In the end you go back to the people that were there in the beginning - anon.
Chapter 27: Leave
"Nice try buddy," Nate said, "Maybe next time."
He shut the door in Dev's face and Hugo howled with laughter. Dev got back into his car and drove out the front road and through the metal gates of Maythorne Manor.
Nate shook his head, "That kid was punching way over his head."
"What are you doing?"
Hugo and Nate turned around and found Jesper standing at the foot of the staircase. The mansion was quiet except for their behavior in the front hall.
"It's the doom patrol again," Hugo greeted him.
"I heard that guy," Jesper said, "He was looking for Georgia. What were you doing?"
Nathaniel was smooth as ever as he walked by and coldly said, "Saving her time."
Jesper shuddered when their shoulders touched. He hated the reminders that these boys were not normal – he's seen them rip creatures apart with their bare hands.
"I don't like whatever connection you think you have with her. She doesn't need looking after, not by the likes of you," Jesper said.
Nathaniel had been walking away but he stopped. He didn't like being looked down on.
Hugo chuckled, "And you think a weakling human like you is going to look after her?"
"I can look after myself."
...
...
The three boys all looked up. Georgia was staring down at them from the head of the staircase. She was wearing a casual blue dress and low top white sneakers.
She didn't notice two out of the three boys blush.
*Georgia's POV*
I stared down at their guilty speechless faces. It was like three chirping parrots had suddenly gone silent.
I can take care of my own fricking self
"Why are you talking about me?" I asked, skipping down the stairs.
Nate had almost been about to leave. His hand was on the door of the living room. My eyes gravitated to him as usual and he winked at me, without anyone else noticing. He pushed open the door and left.
"You dressed up," Hugo observed.
I looked down at my outfit. I didn't think I'd gone overboard, but I guess I had set expectations low with my usual pyjama look.
"Well I'm going out," I answered, always happy when leaving this creepy mansion.
"You made friends? That's nice. Have fun. Gotta run!" Hugo waved and bounded off.
He gave Jesper a threatening look on his way out.
"What was that for?" I asked him.
"The usual for them," Jesper said, opening the front door, "Do you want me to give you a lift? I'm also heading out."
I wanted to know where, why, with who... but somehow, it didn't feel like my place to ask. After all, I hadn't been honest with him about who I've been hanging out with...
"It's OK. I think I'm being picked up."
"Sure."
He left. And you know what? No one ever came to pick me up.
Dev stood me up.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
The next morning
Before this, I used to sleep in a tank top and short shorts. Now that I live in a house of sex gods, I wear a frumpy fluffy two-piece pyjama set.
#Lifestyle
My feet padded against the hardwood floors. I pushed open the door to the main room and found a random girl there at 9AM.
I waved, walking over to pick up my book, "Hi."
She was in a sequin lace mini dress with her heels in her hand and heavy mascara on her eyes. She stared at my fluffy blue pyjamas with yellow ducks on them.
"Do you want something to eat?" I asked her.
"I've had a glass," she pointed at an empty bottle of coke, "And I called an uber, but it's impossible to get one out here. Do you actually live here?"
"Who did you come here with again?"
"Hugo," she said his name dreamily.
"I'm shocked," I said sarcastically, "Are you sure you don't want a proper meal? Emily bakes oatmeal with fruits and honey. It's the most delicious thing. Why don't you help yourself to some and I'll be right back?"
I went upstairs to the third floor and took a right. I passed mine and Jesper's rooms and took a couple more turns to get to the West Wing, where Nate and Hugo lived. I hadn't been here before. I almost expected a haven of sinfulness.
He was coming out of the bathroom.
Nate's eyes widened, surprised to see me. And then that smile turned into a mischievous smirk.
"You. Don't look at me all sexy like that," I snapped, "And put a shirt on."
I walked over to get Hugo. Nate hung around the hallway to see what I was doing in Hugo's room.
"Get your ass up," I announced, throwing the curtains open, "I'm not accepting this skanky behavior. You have a lovely lady downstairs who is feeling both unwelcome and unwanted because you won't even get out of bed to see her off."
