Hey guys!
I'm happy to get a new chapter up for you this soon. Up there you can see a picture of Kyle!
I think you guys will enjoy this chapter, it was a fun one to write!
I love you guys lots and want to thank you all for reading, commenting, and voting! I wouldn't be anywhere without you all <3
Enjoy!
***
Jennifer's POV -
The first thing that I feel when my eyes finally open is pain.
It seems to be everywhere - in my head, my legs and arms, even in my chest.
I let out a groggy moan, my stomach twirling in unison with the room in front of me. For a moment, I feel as though I might throw up.
Then, everything begins to come back to me.
Waking up in the small room surrounded by Death Eaters, the horrible offer that they'd made me, fighting my way out and using every ounce of energy I'd had until I could no longer hold myself upwards. And finally, getting away. I remember the darkness that had fallen over the room just as Antonin had charged towards me, the way my heart had contorted in fear, and finally, the person who'd come to rescue me; the face that appeared in front of me had belonged to...
"Kyle?!"
Suddenly, his sharp and angular head is hovering directly above me, his olive hued eyes peering down into mine.
I shoot upwards, and our heads knock together painfully.
"Shit!" Kyle calls from a few feet away, stumbling backwards.
The impact had only caused more agony to pulse through my head. I wince, and rub at my temple softly, the room spinning in front of me in a trance-like motion.
It's only then that I recognize my surroundings as Kyle's dorm. I vaguely remember the blandness and soft white color from the night of the truth or dare game, when Blu had dared Kyle to bring me up into his room for 10 minutes. The memory causes an unsettling shiver to sweep through my body.
"Sorry." I say unconsciously, pushing myself against his headboard into a painful sitting position; each part of my body seems to be raw and aching.
"It's fine." He responds quietly from across the room.
My eyes sweep around his dorm. The only thing that seems to have changed about the neutral room is a small brown briefcase, now setting on top of his dresser and propped open against the wall. I lean forward, trying to get a peek at what's inside, but Kyle sits on the top of duvet in front of me, blocking my view.
With an exasperated sigh, I sink back onto the uncomfortable headboard.
"So, tell me what part of 'don't ever come near me again' did you not understand?" I say, suddenly recalling our last conversation. He'd tried to kiss me - something that I still haven't fully recovered from yet. But compared to recent events, it isn't quite my most pressing issue anymore.
"You would've rather me not have saved your life?" He says casually, rising off of the bed and pacing towards the open briefcase.
I peer closely after him, attempting to catch a look at what he's getting from it. "I could've saved myself, if I had the chance."
"You couldn't even hold yourself upright, Jennifer. I doubt that you could've defended yourself against an armed Death Eater." Kyle remarks from over his shoulder.
At this, I mutter something foul under my breath, but not loud enough for him to hear.
He pulls a small vial from the case, and paces over to me again, sliding onto the duvet. The small glass jar contains a pale yellowish liquid.
Kyle pulls the cork out of the vial, and pushes it in my direction. "Drink it."
"What is it?"
He sighs irritably. "Doesn't matter, just drink it."
"I'm not drinking it until you tell me what it is." I say, folding my arms and pressing my lips into a tight and stubborn line.
"Fine." Kyle gives in, and motions to the odd liquid with his free hand. "It's a healing antidote. It'll help you feel better - you know, take away some of the pain, stuff like that."
Without hesitation, I snatch the vial from his hand, and pour the contents down my throat in one swallow. It leaves a sour taste on my tongue, and I feel my nose scrunch up painfully.
Kyle chuckles softly. "You're not supposed to drink it all that fast."
I choose to ignore this comment, tilting my head back against the wooden headboard. My muscles have already begun to loosen, and a great sigh escapes my lips at the sudden feeling of relief. "Draco would be so pissed if he knew I was in here."
"But he doesn't know, does he?" Kyle smirks. He rises from the bedside once again, busying himself across the room.
His words cause my gut to twist uneasily. I don't like keeping things from Draco - especially something like this.
"Oh, shit...Draco!" I exclaim. It's as if I've finally remembered his existence. By now, he must be worried out of his mind, and it causes guilt to blossom in my chest. "How many days have I been gone?" I think aloud, my voice strained.
"Three." His answer is simple, but causes every muscle in my body to freeze.
It can't have been that long - to me, it had only felt like a day. But if I'd been gone for at least several, then who knows what the Death Eaters could've done to me in the couple days that I was out cold.
