A Lifetime to Learn

Chapter 10: You Took A Stick For Me So I Guess That's The Same

"Calum of course flipped shit. I guess I should have called him when I had you safe, but I was a little-" He bit his lip, clearly trying to choose the right words until he nodded, "Preoccupied." I blushed when I realized what he meant, and felt my heart start to pound in my chest again.

"And?" I tried to divert the subject away from this so I could breathe, and he clearly noticed as he smiled at me briefly before bringing his attention back to the road. 

"Well Tyler was brought back to the hospital at first, and they realized it wasn't a high enough security system. They brought him to solitary confinement at the local penitentiary where he won't be able to hurt you again." While his words should have brought me comfort, I knew that even if Tyler didn't hurt me physically, what he tried to do, and what he did do would hurt me for a long time. "And now I'm bringing you home." He smiled, his hand finding mine and squeezing it tightly.

I was surprised at his sudden need to touch me all the time, but I don't think I could find it in myself to complain. We were both silent, just looking forwards with his hand on mine until we pulled into the driveway. Before I could thank him for even dropping me off, Calum was out the door and running towards the car. He opened the door quickly and scooped me into his arms, spinning me around. I chuckled and looked back at Archer who sent me a smile. "Thank you so much." I mouthed and he nodded, pulling out of the driveway and bringing the car over to his house. 

Without even looking in my direction, he walked up to his house and closed the door behind him. I was a bit disappointed that he didn't even send me a glance, but I couldn't really complain as Calum dragged me towards the house. When I got in I was pulled into about fifty different arms and soon realized that the majority of my family was in this room.

Jameela hugged me the closest, while Ajax seemed to be at the back of the bunch. "What are you all doing here?" I chuckled as they finally let me go and I could inhale a full puff of air. 

"What the hell do you think we're doing here?" Landon gasped, revealing himself from behind Ajax. I chuckled at how small he was in comparison and sent him a smile which he returned. "When my equally favourite niece goes missing, what am I supposed to do? Sit around?" 

"Well, I guess not." I shrugged, my mind constantly on what I wanted to ask Archer. I felt Ajax pull me against his side, but still, I couldn't exactly focus on what was going on right now.

"Are you alright?" Calum asked, his eyes inspecting me carefully, "You look a little distant. What did that mother-" He was going to complete his sentence before Dad came up next to him, placing his hand on Calum's shoulder. 

"Don't complete that sentence." He chuckled, shoving Calum hard against the wall and greeting me with open arms. "I shouldn't have let him get near you."

"I should have known that it was weird of him to show up." I whispered against his neck, the familiar smell reminding me a lot of my childhood. "But would you kill me if I left for a second? I uh- forgot something at Addy's." I lied, hoping that I didn't blink too many times. Dad always said it was easy to tell when I was lying based on my excessive blinking.

"Sure, but if you're not back in an hour we're calling the authorities." He smiled, shoving me towards the door. I sent them all a crooked smile and a little wave before sprinting down my driveway and sprinting up the Eastwood's driveway. I knocked vigorously, sighing when there wasn't a response after three minutes. I was about to turn around and leave when I noticed Archer's car pull in. I guess I should have noticed that it wasn't in the driveway. He looked worried when he saw me, and quickly ran over, placing his hands on both of my shoulders and examining my eyes.

"Is something wrong?" He asked quickly, panting a little and looking for any sign of harm that had been done to my body.

"No I just wanted to finish what I was going to say earlier." I explained. He sighed almost instantaneously, running a hand through his hair.