Accept Me or Reject Me. You Can't Do Both. (First book) (Completed)

Chapter 22 (Edited)

It was weird, not being surrounded by my friends that the evening. I knew that they were around, and I was sure that Jack was trying to get them to think. I think he was trying to get them to think about how I felt and how I still needed my friends to be with me.

I was in my room with, an untouched plate of food on my nightstand, playing with my drink. My mind was whirling a mile a minute at each possibility that would probably never happen.

"I'm giving me such a headache," I groaned, laying flat on my back after I placed the water back into it's glass. I rubbed my forehead and sighed, knowing that I needed to talk to the Rogues. My instincts were telling me that some of them were being controlled by someone or something.

"Come in," I called, hearing a shuffle at the door. I placed my arm over my eyes and sighed. My ear moved a bit when the door opened, but no one moved forward nor did the door close. I lifted my arm off of my face and looked towards the door to see a drunk Toby. "Toby?" I asked, furrowing my brows. "What's wrong?"

Toby didn't say a word while he closed the door to my room. He hesitantly took a couple of steps forward before pausing. Worry and fear filled his eyes, causing me to flinch and look away from him. "Don't," he whispered, his voice cracking. "Don't turn away from me, please."

"Why not?" I asked, my voice gruff and just as low. "You are scared of me."

Toby sighed, and I knew that he shook his head. "I am scared that you hate me," he admitted. One thing I knew about Toby was the fact that he was way too honest when he was drunk. "I am worried... that you don't want to be my friend because... I acted out of hand..."

I looked up at him and studied his face. I could tell that he was being truthful, by the fear that he had in his eyes. I bit back a sigh and leaned back on my bed before patting it to indicate that he come on. As soon as he did, he pulled me close to him, and I laid my head on his chest. "Are you mad at me?" I asked, my voice in a whisper. "Because I didn't protect your brother?"

He tensed before relaxing and sighed. "Truthfully," he said before pausing. He sighed while he tried to get the right words out of his drunken brain.

"You are always truthful when you are drunk," I pointed out, causing him to poke me in the ribs. I snickered and pushed his hand away, because that was the only place that ticked.

"Shut up," he grumbled, and I could hear a smile in his voice. "I'm not. I... I want to be mad, ya know? But... I gained something when I lost my brother. I don't know if it was because you felt really guilty that you opened up to me a bit, but I gained a sister."

I closed my eyes and cleared my throat. "I did feel a bit guilty," I admitted. "But, you have been kind to me, so I thought I would hang out with you a bit more." I let a small smile appear on my face. "And, I gained a brother. I gained someone that would help me learn how to fight and be a sarcastic, honest ass when he is drunk."

Toby chest moved a bit when he chuckled. "I am not an ass," he said. "I am honest, but I am not an ass."

"I beg to differ," I replied, causing him to chuckle a bit more before kissing my head. "I am sorry that I wasn't able to save your brother," I whispered. "I would've if I could."

Toby sighed and kissed my forehead. "I know," he whispered back. His whole body relaxed and his breathing started to get even as sleep started to evade his senses. "I know."

***

There was a knock on my door, causing me to groan out, annoyed. The knock turned a bit frantic, causing me to open my eyes to see that I was clinging to Toby as if he was my life support.

I got out of his hold, made my way to the door, and opened it to see both Jack and Garrett at my door. "What?" I asked, rubbing my eyes just like a child. "Why did you have to wake me up?"

"We can't find Toby," Jack said. "And Garrett wanted to talk to you about something." He nudged Garrett who was looking at me weirdly, getting his attention.

"You have drool on your face," he said, bluntly. He stared at it and wrinkled his nose. "Ya, that is a lot of drool."

I scoffed and rubbed my drool off of my face. "Toby is in my room," I said. "We talked it out." I shook my head and sent a serious look to Garrett. "You scared of me?"

He sighed and moved a hand through his hair, grimacing. "No," he said, shaking his head. "I-I was just... remembering something your grandmother had said to me..."

"Which was?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Garrett looked around and gestured for me to go into my room. He and Jack followed me into my room when I moved out of the way and took a seat on the couch.

"Well?" I asked, my voice soft. I glanced at my bed to see Toby holding a pillow and snoring like a little kid before turning my attention to Garrett.

"I think I knew that you were the White Wolf," he said, causing both Jack and I to look at each other. "Your grandmother told me as to why I was feeling really protective of you," he added, quickly.

I raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?" I asked.

"She had told me that I was to protect you and stay by your side, no matter what," he said. He moved a hand through his hair again and sighed. "The reason as to why I had moved was because I think that I am not good enough," he said , honestly. "I haven't trained as hard as Toby or Jack, and you are an important person."

I walked over to him and pulled him into a hug. "If I had to choose for a better person to protect me, I would still choose you," I whispered.

Garrett didn't say a word but hugged me tighter. "And I'll always protect you," he muttered. "Promise."