"Take me back to Draco." My words are panicky and stressed. However, he seems to ignore me, at first. "Now." I demand, slightly harsher this time.
Just then, Kyle whips around, finally facing me. Even from across the room, I can practically see the fumes emitting from his nostrils.
Unconsciously, I cower back into the headboard.
"He's not the one who fucking rescued you. He didn't save you from Antonin. Why the hell should I let you go back to someone who can't even protect you?"
I would've normally felt anger towards his impulsive response, but something else has caught my attention this time.
The words leave my mouth before I can stop them. "How did you know his name was Antonin?"
I have to clutch at the soft duvet in order to keep my hand from flying to my lips. I shouldn't have asked him that.
Kyle freezes. It's only for the smallest of moments, but I can see each muscle in his body tense.
"What?"
"The Death Eater." I repeat, my voice much stronger this time. I'm not sure why I even bother to. "How did you know his name?"
Kyle glances at me, and in the short second, I swear that I see fear flash in his eyes. However, it's gone before I can be sure.
"I heard him say it." His voice isn't like it was before; now it's cold, and bland. His face is hard, and I begin to feel like he's not telling me something.
"I don't believe you." I say stubbornly.
Kyle glances to his left, and then to his right, almost as if he's making sure that no one is listening in on our private conversation. Frantically, he begins to pace toward me.
"Listen, you can't tell anyone you saw me there." His voice is panicky, and his face is only inches away from mine. Drops of saliva land on my face as he speaks. "In fact, as far as you're concerned, you didn't even fucking see me there. Got it?"
My breath is frozen in my throat, and fear has begun to seep into my heart.
What the hell is he talking about?
Just then, I notice that my fingers are clutching the bedsheets so hard that they've begun to quiver, and I've flattened my entire frame against the headboard. I try to release the tension, allowing a quiet breath to seep past my lips.
There's a certain desperation in Kyle's eyes, like I've never seen before.
Whatever he's so worried about, it's clearly something that he'd never meant for me to find out. Obviously, Kyle and Derek hadn't been in that building the night that Antonin had chased me by coincidence - they'd been there for a reason that didn't have anything to do with rescuing me, and it was certainly a reason that they didn't want anyone to find out about.
"Sure, Kyle." I say, my voice sounding much more confident than I truly feel. "I didn't see you there. If you take me to Draco, that is."
He pulls his bottom lip between his teeth, clenching down so hard that blood begins to seep out from beneath the bite.
"Fine." He gives in, his eyes swimming with a mixture of relief and distress. "I'll take you to him. But keep your mouth fucking shut, or else."
***
Neither Kyle or I say a word as he escorts me down to the hall in which Draco's dorm is located. He leaves me there soon after, just as silently.
All thoughts of what Kyle and Derek possibly could've been doing hanging around that building have temporarily vanished from my mind. Right now, I'm a lot more worried about facing Draco.
I have no idea what to tell him, and no idea where to start. Will he be angry at me? Will he be sad or upset?
I close my eyes, taking a deep and shaky breath as I pace towards Draco's door slowly. I have no idea if he's even inside; maybe he's out somewhere else, looking for me.
As I get close, I press the side of my face to the peephole, craning my ear in order to see if I can hear any noise from within the room. Surprisingly enough, there's no sound from beyond the door - everything seems to be completely silent.
Maybe he's not inside, after all.
Trying to swallow down the lump that's lodged itself in my throat, I knock my fist against the door anyways.
Five seconds pass, and then ten, but nothing happens. Disappointment begins to settle in my chest, and I feel like I want to cry.
Just as I begin to turn away, preparing to make the long and dreaded journey back to my own dormitory, the door swings open.
I can hardly dare to believe it.
Standing behind the open door, with a thinned face and bloodshot eyes, is Draco.
To me, it looks that he hasn't eaten in days. I notice that his hand that lies on the silver doorknob is trembling slightly. At first, his face is bothered and angry, but when he sees that I'm the one that knocked on his door, his expression softens.
I can't quite tell what it is - shock, fear, disbelief, sorrow. Maybe a mixture of all of them.
"Draco-" I begin, but before I can finish my sentence, his arms have circled around my small frame and pulled me into his chest, squeezing me so tightly that I can barely breathe.
However, the lack of air is refreshing, as long as I'm with him.
And for the first time in months, I begin to cry.
