Forged Bonds (BxB)

CHAPTER 40

A/N: This is a very sensitive chapter. If you feel triggered, immediately stop reading. You can send me a private message, and I'll tell you what happened without details so you can keep up with the story. Please, respect your own limits.

That being said, I hope you enjoy the chapter.

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Tomorrow was my last day here.

This "trip" to my father's house was of only four days, but it felt like forever.

Yesterday, the day I met Kaden, I spent the whole afternoon and evening in exhausting meetings. I pretended to understand everything that was being said, but I had no clue about what they were discussing. I didn't understand why my father suddenly wanted me to participate of something that involved his company.

He was acting indifferent towards me, and I couldn't be gladder. I just didn't want to be beaten and yelled at again. Tomorrow was my last day here, and my father hadn't abused me once.

I contacted Mallory a few times to let her know I was alright, and she believed me. On the other hand, I avoided contacting Jeovanni at all. Because if I did contact him, I'd have to tell him about how my encounter with Kaden went, and I didn't want to let Jeo know how much I'd failed.

I felt bad about avoiding Jeovanni. But, if I had to be completely honest with myself, my meeting with my cousin wasn't the only thing that stopped me from talking to him. I felt uncomfortable about talking to him while I was here.

It seemed like my life at Mallory's house and my life at my father's house were two different lives. And who I was in Mallory's house and who I was in my father's house were two different people. Jeovanni's boyfriend was the person who lived a few towns from where I currently was. Here, I wasn't Jeovanni's boyfriend. And that was something really upsetting to realize.

"You're the next in line, dear" An old lady tapped my shoulder, indicating the cashier in front of me, who was much busier filing her nails than actually working.

Today was Angela's day off, so I decided to grab a coffee at the coffee shop nearby. My only duty to the day was survive until tonight, when my father would be hosting a party in his house to his business partners. The house would be filled with people, and that day at Christmas, when I loved being around a bunch of people, seemed to be more and more distant.

"Right, thanks" I went up to the register and ordered. And, as I waited for my name to be called by the barista to take my cup of coffee, my name was called by another voice. A familiar voice. One that made me tense up and grit my teeth.

"Jack Hunt" Brayden approached me with an amused laugh "Where the hell have you been, man?"

I rolled my eyes.

Brayden was the one guy that sided with me when I outted Ethan. By my side, he did all of the messy things I had done: calling people slurs, hitting them, bullying them. He was also the one who kept bugging me to throw parties and did drugs with me. He was gross. And he reminded me of things I wished to forget.

"Jack" The barista called my name.

I took my cup and made my way out of the store, but Brayden followed after me.

"Aren't you going to answer me?"

My phone started vibrating in my pocket, and I reached for it to see Danielle was calling me.

"Hey, Dani" I picked up.

"Jeovanni's worried about you" She told me in an accusatory tone.

"Jeovanni called you?" I stopped walking for a moment, Brayden stopping as well. Why is that dude still following me?