Whisper of the Woods

•23•

Blake

My eyes shot open and I sprang up from my slumber, on the floor. My chest heaved, and heart drummed against my chest wildly. Another nightmare. 

After Jace knocked me out with the skillet, I woke up to my wrists and ankles being shackled. He said that I've lost his trust. I couldn't blame him either, with the past stunts I've tried to pull off.

This was bound to happen.

My defiance has gotten me nowhere, all my plans failed. I should've known I couldn't leave. Jace was impossible to outsmart! His thinking was always ahead of mine.

I'm back to square one. Back to staring at the cheap painted walls. Back to the disgusting gritty tuna. Back to the endless crying. I've dug myself a hole too deep to escape. 

I caught sight of the cork-board that lay under the bed. Sniffling and wiping my tears away, I extended my leg and dragged the board towards me with my foot.

Memories flooded my mind and sad smile crept on my face, as I looked at the photos. 

*f l a s h b a c k*

"Blake I want you home by 9:00," Mom ordered, sternly with her eyes glued to her phone.

"Alright, yeah. I got it," I sighed, approaching the door. Blair stomped her way down the stairs.

"Hey you're going to the mall, maybe you'll come back with actual cute clothes," She laughed bitterly. 

"I don't dress bad," I countered, looking down at my outfit.

"Yeah. Keep telling yourself that, sis."

"Blair I dont dr-"

"The more you sit here and argue the less time you have Blake. So I suggest you scurry off with your little friends before you have to be back here. Now go," Mom intervened, icily. 

I swung the door open, shaking my head. She was never friendly to Stella or Peyton. She'd always refer to them as 'those girls',  as if they were below her. 

 I yanked the door open and slid in the back seat of Stella's car. 

"Hey, what took you so long?" Stella questioned, putting the car in drive.

"Oh you know the usual, my mother and the wonderful Blair," I feigned a bright smile. 

"Ok I know that Blair is a brat, but sometimes I admire her sass," Peyton confessed.

I raised my brow, "Her sass is gonna get her decked." 

"By who? . . . you?" Peyton challenged.

I nodded eagerly with a sweet smile, "Keep pushing me."

"You're so cute B," Stella laughed, knowing that I wouldn't hurt a fly even if I tried. 

Stella pulled into a parking space once we arrived at the mall. One thing that I didn't like about coming to the mall on a Friday was that you're bound to see somebody from school.

The few times it happened to me, we ended up having a brief and awkward staring contest.

"Ok where to first ladies?" Stella clapped her hands together in excitement as we entered the mall. 

"Let's go to Forever Twenty O-" Peyton suggested.

"No," Stella rejected intermediately.