Silently Falling

Chapter Twenty Seven (Edited 12/8/2020)

Good news: This story has reached #914 in teen fiction!!! I cannot begin to express how excited I am!

12/8/2020 - Crazy to see how elated I was back when I reached #914 in teen fiction! That was back when Wattpad still had a top 1000 stories of each genre instead of on each hashtag.

I apologize for being MIA for over a month...truth is, on top of college and finals, I was reading through all of your theories and started to worry that what I had originally planned wasn't good enough. I realized that I set the book up for an even bigger plot addition than I thought. It took me this long to figure out what more was needed, and for someone who is a planner, trying to decide so late in the story was intimidating and turned me away from editing for a while. But, I think I figured out a perfect plot for the remainder of the book :)

Silently Falling: Chapter Twenty Seven

Raine POV

I wake up to the booming sound of thunder but keep my eyes closed to protest waking up. The dull patter of rain hitting my roof pleas for my case and makes me curl further into my warm, inviting bed. The further I snuggle into my pillow, however, the more I realize how solid it is. While it's still somehow soft and warm, something about it is firm and...muscular?

My eyes shoot open as realization dawns on me. I'm not snuggled against a pillow. I'm snuggled against West. I shoot up in shock, but West doesn't wake up. The events of last night come tumbling down on my mind as another roar of thunder nearly shakes the house. The gentle rain outside has suddenly turned into a torrential downpour, slamming relentlessly onto the roof and invading my ears so that it's all I can focus on as memories from last night rush back.

Going to the party. Playing pong with Alyse and laughing with everyone, genuinely enjoying myself. Kyle pursuing a dance with me. West forcing him to back off. West taking me to the kitchen for water. Gray stopping me, Warren is in there.

Warren.

Warren trapping me in the office. Warren pinning me against the wall. Warren not allowing me to escape when I put up a fight. Warren smacking me. Warren ripping my dress. Warren being torn away from me and thrown across the room. West saving me from reliving my worst nightmare.

West.

West pinning Warren against the desk. West seconds away from punching Warren, from being sent back to juvie. West's name being yelled out...by me. West stopping. West looking at me, running to me, comforting me.

"Sunshine?"

Somewhere behind the drumming rain and bellowing thunder, I faintly hear my name being uttered worriedly. But I can't move. I'm stuck reliving last night behind my eyes.

"Sunshine, it's okay."

The voice is a bit louder this time, more concerned, more scared. Another crack of thunder.

"Raine, hey it's okay, look at me."

It rises above the noise of the storm outside, becoming clearer and slowly dragging my mind out of the hell it's enduring. But it's still not quite enough and I'm frozen in place. Suddenly, I feel warmth on my leg, just above my knee. A hand. It gently squeezes as my name is said a few more times, more urgently.

My body flinches on its own. I cringe away from the hand on my leg, my heartrate spiking and not in the good way, and my breathing suddenly matches. Warren's face is still flashing across my mind despite how hard I try to pull myself out of my trance. The hand instantly lets go.