlie turned the car off, and got out, everyone else doing the same.

I stared at the door to the apartment, slowly getting out of the car.