Chapter 15: Aftermath

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OLIVIA

She awoke to the sound of yelling.

One of the yellers was definitely Elijah. The other sounded like Blake, only a little different.

Logan.

The events of last night flooded into her mind.

Holy shit, she had ruined everything. And she had fallen asleep sitting at Logan's desk. Her muscles ached. Her neck was cramped awkwardly to the right. She stood up and tried to straighten out the kinks in her back

"What the fuck is this shit?" Logan shouted so loud Olivia jumped where she stood. What was he so angry over? She crept closer to her door and cracked it open an inch. Now she could hear Elijah's voice, tight but not loud.

"She's just coping."

She? Were they talking about her?

"Put me back in foster care?" Logan shouted. "You call that coping?"

"She's just confused!" Elijah told him, his voice growing louder.

"She's not confused. She's a total psychopath!"

Olivia felt something inside of her break. She pressed her hands over her ears so she didn't have to listen to them anymore, but she couldn't keep out Elijah's angry, bellowing voice.

"Don't talk about our sister like that!" he roared at Logan.

Olivia shut her door and dove into the small space between the bed and the wall, that little bit of space that made her feel like she could be safe. She pulled a pillow off the bed and held it down over her ears.

She felt like something was stabbing her deep inside her lungs.

This is what you wanted, isn't it?

No. She didn't want this. She didn't want her brother thinking she was a psychopath. She wanted to get along with him.

What if the others thought she was a psychopath too? Were they just pretending not to think she was?

Tears pricked her eyes.

Her door creaked open.

Dammit. She pulled the pillow harder over her head and tried to make herself as small as possible. What if it was Elijah? What if it was Logan?

"Livy?"

Blake. It was only Blake.

"Livy, are you okay?"

A hand touched her shoulder and she flinched. "Please go away, Blake," she said, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"I can't. Elijah and Logan are killing each other in the kitchen and this is the safest place to be right now."

Olivia dropped the pillow and sat straight up to look at Blake. "They're - killing...?"

"Not really!" Blake waved his hands in front of his face. "Just, you know, like brother killing. Like when you want to kill your sibling, but you don't actually."

What on earth did that mean?

"They're not hurting each other, are they?"

"No, no. Of course not."

"Oh. Good."

There was an awkward silence.

"Olivia?"

"Yeah?"

"I guess you...heard Logan, didn't you?"

She's a total psychopath!

Olivia gritted her teeth so she wouldn't tell the truth. "No."

"It was kind of impossible not to hear him," Blake said dryly. He took her fingers in his hands. "Look, Liv, he doesn't think that. He's just scared."

She was scared too. She was scared to death. Maybe this whole thing was a mistake. Maybe she wasn't really meant to be here at all. She should've stayed with the foster care system. They didn't actually want her here.

"I think they stopped fighting," Blake said. "Do you hear any-"

Logan's loud, harsh voice tore into Olivia's room.

"She can't stay here like this!"

Blake clapped his hands over Olivia's ears, blocking out what Elijah shouted back at him, but the damage was done. Her eyes filled with tears. They began spilling down her cheeks even as she tried wiping them away.

She felt Blake gently pull her to his chest, and when she felt his warm arms wrap around her head and shoulders, she couldn't find it in herself to push him away. And then she realized that all of her rules would be for nothing. They were all going to die.

She began to cry. 

Does anyone like this cover better than the one I have right now? I've got zero artistic ability but I have so much time that there is no longer any excuse for keeping a bad cover

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Does anyone like this cover better than the one I have right now? I've got zero artistic ability but I have so much time that there is no longer any excuse for keeping a bad cover. Also I KNOW it still has the watermark on it but...I don't think it's too noticeable when the picture is small. Right...?

Confession: I hate characters who cry left, right, and center, so I'm trying to cut down on it here, but it's kinda hard when she's carrying all of this inside of herself. I remember myself at fourteen, in ninth grade, and I feel like there's only so much a person can handle. Idk, what are your guys's thoughts?

I know it's a shorter chapter, but it had to end here. Also, if anyone hates Logan right now, just hold that thought. 

Remember to vote and comment if you enjoyed!

For next time: some brother bonding <3

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