Chapter Twenty Five: Reconstruction Intro Pt. 1
Austin's P.O.V
********
Recap
My eyelids slowly fluttered as they tried to adjust to the sudden light. I let out a quiet groan as I tried to sit up, only now realizing there was a force preventing me from sitting up.
"Wh-what....?" I grumbled, shocked to feel an immense pain rip through my torso.
The door opened and someone tiptoed in, setting a sloshing bowl of something next to me.
"Hey, glad to see your finally awake." Spencer greeted, dipping a wash cloth into the bowl of water and wiping at my forehead.
"Wh-where's....J-Jace?" I croaked, trying to get up one more.
"Don't move, you lost a lot of blood. Apparently, you'd been cut before we got to the pack house and I hadn't noticed. The shock from almost having your throat ripped out caused you to pass out." He said, ignoring my question.
"S-Spencer, where's J-Jace?" I pushed.
"You've been asleep for a couple days, Jared was worried." He continued.
His eyes pleaded with me to just let it go, but something told me I shouldn't.
"Spencer!" I yelled, causing him to lock his jaw and take in a sharp breath.
"Austin....please." He pleaded, avoiding my gaze.
"Where is he?" I asked, using the headboard and the wall next to me to sit up as best as I could.
"He...." He began, "please try to stay calm, everything will be fine. We've come so close."
"Just tell me where he is....please." I whined, worry spiking in my heart.
"He's been kidnapped."
*********
It's been about two weeks since I found out Jace had been kidnapped.
Two weeks of hell.
Two weeks of reconstruction.
The first few days, I'd done nothing but cry and wrap myself up in his bed. I washed myself in his scent, his clothes, his pillow, his everything.
It was all mine.
I didn't eat, sleep, or shower; I was consumed with emptiness. If anyone tried to enter our room I would snap and attack them; no one was safe.
Flashback
"Aussy..." Jared whispered, slowly pushing the door open with his small, shaking hands, "everyone's worried about you."
I continued to stare down at my hands, tightly grasping onto one of Jace's sweaters. His words went in one ear and out the other, yet he continued to talk.
"Spencer says that they're starting to prepare for war..everyone's been going crazy with training and everything," his small steps echoed in the silent room.
The door remained cracked as he quietly made his way over to the bed. He got halfway and I let out a low warning growl. I felt him hesitate before he started to take another step.
I growled again, this time louder, deeper.
"Aussy, please. I just want to he-" he started.
"Get out." I muttered, my body stiffening.
"Wh-what?" He asked, remainibg where he was.
"Get. Out."
His breath hitched and he began to speak.
"I do-don't-"
"Hey guys, it's almost time for training. Claws out in ten." Someone yelled down the hallway, collective groans following soon after.
I heard movement behind the door and began to relax.
'It's just me and you again, babe. Me, you, and your beautiful scent.'
My thoughts were interrupted by the door being pushed open and someone stepping in.
Their scent began to fill the room, overpowering Jace's. My head began to spin and my heart skipped a beat. The room began to fade and I could feel myself shaking.
"Hey, guys, it's almost time to head out. Austin, you need to come too, the pack's waiting for your return. Everyone is doing the best they can."
His words didn't register as Jace began to slip away from me.
'Wait! Jace, please!' I yelled mentally.
Jace looked at me and began to fade into the shadows, his nostalgic scent disappearing with him.
"H-he won't leave," a distant voice called.
'That's not Jace. That's not Jace.'
My heart was pounding in my ears, 'I'm losing him all over again.'
Bang. Bang. Bang.
*Distant scream*
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Ba bum. Ba bum. Ba bum. Ba bum.
*Howls sounding*
"Austin, get up. You're leaving this room today. I don't care what you say."
The voice was getting farther, but I could feel someone coming closer.
The closer they got, the farther Jace went. I tried to reach for him, but my arms refused to move.
"Jace, please don't go," I yelled to him.
He gave me a sad smile and waved, closer to translucent than he was before.
Suddenly, I felt a hand roughly grasp my arm and I screamed.
"Get off me!"
Without realizing what I was doing, I pushed the person into the wall by the bed and grabbed them by the throat.
Jared screamed behind me, footsteps came pounding down the corridor, everything was louder, yet muffled by white noise.
The person beneath me stilled, their breath hitching as my hands tightened their hold.
The door was flung open and Jace's scent all but disappeared as two others filled the room.
"Austin. Let him go."
This time a girl spoke, her tone a warning, but I wasn't afraid.
My vision slowly returned and I stared into the eyes of Spencer. He looked pale and out of breath even though he remained as still as a statue.
"Get out." I whispered.
I reluctantly released my hold on Spencer, and took two steps back.
My head tilted up slightly and my nose went in search of that beautiful smell. It took longer than I liked, but I found it again. That sweet, delicious scent.
The scent of four others were clouding it, trying to snuff it out.
Disgusting.
I snarled and turned towards the others, " get out."
They stood there for a moment, staring at me.
"Austin, he will be fine. Locking yourself in this room isn't going to help him. You should be out there, comforting your pack members and telling them it'll be alright.
"We're no good without you. Get your shit together. Quick." That said, the female left the room, the two others scurrying off behind her.
"Jared, go downstairs. I'll meet you in the kitchen." Spencer whispered, his eyes resting on me.
"But..," He began, closing his mouth when Spencer shot him a look.
With a nod, he slowly tiptoed out and disappeared behind the cherry wood stained door.
"Austin." He started.
I shook my head and growled, "get out."
"You need to listen to me. If you stay in here, you're no better than your dad is. Standing by when you can take action, sitting around moping when you could be getting stronger. What do you think Jace would do if he saw you like this?"
"Shut up," I whispered, my anger faltering and my resolution crumbling.
"What would he say if he saw you standing here right now? If he knew you were weak like your mother, crying like a little bitch and doing nothing?"
"Shut up!" I yelled.
I lunged at him and swung, my fist met nothing but air as my face smashes into the wall that had stood behind Spencer.
"You're pathetic," he said, "you have no idea the amount of potential you hold within you.
"It's sad, really. So much power hidden in such a child."
"Shut up," I whispered, sinking to my knees, "you don't know anything."
"I know everything," his footsteps sounded near the door.
He was leaving and Jace was coming back. He had a small, sad smile on his face, but he was back and he was mine.
"I really thought you were better than this. Even before everything happened and I was still playing my role, I still thought you would be the one to shake things up. I see now that I was wrong."
The door creaked and he began to leave, I let out a small whine and his footsteps faltered.
I felt him pause by the door though he remained silent.
"Wait."
I sat there on my knees, staring at my imaginary Jace. His face was there, his hands, his lips, his hair, his everything. It was all there. Everything except his heartbeat.
His heartbeat.
The one thing I loved the most about him. His big, golden heart.
'He isn't real.'
This Jace nodded, a sad smile still in place.
'He isn't real.
'He isn't real.
'He isn't real.
'He isn't real.'
"This isn't real," I whispered.
Spencer shuffled and glanced back at me out of the corner of his eye.
"This isn't real."
Jace waved at me and disappeared, his scent long gone. Nothing remained but cold, stale air.
"I'm not weak," I whispered, slowly sitting up straighter and beginning to stand.
"Prove it."
************
Prove it I did.
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KittenLovesEmos out.