Junes lip was raw from where she had been gnawing on it, her stomach in knots as she sat outside of her house. She had been sitting in her car for what felt like hours, her eyes dry from how little she had blinked. She was waiting for any kind of movement, any sign of life inside that would show her that someone else was there. She was terrified of going inside, especially when she knew she was alone. Especially when she knew someone was lurking about.
She guided herself in some deep breaths, her heartbeat thumping rapidly in her chest as she tried to calm down. When she had left Rafe she had come to terms with the full weight of what had happened. Someone had climbed through her window while she was sleeping, dropped off an essential piece of what was causing her problems, and then left. She had wracked her brain for every possible person it could be. A peace offering. It had to be someone she wasn't on good terms with. The list wasn't that short, but it wasn't too terribly long. Hardy, Singh, Kiara, Rafe, her parents, Ward....the list went on. Thinking through this list made her realize just how much she needed to work on her interactions with people...a 17 year old should not have this many enemies.
She shook her head, taking one final breath and reaching a shaky hand towards the door handle. She slowly got out of the car, closing the door behind her while looking in all directions. That feeling struck her in the spine and crawled up into her brain, her eyes unblinking as she sweat in her clothes. It felt like someone was watching her. Or at least that's what her head was telling her. She had never felt paranoia so intensely, the girl convinced that someone could come up to her at any point in time and reveal the secret agenda that she was unsure about.
Once she was inside she locked the door behind her, letting out a huff as she looked around. Her initial search was for intruders, but then she seemed to wonder where everybody was again. The emptiness of the home was starting to alarm her, but the thought of being completely and utterly alone and facing this terrifying reality made things so much worse. How of course in her hour of need, nobody would be there. She wondered if it was fair for her to be upset about her parents going on a wellness retreat, wondering how they could care so little about her return. But then she attempted to put herself in their shoes, a daughter who ran away and came back and ran away and came back and a cycle they couldn't break. A child they couldnt control. Except deep down she wished for that control, for someone with authority to swoop in and tell her exactly what to do so their advice could keep her out of these messes.
"Adam?" She asked, pushing his bedroom door open. She was met with nothing, the still air of the home only being disrupted by her presence. She felt an emptiness in her chest and she tried to ignore it, the inevitability of being alone taking control over her. Even when someone like her brother had tried so hard to get her back, even when he knew the truth, he fell victim to comfortability. He assumed that the chase was over, that she was home and this time...this time it would be final. He told himself that he would make sure nothing happened, so concerned about her safety with his words, but no actions to back it up. She hadn't seen a family member in her home for days now, anything could have happened. It was sickening how shallow their concern actually was, because if any of them had actually managed to just look at her, they could see that she was not okay. Something more was happening, even in the safety of her own home. She headed back down the stairs to the kitchen, her stomach growling as she walked towards the refrigerator.
After making herself eat something she pulled her phone out, scrolling through her contacts in an attempt to find someone who she could trust to come over and talk to. She cycled through calling people for a good few minutes, no one answering. Pope, Cleo, John B, Zach, Sarah, Tyler...JJ. Nothing. Rafe was not even an option, not at all. She groaned, burying her face in her hands as she leaned against the counter. Her mind raced, dwelling on the fact that she had nobody to turn to. She was terrified for her life, and she had no one. All of these friends she had made, this family, and none of them could be there for her. She couldn't entirely blame them, she hadn't told any of them anything apart from Tyler. She had seen John B once since they got back, and the others on the rare occasion. She hadn't been there when they lost the cross, she hadn't succeeded in helping them get it back, she was no help at all, the only thing she had succeeded at was causing more issues.
