The Inheritance Games Chapter Rewrites

Together is Better (Ch. 71 of THL)

Summary: A rewrite of Ch. 71 from The Hawthorne Legacy where Avery is feeling a little more emotional and out of place due to the events of her first official interview. A certain Hawthorne knows just how to get her feeling better. This is set at the beginning of the chapter while the third Ch.71 rewrite is set near the end.

Oren retrieved the key from his toolbox but he didn't give it to me. He gave it to Zara, then told me to get ready for school.

"Have you lost your mind?" I asked him, my jaw going slack with shock. "I'm not going to school."

"It's the safest place for you right now," Oren said.

"Hardly," I muttered.

My bodyguard only gave me a brief pointed look before whipping out the biggest gun in the arsenal, "Alisa will agree with me."

I couldn't help the scoff that escaped when I retorted, "Alisa's doing damage control from the interview. I'm sure the last thing she wants is me out in public. No one would question why I might want to stay home." Home. Yes, that's what Hawthorne House has become despite the short time I've been here.

"Country Day isn't public," Oren told me, and a few seconds later, as if clearly intent on putting me in the wrong, he had Alisa on speakerphone, and she was echoing what he stated earlier: I was to put on my private school uniform, put on my best face, and pretend that nothing had happened.

If we treated this like a crisis, it would be seen as a crisis. Easy for her to say when she wasn't the one put on the spot on national television with yet another large mystery about her past unraveling before her very eyes.

Since I'd promised to keep Alisa in the loop, I told her everything, and she still didn't change her mind. "Act normal," she told me and I gritted my teeth, growling in frustration once she dropped the call.

"Well, aren't you two just full of pleasant surprises and moral support?" I snapped at the phone and glared at Oren before I went to my room. He didn't follow, for once.

I hadn't been normal in weeks. But less than an hour later, I was dressed in a pleated skirt, a white dress shirt, and a burgundy blazer, with my hair tousled just so and my makeup minimal. Preppy with an edge, for all the world to see—or at least all the denizens of Heights Country Day School.

I felt like I had on my very first day. No one looked directly at me, but the way they were not-looking at me felt far more conspicuous. Jameson and Xander slipped out of the car after me, and each of them took one of my sides. At least this time, it was me and the Hawthornes against the world.

My eyes wandered over the front of the main building as I tried ignoring the stupid not-stares. Sure, I could take the typical high school nonsense, even at the rich kid private school level, but today I just didn't want to. I was tired of feeling like a puppet on strings and yet, I had a feeling that for the time being and some years to come, that would be my role to play.

I lingered for a minute and let out an irritated sigh, dropping my gaze to the ground. It was going to be a long day, after all, so I could afford a few more seconds to steady myself before the madness. The sunlight hit the cement tiles and to my surprise, I saw three shadows instead of just the one. They're still here. Gratitude flooded me like a river. If there was one thing I wanted at the moment, it was to not be alone and if I could commend anyone for having my trust outside of Libby and Max, it was the Hawthorne brothers. They proved to be loyal and trustworthy to each other and to me. I knew that now.

It gave me enough confidence to pull myself together and to continue towards the doors. The brothers clearly weren't leaving without me; that message was crystal to me and everyone around us. And so, we walked together, our footsteps relatively in sync until the very last moment before we reached the doors, another wave of uncertainty hit.

For what felt like the hundredth time in the last month, I felt out of control. My body seemed to go on autopilot because I stopped in my tracks and my feet refused to move as if I was terrified to go inside the school. But I knew I wasn't and it was just the constant nerve-wracking revelations and shifting narrative that's been leaving me so disoriented. It felt jarring; the rise in my hesitation was all it took to leave me faltering physically.

The boys looked back. "Avery, you ok?" Xander asked. I didn't respond but shook my head. Words seemed to be failing me too.

"Go on without me," I managed to croak out a little later. I had no idea what was going on with me. So much for acting as if nothing happened and it's not like that was the most dire thing that occurred up to this point. The younger Hawthorne nodded at me and opened the door to head in but not without leaving me with a worried lookover.

Jameson, on the other hand, didn't budge. He came right back down the steps and took one of my hands in his. His skin was reassuringly warm and soothing to the touch. I looked at him, confused.

"You got this, Heiress," he murmured, rubbing circles over my thumb. I squeezed his hand tighter and for once, I believed him.

"Thank you," I whispered.

Jameson's concerned look softened and he smiled at me. "You're welcome."

Then we headed together inside, Xander waiting on us in the lobby. Only after we got to my first class did I notice that he never let go of my hand. But then, neither did I his and maybe I didn't want to.