Caught

Chapter Twenty-Five

She put the clipboard down and fixed the IV attached to me. "Is she gone?" She asked.

I knew she was talking about my mother. Her voice hasn't been in my head for a while now, though the last sentence she spoke - or, sent me rang in my head.

Come back home, sweetheart. You don't belong there.

"She's gone... I just wish she'd be gone forever."

-- : --

A week after staying at the hospital, the doctors decided to let me walk again. The boys were already released from the prison, spending most of their time outside. Occasionally, they'd come visit but usually, they just weren't allowed.

It was my leg that was holding me back. It definitely got better since the accident but it still hurts when the slightest bit of pressure was put on it. A wave of pain filled my leg, forcing me to sit back down.

The doctors didn't want me staying at the hospital for too much longer, but obviously they couldn't let me if I wasn't feeling that great or if I couldn't walk. After three more breakdowns at the hospital, they suggested either a wheelchair of crutches.

"Why are you so hesitant on using them?" Spencer asked, pacing the room. "We're trying to get you out of the hospital, not keep you in."

I picked at the bandages on my leg. "Because," I mumbled, not sure if he could hear.

"Well, what?" He asked. "You want to stay here forever?"

"I - I-" I closed my eyes and swallowed. "I don't want to look..."

"Weak?" He suggested. "Powerless?" He's been in my head. Those were the words I tried not using. "Lauren, you need help. You just need help. Support. When did being powerful matter to you? Did mom actually get into your head?"

I bit my lip. "No, it's just-"

I couldn't find the right words. It was true: I really didn't want to look in front of my friends. I didn't want to be looked over, even though I knew they wouldn't do that.

"You know what Lauren, I just can't," Spencer said out of the blue. "With your injuries and your feelings and emotions and just everything..." He paused. "You're a handful, you know that?"

"Spencer, it's not my fa-"

"I'm trying to help but you just don't accept it, Lauren. That's one of the reasons why you end up in these situations, you don't ask for help."

"What do you-"

"If you told me you were injured in the crash, I'd drive you here myself. You didn't say anything."

I hated this. I hated that he was fighting with me. The same thing happened before, and I didn't even know what I did.

"Spencer..."

He cut me off. "Sometimes, I don't know why I even decide to help you. I love you, sure, but it just gets in my way with everything. I - I'll be off, you'll know where to find me."

Before I could say something, we was out the door, leaving me in the tiny prison cell. I never really knew that he could lash out like that, just out of no where.

I guess it runs through the family.

-- : --

"You good?" Aidan asked. He walked next to me, bundled in winter wear, making sure I don't end up falling on my face.

"I hate walking with these," I muttered. "Especially in winter."

He laughed. "You could've asked for the wheelchair, which probably would be better. Why did they even give you an option?"

"Wheeling myself everywhere would take too much effort," I complained.

"And this?" I mean, he had a point but being in a wheelchair would make me much shorter, which I didn't like. "I could've pushed you down a hill."

I turned to him. "You would not!"

He put an arm around me. "Chill, I'm just kidding. But I would've enjoyed wheeling you everywhere I wanted to go."

"What about where I wanted to go?"

He shrugged. "You are insignificant."

I missed moments like these, where it was just the two of us. No evil parents or overprotective-ish brothers or even just other friends. Just the two of us, talking.

"Don't you think that our lives have become significantly more boring than when we were younger?" Aidan asked as we walked up a hill. I struggled a bit, but Aidan was there to help.

"What do you mean? It's just as... eventful. Repetitive, I guess," I replied. "but plenty interesting."

"That's the thing," He said. "We've done all of this. Where's the plot twist? The action? I mean, we got plenty of that but other action."

I laughed. "What other plot-twisty action do you need?"

"I don't know, maybe discovering we got a mole in our group of friends, besides your strange telepathy link with your mom. Maybe Jessica and Alyssa fall on top of us at this very moment-" He looks up to make sure they weren't actually. "Maybe one of us can see the future and discovers that... something happens. Maybe an evil boy-slash-girlfriend who actually are from the Institute, trying to mind control us back."

I rolled my eyes. "Aidan, you are full of theories. What are the chances those will actually happen?"

"What are the chances that Robin actually is still alive and not dead?" He paused, thinking for a moment. "Wait, that's very high, actually."

I burst into laughs.

"I'm not lying though," Aidan said. "They always end up not being dead."

As the laughter died down, I asked where we were going. Aidan simply just picked me up, not mentioning where we're heading. 

"Oh, palace," He said. "You know there's gonna be a ball tonight?"

I looked at him confused. "Um, no. Why?"

"Well, it's Tyson and Taylor's birthday today, and apparently it's tradition to have a ball on a royal's birthday," He explained.

"But, no one..."

"There's still Taylor," He said. "King Jacin said that we could pass on it if we want, just spend some time in town. Taylor refused us from going anywhere."

As he spoke, I could swear I heard my mom's evil cackling in my head. The pieces of her plan was falling into place.

Now, time to stop it.

-- : --

first off, merry christmas to those who celebrate! hope y'all are having a good time with friends and family.

second, i'm sorry. i know this book is really dragging. i'm just trying to get everything i want down but with chapters so short, some just lack events. i know, this is basically like the first book, with different characters involved. i have a basic idea on what's gonna happen next, but like some of you might know, i don't have a specific plan for each chapter.

i swear, things will pick up soon. i'm trying to get everything sorted. somewhere in the future, when this gets edited, know that it'll be much better.

as for now, just please bare with me. it's really hard being an author, if you didn't know.

x prantika