Paying the Price

Chapter 39: June

Last Chapter Recap- Oakley

"Jenifer? Are you alright?" I unzipped my jacket a bit and she poked her head out at me.

She had tears on her face and her eyes were puffy like she had been crying for a while which I knew she had.

"I'm scared," she whispered.

I held her closer.

"Me too."

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It had been 8 hours since Oakley and Jenifer left and the fear, worry, and anxiety in the house right now was astronomically high.

Every possible horrible thought was going through all of our minds.

Oakley said that they would be gone for an hour max and now it was dark outside and there were no signs of either of them.

Oakley, Oliver, Janae, and I had never been separated like this for this long.

The longest the four of us had ever been separated was on the first day when we went to the village and split into pairs for just an hour.

The three of us didn't know how to function without Oakley.

He was our big brother. He always had a plan. He always knew what to do and how to do it flawlessly.

I kept trying to remind myself as well as my siblings of this as we waited for his return but even I didn't believe myself.

"It's Oakley, he is fine. He will be home any minute and we will all laugh at our fears for doubting him," I said.

Janae seemed to be the one panicking the least while Oliver and Owen were panicking the most.

It made sense, Janae was the oldest after Oakley and she also was very wise about things when given the opportunity. She was definitely the calmest of the four of us and didn't seem to worry about many things in her life.

I was envious.

Oliver was worried because although he hated to admit it, he needed Oakley.

We all did but Oliver more so than anyone else. He had been pacing around the house over and over.

Owen was in tears. A mix of sad and angry tears. "I knew that this would be a bad idea! I shouldn't have let him take my sister!"

I tried to comfort him but it was no use. He was too angry.

He tried to glare at us but he still looked adorable.

"We need to go to bed, it's getting late," Janae tried to reason.

Owen lifted his head and glared at her, "You expect me to be able to sleep when my sister is missing?"

Janae glared back. "Owen, our brother is missing too, we know how you feel but I promise that she is okay with Oakley."

"BUT SHE IS NOT OKAY! SHE IS NOT WITH ME!" He yelled and then ran off and locked himself in the bathroom.

I looked over at Oliver and he was silently looking down at the floor. I had never seen him so depressed looking.

He was like a shell of the person he normally is. He didn't even look up when Owen yelled and stormed off.

Janae followed Owen, and I went over towards Oliver.

"You okay?" I said and sat down next to him.

He didn't even look up at me.

"Oliver," I shook him.

He glanced up and he had tears in his eyes.

"I'm scared, June," he practically whispered.