A Thousand Words | ✓

Chapter Six: A Thousand Confrontations

(9/27/14) This is the last of the thorough rewritten chapters! Though I might go ahead and edit the next chapter as well haha. dedicated to taylor for the cute little cover on the side <3 Ignore weird mistakes and typos, enjoy :) xx

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Chapter Six: A Thousand Confrontations

I felt like hell by the time I returned home with a heavy mind and a sore jaw. My nails had left crescent imprints on the inside of my palms due to my clenched fists the whole way back to my apartment building. Jessica assured me that she and Charlotte were perfectly fine staying in the apartment alone, as Charlotte's parents were away for the night, but Kyle and I stayed outside Charlotte's apartment, per my suspicion.

The lurking feeling in my gut told me that I couldn't leave without confirming there wouldn't be a reappearance of the asswipe who had the nerve to hit a girl across the face. To hit a girl in general, for that matter. I had an unstable aura around me for the rest of the time we spent there, leaning against the brick wall of the building with a rigid stance and a murderous look etched to my face. Bystanders quickly hurried along when they set their eyes on me.

Kyle was as unsettled as I was. But instead of looking like a dangerous teenager that was going to pull out a gun and shoot everybody within a mile radius, he opted to pacing in front of me and scanning our surroundings every five minutes. When we were somewhat sure that the girls were safe without us standing outside the building like a couple stalkers – and the frigid air was numbing our whole body – we parted ways.

Nothing was more relieving than the warm air of the heater. You know that feeling when you have to piss, and you have to piss really bad? Stepping into my apartment was like emptying my bladder after hours of holding it in. It felt pretty damn good.

I sighed upon seeing the mess the three of us left before we fled to Jessica's rescue. Pizza boxes, soda cans, papers and pencils were littered everywhere. The gigantic poster with Jessica's poorly outlined body lay in the center of the living room.

It would have been a good idea to clean everything up before Rebecca came home. Being greeted with her irritable moods the minute she walks through the door time and time again, I know I should at least shove this crap under the couch for it to be forgotten about and rot, found weeks later when Rebecca did some cleaning. But I was too drained for the night. Exhausted, I ignored the mess and made a detour towards my bed, falling onto the crumpled sheets with my forearm thrown across my eyes.

The noise of his fist against Jessica's cheek, the scraped knees, the bruise still prominent even in the darkest alleys. Tonight's events were a constant replay in my mind, and I still haven't stomped down the lingering anger that was still pulsing through me at the nameless person who had hurt Jessica. With the way he spat insults about her like he knew every wrong she's ever done in her life, I would think that they somewhat knew each other.

There's no way Jessica could have gotten lost. Not when my apartment sat in a remotely safe part of Manhattan with shops and local stores just around the corner. So how the hell did Jessica end up miles away, in a part where kidnappers and muggers hunt for their next victim like prey at night. By the time Rebecca came home and shouted for me in the living room, the answer still came in a blank.

Rebecca's stormy blue eyes held a true storm in them as she surveyed the mess that was yet to be cleaned. She stood in the middle of it all, hands on hips in a stance that said she was not up for any more shit tonight. Mark held a sleeping Chris against his chest, his slumber still undisturbed despite the loud shouts coming from his ticked-off mom. There were dark circles beneath Mark's eyes.