Chasing Tails (Original)

28. Julie Escapes

Julie paced the room back and forth. It was only mid morning on Monday and she was on the brink of insanity - for good. Yesterday she, like many others, spent most of the day inside lying in a bed and sleeping. She didn't go to sleep until late Saturday night because she helped Mrs. Edwards clean up after the party along with some of the other mothers and omegas. Others didn't go to sleep until much later than her because of the partying. But even then, she didn't sleep well. Her nightmares were haunting her.

When she did wake up, she had virtually no pain. She did feel a little sick, her stomach was still getting used to eating normally still but other than that, she felt fine. She took a shower and found that her bruises were hardly noticeable. They were practically gone. Her skin had its natural glow, still a little pale but healthier and the bags under her eyes have slowly vanished. She felt more awake, more alive. Energy was flowing through her blood and she knew that if she stayed in the room for a whole day again, she would end up talking to herself and answering.

The news of war about to rage between the two packs terrified her, despite the fact that her pack ignored it throughout the weekend. Even Dresden wouldn't talk about it yesterday. He had refused to let her mention it. She had the strongest feeling that if she were able to go to school today, she could help resolve some of the issues. She might be able to speak some sense into her brothers and set Ollie's mind straight, though she was worried that he wouldn't listen to her. After all, Trisha was still missing. She didn't even want to think about how Zach was doing.

She knew no one would bug her until lunch when they'd bring her some food and that gave her two hours to make her escape - much longer than she needed. She knew Dresden wouldn't be waiting for her downstairs and her guards were still much too tired from the excessive partying to notice her making an escape route. It was the perfect time to execute it.

She dressed into jeans and a white shirt with a black sweater, looking down the side of the building from the window. She was three stories high but that wasn't much to frighten her. Heights were never something she feared. She could easily spot a smooth path down, without risking any serious injury. The only trick she needed to perfected was to get down without being seen or heard and with Were all around her, it would be difficult to pull off. She grabbed her bag, filling it with all of the necessary items - a bathing suit and showering supplies, an extra jacket in case it got cooler and her flats. She threw it over her back and adjusted it so that it would stay still with every movement.

She opened the window slowly, careful to not let it make too much noise. Even if they had heard her, she doubted they would think about her using it as a means of escaping. A Were might be able to jump out and land smoothly but she was weaker and couldn't phase. For her, it was a matter of insanity just like staying inside the room for another day. She waited to see if they would come check on her, testing their supernatural ears and their own suspicious minds. When no one came, she looked around for something easy to move.

The desk didn't have much on it and it wasn't too far from the door. With a little push and shove, she should be able to move it to block the door - in case of an intruder coming before she manages to complete her plan. She lifted it up and took a few steps to the side, repeating the same pattern on the other end of the desk. She continued this despite how much easier it would have to just push and pull the damn thing. But that would leave scrapes and make way too much noise. So she worked twice as hard, picking it up and moving it a few inches at a time. When she had it right in front of the door, she silently cheered. No one had heard a thing or if they did, they didn't suspect her doing anything dangerous.

She walked to the window and looked down once more, photographing the path she chose into her memory. She stretched her arms and legs, feeling her muscles strength - almost at normal, humane, power. She could do this.

She sat on the window sill and threw one leg out, finding a place to wedge her foot into before lowering herself out. The wood was cold against her skin and the wind was blowing a slight breeze, making her shiver. Her feet were already cold but she refused to stop. She lowered herself, completely out of the window and then reached up to close it as much as she could, not wanting for there to be bugs all over the place when she got back. Then she began her descent.

Looking down onto the ground below her, she panicked. From the window, it didn't seem that far but from where she was now, she felt her confidence falter. It hadn't looked as easy as she thought. There wasn't as much space to get a good footing and she wasn't sure how she would do. She gripped the house tightly, looking for a safe place to wedge her foot into and give her a place to lower onto. Her fingers began to sweat and she could feel her knuckles start to turn white with every grip as she continued downward. When her foot finally reached the sill of one of the second floor windows, she relaxed. She only hoped that no one was in the room to see her leg.

When she was low enough, she peered into the room. The curtains were drawn shut and there had been no one who noticed her yet. She let out a sigh of relief and glanced around the backyard. So far no one had noticed her yet. Only one more floor to go and she'll be on her way to school in no time.

She climbed further down, avoiding the windows on the first floor. There was a high chance that they were all opened and her pack's children might spot her from inside. She didn't need Mrs. Edwards or any of the pack mothers to scold her. She slowly mad her way down, as quietly as possible. Someone was always in the pack house and she didn't want to make the walls creak with her weight, catching their attention. When she felt she was low enough, she jumped. A branch snapped underneath her, making her wince and curse at the same time. She heard the back door open and ducked behind one of the bushes, holding her breathe. She listened as hard as she could, waiting in silence to see if anyone had noticed her. Her eyes peeked through the leaves, looking for any signs of movement coming to her. The back door opened again and she heard someone go through, talking loudly to another inside. She released her breath and slumped over, thankful that she made it out.

She glanced down at her foot. It was turning red at the bottom but it wasn't bruising or cut. It might be sore for a little bit but that would surely go away. She pulled out her flats from her bag quietly and slipped them on, brushing off the excess dirt. She peeked through the bushes once more, glancing over the back porch. She saw no one and that gave her room to make way for the woods.

She crouched low, keeping close the building as she made her way to the side. A few cars were still sitting at the front of the house but no one was near them and on this side of the building, there were but few windows. That gave her more access to escape. She couldn't help but smirk, feeling excitment. She duck and ran to the shade of the trees, away from the house. When she was under cover, she straightened and sighed.

She was free. Now it was just making it to school on time to see her brothers.

Author's Note:

I don't know about others but I'm finding it extremely hard to write while listening to anything other than classical music. I don't know why but I just can't concentrate if I'm listening to rock or dubstep. Haha. And thanks to Itunes radio, I've listened to nearly every classical selection it offers on repeat. Can't tell you the names of half of them, but I can hum to them all (mostly). 

Anyway, thank you to everyone who's voted for this story so far. And for those who've added this story to their libraries/reading lists. I truly appreciate knowing that you enjoy my story! :) If you'd like, you can follow me too. I'll update you on new chapters, hindrances to updating and new plans for future stories. And if you have any questions you'd like to ask, I'll be willing to answer them ASAP. But other than that, I really just want to say thank you for liking this. :) It's given me a confidence boost to know exactly how many people are willing to ready my stuff and how many people like it and it makes me want to work harder and perfect my writing skills. :) 

Enjoy the rest of the story! Shouldn't be long until I've posted the entire thing up. :)