Hugo sleeps without clothes. Fun fact.
"Don't flash me!" I warned him. I was throwing things at him at this point.
He yelled when I threw his own shirt that hit his head.
"Hugo, if you think I'm enjoying this, you'd be right. I can go on for hours."
"Fine," he sighed, "but you're a monster."
"I say the same about you," I said sweetly. He grumpily put on the clothes I was throwing him, "Socks?"
I threw those at him too.
Then I pulled him out the door and to the girl waiting downstairs, "Let's bring some manners into this haunted place, please."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
While Hugo helped make sure his girl friend got home safely, I sat on a couch in the living room feeling super lonely. I was stood up last night. I thought I'd made a new friend.
I stared at my phone. Yesterday I texted Dev: Are we still on?
And he'd responded a couple hours later: Another time x
He even hit me with the x.
I stared at the miserable chat and sighed. I looked up when the door opened. Zander walked in.
"Hey," I said, weakly.
"Why are you in a funk?" Zander asked me.
"Funk?"
Zander shrugged knowingly and took a book from the bookshelf. He planted himself in the corner and began to read. I tried to make my exit. I opened the living room door and saw Jesper walking out.
"Jesper!" Emily ran after him, "Jesper, you forgot this. I packed you a protein shake and some snacks for your football practice today."
Even Emily knew he was a part of the team?! Was I the last to find out?
"Thanks Em," he replied, grabbing the lunch box and leaving out the front door.
I knew Jesper well. He was going to walk into practice with a lunch box, not caring if others wanted to make fun of it. He was a nice guy.
Before either one of them noticed me, I slammed the living room doors shut again. Hiding behind them.
"Uhuh," Zander commented.
I turned around, seeing his knowing look.
"What?"
"Nothing," Zander answered, "You feeling a little left out?"
What's his power? Telepathy?
I took my time to respond and he gave me all the time in the world. He went back to reading as I heaved another sigh and sat back on the couch.
"Fine. Yes, I feel like I'm losing my best friend. He's like my family and he's the last thing I know from my life before this."
"Are you really surprised?" he asked, "I'm surprised Jesper lasted this long."
"What do you mean?"
Zander cracked his fingers, "Well, Hugo told me your story. You ended up here accidentally, found out you were one of us and he agreed to stay for you."
"Yeah," I nodded. I guess that is the 2 second summary. "Jesper and I were forced to stay here. My mother made Mrs Maythorne my legal guardian after the accident."
"And you trapped him."
"What?" I asked, taken aback, "No! He volunteered."
"Because he's a good friend. And if you were a true friend, you would've put your own needs after his. You should have freed him but you're too selfish. Even though he's here, he's building his life without you."
Zander's words stung, but I knew where they were coming from. If anyone of us knew about being trapped... it was him. He'd been imprisoned his whole life.
"Holy..." I stared down, "Really? Did I... What have I done?"
I suck. It's a hard thing to admit.
It's really hard to say 'I've done wrong'. But he was right. We'd been living in this horror movie, that I'd forgotten how to be a friend. A real friend. I shouldn't have forced Jesper into this. We didn't have to do this together.
This was my nightmare, not his and he didn't have to protect me from the dark.
What had I done?
"Excuse me," I whispered and ran out. I stopped and looked back, "Zander, thank you."
He flashed me a thumbs up.
I ran up to my room and sat there. All alone. Without turning the lights on. Life is lonely sometimes, I should know that. Jesper was the best kind of friend – the most loyal kind. And I loved him for that. So it was time I took care of him.
I rummaged through my drawer. I found the two tickets we'd bought at the train station the day we tried to escape. I took one and went to his room to put it on his bed.
Then I went back to mine. I couldn't focus on homework and I didn't have the energy to work out. I turned on my computer and watched TV, counting down the minutes, thinking he was bound to have found that ticket by now.
What if he left?
Would we ever be close again?
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
When Jesper returned from practice a couple hours later, he found the ticket on his bed. It only took a couple minutes before he was at my door.
