When Red Roses Die

Chapter 12

Authors Note:
Warning: This chapter is very dark. The MC struggles with a lot and this chapter brings a lot of that to light. Please read with caution.
Sorry for the dark chapter. It had to be done though. Safe reading!

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Scarlett

After breakfast and doing the dishes, a numbness settled over me.

The guys said they had to go home and talk to my father, though they said they'd be back soon. So after a long-winded goodbye and a tight hug from Kjell, my house was once again empty.

Completely empty, besides me.

I set my hands on the counter, the coolness of it against my palms providing an anchor to the real world as my mind dived into a dark hole.

I've struggled with depression before. The PTSD never helped it, it only increased my dark thoughts tenfold. Bash was always a good light in the dark world surrounding me.

Bash left, because of me and now I have no one.

My father wants me back. He'll send many more to kidnap me and I know he won't stop until he gets me.

A shiver ran through me at the thought of seeing my father again. I can't go back.

Lincoln said that they would come up with a story about how I was untrackable. But something tells me that my father won't buy it. He knows who he hired and he knows that if anyone in this strange world can find me, those five are his best bet.

My father is the best at what he does. He has many allies that will hunt me down for just an acknowledgment from my father. I have no one to protect me from my father.

But if I have to go back to my father, he'll torture me for running. Then he'll pass me around to his friends just like he did Harper.

Oh Harper. My best friend. She was the only person in the world who could make me smile after a beating from my father.

Harper was my best friend since birth. We were inseparable from the moment we met. She died when we were ten. Halfway through the fifth grade.

We had sleepovers pretty much every night. Either at my house or hers. Though I preferred her house because I loved to watch her family.

Harper had a beautiful family. Her mother was beautiful and her father handsome. They were happily married. Harper had four older brothers, who loved to tease Harper and me. She had such a beautiful home life, on several occasions, I found myself jealous of how lucky she was. Although her brothers made it hard to like the idea of having siblings.

Despite their sometimes meanness towards us, they always looked out for us when we were at school. Harper and I were bullied often, but as soon as word caught on to one of her brothers, all four would show up after school to pick us up and they'd have us point out who harassed us. Needless to say, they never harassed us again.

Cole, the eldest of the siblings, was a senior in high school when Harper and I were in fifth grade. Even at a young age, I couldn't help but notice his good looks. Cole, just like his brothers, was drop-dead gorgeous. And they all knew it too. Cole never paid to much attention to us, but when he did he was usually teasing me for something.

Flynn and Finn were the twins. They were in their Junior year of high school when Harper died. They were the meanest to us. Whenever I was around they made it their mission to follow Harper and I around and tease us relentlessly. They, much like Oakley and Aspen, were identical. Though I spent enough time around the two of them to be able to tell them apart with ease.