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T h e H o l l o w s I n
O U R F R E E D O M
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I shivered, pulling my coat in closer to my chest. Well, it wasn't technically my coat. But I had it on, so I pretty much took ownership of it.
I stared out in the distance, my eyes finding Jameson and Sky as they sat on a brick wall, somehow finding ways to tangle their limbs together. Sky's hair danced around their faces, shielding their conversation. I watched them happily, and probably creepily, as we waited.
It was weird, I probably shipped them more than they shipped themselves.
And then a car came speeding out from under the bridge. I lept out from where I stood by a tree; I had to stay on my feet. Elle had wandered around, but mostly stayed where she sat on a frosty log. Jace kind of hovered. I didn't know what he was doing, or looking at, half of the time, but I felt a little more content with him a few metres away.
Elle and Jace followed me as I ran to the car, only to nearly be knocked out by the car door. I dodged it with pure finesse, and the driver grinned when he saw me.
"You alright, Abbot?"
I beamed at him, about to respond when I heard a thud from the other side of car. I tensed, until I saw a figure appear.
"Saph?" I heard Sky ask from behind me, before she lept out and pulled her in for a tight hug.
"You're alright." I heard Sapphire murmur to Sky as she pulled her in closer.
"You brought your girlfriend?" I asked Jonah, who had to drag his eyes away from his partner in crime. I raised an eyebrow at him, a feature of mine that Sky had always envied. I don't know why—eyebrow raising isn't some kind of elitist skill.
Sapphire pulled away from Sky, and when I saw her, I just knew why Jonah had picked her. She was beautiful. He also evidently had a type, which was especially obvious when I looked down to see her wearing high-heeled boots.
But I didn't care.
They're my friends.
He is my friend.
I walked over to Jace and gestured for him to board our mode of transport. It looked as though we'd be taking the boot, especially as Elle had already made herself comfortable in the middle row for three. I hope Jameson and Sky don't mind an excursion with Mother Beaufort.
Jace shook his head and lifted the boot door open for me. I smiled my head but quickly turned, climbing up into the boot and so hiding any flushing that most likely occurred.
Jace joined me shortly as I watched Sapphire and Jonah share a quick kiss before Jonah slipped into the driver's seat. We were then joined by Sky, who clambered in first and sat down beside her mother. They still weren't talking—she still didn't know who she was.
Jameson followed Sky in, and the two shared a very smitten look. I hoped they wouldn't bring us any trouble later; we'd have to get a hotel room at some point, and I didn't want model babies ruining our plan. Or my reputation for amazing looks.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jace lean towards me. I jerked my head to my left, catching him by surprise slightly. He tapped my seatbelt before sitting back in his seat.
I nodded and then leaned forward. "Seatbelts on, children." I instructed, leaning over Sky's chair. She looked up and rolled her eyes, but I saw a hint of a smile as she buckled herself in.
Jameson didn't really react to my demand, but he buckled himself in nonetheless. Seeing that everyone was safe in their seats, I leaned back in my chair to fasten my own seatbelt.
Jace turned to face me. It was then that I realised that we sat inches apart.
"Why didn't you do yours first?" Jace asked, keeping his voice low, which was hidden underneath the rev of the engine.
I thought about this for a second, frowning. I shook my head. "I don't know." I said, watching him peer at me. I shrugged, giving up on trying to explain what had happened.
The next part of our plan was simple. Jonah, or rather, Sapphire and Jonah, collect us using their completely unrecognisable car—note the sarcasm; it's a big car—and drop us off at some sort of motel, or hotel. Or dark tunnel where we can live out the rest of our homeless days.
Hopefully it doesn't come to that.
The journey was long, and usually the time went pretty slow for me, except, I think I fell asleep.
I awoke abruptly. I sat upright straight away, ignoring the fact that I was being strangled by some bar. But it wasn't a bar. It was my seatbelt.
Dazed, I rubbed at my eyes until I realised that I was still in the car.
"Who let me fall asleep?" I asked, coming to terms with what had happened. I fell asleep on a mission, with two Special Ones and one slightly less skilful person in the car—unprotected; more like unprofessional.
"I think we all did at some point." Jameson responded quietly, and I shifted to see that Sky was asleep. Surprisingly, Elle had also dozed off.
Jameson must've seen me looking. "When I woke up, I told her to sleep; you were asleep for the longest." I scrunched up my nose but didn't comment.
