Different ~ m.e

Chapter 26

We pull up outside the diner and the burning feeling from earlier has crept back up on me.
"I can't" I whisper more to myself than to anybody as the words leave my mouth I feel someone grab my hand, I look up to my right and see Matt squeezing my hand. Then I feel another hand, I look up to see Taylor staring straight ahead but still with a tight grasp on my hand.
"We won't let anybody hurt you again Sky" Carter smiles sympathetically "magcon promise" he says holding his pinky in the air. I laugh and take a deep breath. The boys start to file out of the car, meaning I loose both Matt and Taylor's grip. I follow closely behind as we make our way into the diner, I feel stares burning holes in my back. What are they looking at? I stop mid step and think. After a few seconds I realise, it was probably my outfit. Or the fact that I'd just walked in with 6 boys.

Jack Johnson had me some track suit bottoms he had in his backpack and Jack Gilinsky had given me his sweatshirt to wear, seeing as I was previously wearing a onsie. Not really something you'd wear in public. It was sweet of them really.

Matt's hand is back in mine again now, making me feel safe. Feel loved. Something I'd never really felt before meeting these boys. Something I never thought I would feel. We make our way closer and closer to the counter.
"Please don't be here. Please don't be here." I whisper to myself over and over as Matt's grasp tightens. He looks at me as if to say everything's going to be alright. But I just can't help but think it's not.

We sit down at the counter as an all too familiar face appears. Anna. Shit. She looks along the row of us and smiles to herself.
"I see you've lost some people" she cackles.
"Yeah and we've come to get her back" Shawn says standing up, slamming his hands on the table. Anna lifts her hands from under the counter and places them on top of Shawn's. They're covered in blood. "Where is she?"
"It's Shawn right?" He seems taken aback that she knows his name "she screamed for you, you know" she smirks as Shawn's face drops "she screamed and screamed for you, but you weren't there, were you Shawn?" She glances along the row again "none of you were" she adds as we heads back into the kitchen. Shawn sits back defeated, silent tears rolling down his face. He opens his mouth but no words come out.
"Shawn" Matt starts but can't seem to find the right words to say.
"It's not your fault" I try
"She needed me and I wasn't there Sky! Is this what it's going to be like when we leave? When I'm in Canada and she's in California?" He says with more tears. "What if we don't get her back?"

"We're approaching this too casually" Jack J stands "we need answers and we need them now"
"She's not exactly willingly going to tell us where she is though is she?" Taylor says back
"No, she's hurt us. So we'll hurt her" Jack G says so Jack J doesn't have to. "Question is. Who's gonna get these answers?"
"I'll do it." I say beginning to stand.
"No sky, I told you I would let you get hurt again"
"Matt, I'm not going to let her hurt me" I smirk "I'm gonna hurt her" I say picking up the nearest object to me that would do some damage. A fork. Not your ideal weapon I know, I would have rather a knife or a gun, preferably a gun. Woah I'm violent. But I kind of like it.

Matt still looks as though he won't let me go "call it payback. She can hurt me all she wants. But mess with my best friend. She better prepare herself" I say as I walk into the kitchen of the diner.

"Excuse me miss, this is an employees only section" a man in a chef's hat says gesturing with his spatula in his hand for me to leave.
"Yeah, let me think about that. No" I say even though I didn't really reply to his statement.
"Olaf, it's okay, give us some space yeah? We need to talk in private" Anna says appearing from the back store room. The man nods and leaves the room out of another door.

"She screamed for you as well. She screamed whilst you were onstage with your stupid little boys. You don't fool me you little slut. I know you're banging them all." I am quite taken aback. But I laugh anyway.
"You don't know the first thing about my life. The only thing you know is how to ruin it."
"She didn't scream when this happened though" she says holding up her blood covered hands, completely ignoring what I had said. I look more carefully at her hands. That's not Amy's blood. I'm sure of it.
"So what exactly did you do?"
"You don't want to know sunshine" she patronises. I'd forgotten how posh English people are. And how rude they are.
"Oh I do. Sunshine." I patronise in return. She stays silent for a second, obviously thinking of a rude remark.
"Let's just say, I did more damage to her than I've ever done to you" this makes my heart skip a beat. I think back to all the beating, scratching, hair pulling, leg breaking, stabbing and crying the girl in front of me has caused. I think of what to say next as she pulls out an iPhone from her uniform pocket. She hands me it, I take it gingerly. I look at the alit screen to see a horrifying picture. A girl. Battered, bruised and bleeding. Tied to what seems like a locker door. Kind of like the lockers at my school. It has to be her. Doesn't it? I hold on to the phone tightly and have nothing to say except:

"Amy."