Scarred

Chapter 23

My phone rang loudly in the middle of the night, waking me up from a deep slumber. I glanced at the clock. It read 4:29 a.m. I answered the phone sleepily.

"Hello?" I said.

"Quinn!" Sam exclaimed. I groaned internally. After what happened, I didn't want to talk to him.

"It's the middle of the night, Sam," I grumbled. "Why are you calling me now?"

"I've been calling for hours," Sam said. "I've been worried sick. Lee Anne and Thomas called me and told me that you had run away."

"Yeah," I said. "They took nearly everything out of the house so I couldn't cut myself. I'm not going to live under tyranny."

"You're being a little overdramatic," Sam said. "They're just trying to protect you."

"I don't need their protection!" I exclaimed. "And I don't need yours, either."

"Seriously, Quinn?" Sam said, astonished.

"Yeah, seriously," I repeated. "I can't believe you. Call me back when you're ready to stop dictating my life." I hung up the phone angrily. I couldn't believe him. I didn't need his protection or his help. I was perfectly fine on my own.

I got up out of bed and took a shower, hoping to scrub the dirt and shit out of my life. I turned on the faucet and stripped. I stepped into the shower, letting the hot water hit me. I picked up the bar of soap and looked down at the scars on my arms and stomach. It was like they were taunting me. I shook the thought out of my head and began scrubbing the dirt and grime from my body, careful not to irratate the scars.

When I stepped out, I dried myself off and wrapped my hair in a towel. I pulled on the robe provided by the hotel. I went to the sink and washed my face, scrubbing off the mascara I had put on the day before. Then I went out and sat on the bed, turning on the TV.

Hours later, a knock sounded on my door. I muted the TV and walked over to open the door, expecting to tell a maid to come back later. What I found instead was much more surprising.

"Jace," I said, trying to disguise my surprise. "What brings you here?"

"I wanted to apologize," Jace said, seemingly sincere with his apology. "I shouldn't have rushed into things like that. I should've figured that a pretty girl like you would have a boyfriend, and I should've found out before I kissed you."

Without saying anything and without thinking, I pulled his face towards me and pressed my lips to his. I kissed him with all of the emotions I'd felt in the last day. Sadness, depression, anger, guilt, joy, passion, love. Jace pulled away a little quicker than I wanted.

"Quinn, what are you doing?" he asked when he'd regained his senses.

"I just-" I started, trying to figure what I was doing. "I need someone new," I eventually decided.

"As in, a new boyfriend?" Jace asked, betraying his hopeful feelings unintentionally.

"No," I said. A look of disappointment fell over his face. "Just someone to... experiment with."

"I like experiments," Jace said, leaning against the door and putting his hands in his jeans pockets. My god, he's cute, I thought.

Jace kissed me again, more passionately this time. It was so filled with passion that I couldn't hardly think straight. All I could think was, I want this. I want this so badly.

The kiss was longer this time, both of us not wanting to be the one to pull away. I eventually pulled away from Jace, trying to keep my thought together. I pulled Jace inside the hotel room and shut the door. He kissed me again while we stood there. I pulled away quickly, realizing that I was still in a robe. "Give me a minute," I told Jace. I went into the bathroom and changed from the robe into my clothes. I pulled my hair down from the towel and, without brushing it, pulled it into a bun. I stepped out of the bathroom.

"Nice change," Jace remarked.

"Shut up and kiss me," I said, pulling him back towards me. Before either of us were truly satisfied, someone knocked on the door. "Come back later!" I called to the maid.

"I'm not a maid," said a voice on the other side of the door.

Shit. I know that voice.

It was Sam.