Jameson was angled sideways, his body facing Sky, whose head lain on his shoulder. Elle also slept with her body collapsing to the right. But there was nothing for her to collapse against. Sky was pretty much in Jameson's seat. I just found it interesting how the two both leaned towards a body—Elle could've easily leaned to her left and rested her head against the window.
"Do you know how far we are?" I asked no one in particular. Jameson sat up and leaned around Jonah's chair, who told him the answer. I saw Sapphire flinch in her sleep, and Jonah quickly glance at her in response.
I withdrew my eyes, focusing on Jameson as he turned to me. "About half an hour." He told me.
"Thank god; my bladder is about to become separate from my body." Jameson frowned, but I saw a hint of amusement in his eyes before he shook his head and slipped down his seat, turning around and cradling Sky once more. I really ship them, goddamnit.
I leaned back, turning to my left to see Jace–awake.
Shocked, I jolted slightly. "I thought you were asleep." I said as his face contorted with confusion after my surprise.
He smiled. "No, thought I'd stay awake and keep the fort up." I frowned.
I heard a grunt come from Jameson, but I chose to ignore it.
Looking at the bags under Jace's eyes, I said, "maybe you should've slept."
He turned away from me. "I feel fine." I furrowed my eyebrows but took my attention off him nonetheless.
I spent the last thirty minutes of the journey actually doing some mental planning, which is really what I should've been doing the entire time.
As the rest of the car started to wake up, Jameson and I began to share ideas and plans. By the time Elle joined in, we started to map everything out by the minute. Yes, we were thorough; we had to be. One mistake could be one life, and we didn't have any lives we wanted to spare.
Jonah pulled up at the hotel I supposed we would be staying at. I refrained from scrunching my nose up. It wasn't quite a five star hotel, but, nonetheless, it was a place to stay. And it wouldn't still be open if it was that horrible. Well, I hope.
We all slipped out of the car, Jace a little more shakier than I determined. I stabled him before frowning at him. He thanked me, and then started for the hotel entrance.
"Looks...nice." I heard a delicate voice say behind me. I hummed, watching Jace disappear into the hotel with both curiosity and concern.
"So you think it looks nice?" The same voice asked. I did a double-take, seeing Sky giving me a humoured expression.
I smiled. "Oh yeah," I said, looking at the hotel, "doesn't get more grander than this!" I expressed, gesturing to the hotel with a sweep of my arms.
Elle ignored us and followed Jace inside, whereas Jameson rolled his eyes at me. Sky snickered; at least she enjoyed the joke.
I told Jameson and Sky to meet me inside before I walked round to the drivers side of the car.
I opened the door for Jonah, "are you guys leaving or staying for now?" I asked them.
Jonah sighed. I furrowed my eyebrows. Seeing my expression, he pulled out a piece of folded paper, and I watched him unfold it. I looked over at Sapphire, who pulled an uneasy face.
He finally showed me what the piece of paper displayed. I bit the inside of my cheek so hard I think it bled.
But I wasn't paying attention anymore.
We have a problem.
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Knock knock
Who's there
Your next door neighbour, sorry I left my keys at home
Anywho
I'm on holiday so this update is late yay 👍🏼
Question time
Thoughts on the mission so far?
Do you ship Saph and Jonah? #Jonaph (lmao I'm the worst at this, y'all can make a name)
Thoughts on what this problem could be?
Anddddd
BIG NEWS
flashback to first and second book
Updating schedule was:
Monday
Wednesday
Friday
Now it's:
Wednesday
Friday
Why?
School work.
Hang on.
I just broke up for summer.
What does this mean?
NEW UPDATING SCHEDULE:
Monday
Wednesday
Friday
Terms and Conditions:
-I'm on holiday currently so I may not actually manage the extra days but I'll definitely try!! (After my holiday I'll be all good to go)
-I can't always promise the third day—I have mocks after summer so I may miss the day to revise
-my new amazing schedule will stop at the end of summer (7th of September) so make the most of it!!
The end
Thanks for support
-love, tables and chairs
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Next update: Friday
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CHAPTER FOURTEEN SPOILER:
There is no such thing as a happy ever after; freedom comes with a cost.
Our protagonist also begins to wonder if there is a cost for someone's heart, since she can't seem to crawl out of the pit of unrequited love.