My tears are silent - the kind that only produce a sniffling noise, and that make your lips curl downwards and your eyes widen. I don't really know why they come- maybe I'm just so relieved to be back with him and away from the Death Eaters that the sensation is overwhelming. Maybe it's because I know that all he's been able to do in the past few days is wake up and walk through hell, all by himself.
"Come here." Draco's voice is so small and shaky that I barely hear it at all. I've never heard him sound such a way before, and it honestly terrifies the hell out of me.
Once he's ushered me into his dorm and softly shut the door, he walks me over to his bed, not allowing our bodies to lose connection as we slide down upon the soft surface.
It's much more comfortable and familiar than Kyle's had felt - maybe it's just because I share so many memories with this room and the feeling of his soft sheets beneath me that they've become my home.
After a few more moments in which I squeeze several more fat tears past my eyes, I open my mouth, barely able to make any noise and unsure of where to start. "Draco, I-"
"I know what happened." He says quietly, his arms trembling around me. There's a sort of trauma laced through his voice that makes me want to hold him and cry to him forever, telling him that I never meant for this to happen and that it's not his fault.
"Hell, how could I not know," Draco laughs to himself hoarsely, although I doubt that he finds any of this funny. "My own fucking father was in on it. And he told me, rubbed it in my fucking face and taunted me for three damn days..." His arms begin to tense and tighten around me, and then he rips them away, rising up from the duvet. Draco starts to pace back and forth across the floor, more rapidly and angrily with each step he takes. "I failed you, Jennifer...I couldn't protect you like I promised myself I would. God, I don't know what the fuck I was thinking..."
"It's not your fault." I say, my voice trembling.
Draco clearly doesn't believe me. He stares down at the floor for a moment, his eyes welling up with tears. Then, he looks back up at me.
"I'm the one who's supposed to keep you safe, though."
The desperation, the guilt, the pain in his voice — it only serves to shatter my heart into a million pieces.
I pace over to him, not able to stand another second of watching him like this. My arms fly around his neck, and I bury my face into his shoulder.
"Don't you dare blame yourself for this." I'm trying to hold back tears of my own, but it's nearly impossible. "You're doing the best you can. We both are."
I feel Draco nod, but he doesn't say another word - it looks as though he's ran out of them for the night.
"Let's just lay down, okay?" I suggest. "We don't need to think about this right now, or talk about it. Let's just try to relax."
He nods again, still speechless. I'm glad he's agreeing with me - talking about what happened any longer will only hurt the both of us.
His arm scoops beneath my knees, and he carries me over to his bed, as if he's trying to compensate for the horrible things that happened to me - the things that he believes are his fault.
He sets me down upon his bed gently, pulling the duvet right up to my chin. After peeling his shirt off, he climbs in with me.
Immediately, I feel the warmth that radiates off of his body on the flesh of my back. He lets out a great sigh, and rests his hands on my waist, pulling me into his bare chest.
The moment is beautiful - I can feel his warm breath cascading down my neck, and his heart beating ever so softly against my back.
He laces his fingers into my hair, and plants a soft kiss at the base of my neck.
"I never wanted you to have to deal with any of this. I thought I'd be able to protect you, and I failed, Jennifer." I notice that his grip has tightened on me, and his voice has begun to tremble. "I try my best for you, I promise...and I'm sorry that I let my temper get out of control. I just...I never wanted you to get...hurt."
I feel a drop of something wet slide down the back of my shirt, and lace my fingers between his. Draco takes a deep breath, and I feel his eyelashes tickle my skin as he closes his eyes.
"I just..." His voice is all but a whisper, now. "I didn't want my life to become yours, too."
"It's not your fault, Draco." It's all that I can manage to say back to him, my voice even smaller than his. And it isn't his fault, not even close.
I feel that if I speak any louder, I'll begin to cry, too.
As we drift into silence, the bathroom light still casting a soft glow on our entangled bodies, he only holds me closer.
And for the first time in many days, I feel safe.
Sleep doesn't come easily that night, but it does come. It must take at least an hour for my eyes to shut, and by the time that another has passed, I've finally lost my battle with exhaustion.
I only hear him whisper one more thing against my ear as I fall into slumber.
"I'm sorry, Jennifer."
***
Well guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Do you have any predictions? What do you think Derek and Kyle were truly in the building the same night as Jennifer for? What do you think will happen next?
Thank you so much for being here with me and sharing this story! I'll see you soon