Jodee

Chapter 24 - Unexpected

JODEE POV

It had been two days since the incident with Caleb and those men at the Ice Cream parlor.

Ace said that they were trying the hardest they could to find these guys and make them pay for messing with Caleb ... and me. But so far they have had no real luck in finding them because they're no bodies.

I haven't said anything so far but I kinda hope they don't find these guys. I know that it was wrong what they did to Caleb and that they hurt my honorary brother. But at the same time I'm fearful of what Ace and possibly Caleb will do to them.

My brother ... Both of my brothers are incredibly protective of their family. Which includes me. But what I'm saying is that if someone does anything to hurt anyone in their family they will go to extreme lengths to make them pay and ensure no one will ever mess with their family again.

I don't know much about Caleb's family at all, however. Or his biological family because Cal always says "family isn't blood" which I agree with because Caleb is my brother even though we don't have the same parents and don't share any blood whatsoever. I know he is an only child and when I met him in Massachusetts and was living with his mom. I'm not sure about his dad though. I would ask him, but I'm not sure if that's a sensitive topic and I don't want to make Caleb angry at me.

I was a little scared about going to school today, not gonna lie.

Zane and his goons hadn't bothered me since Caleb almost beat them at the mall and he and Ace said they'd "take care of it". I haven't even seen him at school at all. But then again even when he was actively bullying me I didn't really see him until he sought me out ... to bully me.

But I have this feeling ... this fear ... inside of me that someday my fate is going to change and the peace of him being gone is just going to shatter. Everything shatters in my life. Every good thing or reliving thing that has happened to me has always broken or been ripped away from me.

I turned my music up louder, throwing my phone on the bed. I don't know why but for some reason I thought louder music meant quieter voices in my head.

False hope is better than no hope.

I slipped on white Patagonia fleece pullover that had some maroon on the collar and pocket. As well as some black slightly ripped jeans and low top slip on checkered vans. Then I added some simple bracelets and put on a gold necklace with a bunch of stars on it. It was kinda like a choker but not quite that tight. I didn't want to deal with my unruly curls today so I just wove my hair into a simple, messy, back braid.

Once I had packed my school bag I made my way downstairs, bouncing on every step.

Caleb was already in there once I got to the kitchen — that boy was always in the kitchen — but instead of eating like he always was he stood with his back against the counter, half sitting on it as his fingers whisked across his phone screen. A small smile played at his lips at whoever he was texting.

"Caleb?" I questioned, teasingly. He hadn't seen me yet, he was so engrossed in his phone.

My brother's best friend whipped around almost immediately, placing both hands on the counter. That meant that his phone went flying towards his right. Once Caleb realized that he had lost his phone his blue irises went as wide as saucers as he reached out in an attempt to grab it.

"Fuck me." He cursed under his breath when the phone inevitably landed on the ground with a loud crash.

"Did you break it?" I giggled, coming to sit down at one of the barstools.