He knocked aggressively on my door.
"What's this?" he asked, before I'd fully opened it.
"It's the ticket you should've taken home," I said.
Jesper walked into my room, still dressed in his football practice clothes. He hadn't even had a chance to change before I'd shocked him with this.
"You really want me to leave?" Jesper asked me again, "Think this through, G. I'll go if you really want me to. I'm only here for you in the first place."
I closed my eyes. "I know and that's why you should go. I'm forced here, but not you. It's unfair you're stuck here too. I should have never asked you to stay."
"You never asked me to."
I opened my eyes. "Thank you. You've been the best friend anyone could have. I've always looked up to you, admired you and felt like with you I'd be safe. I think it's time I grow up."
He sat on my desk and lowered his hand. The ticket I had given him was locked in the palm of his hand.
"I can't keep leaning on you Jesper, draining you," I said softly, walking towards him, "You have your own full life to live. This isn't our home."
"It's not," he agreed.
I put my hand on his shoulder and I felt him relax under my touch. "I know you were scared for me, that's why you stayed. But now you know them, and you know they're taking care of me."
He nodded, and placed his hand over mine, "True."
"So you don't have to worry," I stopped talking because I knew I wouldn't be able to stop my voice from cracking.
I don't know if I'll be fine.
But I couldn't let him see that. He would never leave if he saw that.
"Ok," he nodded again, standing up, "I'll leave."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
I cried into my pillow. I sobbed and screamed into it.
Nobody heard me.
We were in this giant mansion where the rooms numbered in the dozens. And almost everyone else were strangers. The only friend I had was walking out the door.
I got up when I heard noise outside. I went to my window and peered out the curtains, like a ghost. I saw him packing his stuff into his car.
He'd knocked on my door before he went out, but I pretended not to be in my room. I knew I couldn't hold it together.
I went to my bathroom and washed my face. Then I went downstairs to say goodbye.
One step after the other.
I didn't want him to go. I wanted him to stay.
I knew that if I asked him, if I begged, he would.
But Zander was right about that. That would be selfish. I walked out into the fresh air.
Hugo was helping Jesper pack his bags in the trunk. When he put the last one in, he turned to Jesper and they hugged.
I guess they worked things out between them.
"You're ok in the end, man. You put up with a lot of our sh*t," Hugo said.
"Thanks."
I struggled to move past the door. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I didn't realize that Nate walked up behind me. His fingers brushed my back comfortingly. He knew how difficult this was for me.
Nate walked up to Jesper who stiffened a bit. They didn't always get along.
"You'll look out for her now," Jesper said to him. He half said it and half asked.
"I'll try," Nate answered. "You're going to a better place, man, but you know you always have a home here."
"What a place this is," Jesper nodded, hugging him, "I won't forget it."
Emily sniveled behind me. I turned and saw her sneezing into a handkerchief.
That's when the boys saw me and stepped back. I guess it was my turn.
I heaved a big sigh and walked across the threshold. I saw Zander at the doorway of the dining room, watching me. He nodded supportively.
I was doing the right thing.
Jesper.
He looked so raw, so kind, so strong. I didn't have words for Jesper. How could I have any words for him? He held his arms out and I ran into them. I buried my face in his warm chest and sobbed.
Damn it, I was trying to hold it together.
His arm wrapped around my back and his hand stroked my hair, "Hey G, you just say the words and I'll stay."
I couldn't.
I didn't.
"I'll miss you," I said.
He cupped my face in his hands and kissed me on the forehead. Then he stepped back.
"Take care of yourself, G."
I gulped. A giant knot had formed in my throat.
He waved at them again and opened the car door. His car that had brought us here. The two of us had started on a road trip that ended here. At this moment. When our road trip turned into two separate ones.
I don't know if my road would ever lead me home.
A/N: A lot of you wanted Jesper to go. How did you feel about this chapter?
Georgia is heartbroken. It's scary when you realize you have to do something all alone.
Next chapter will be out in a couple days. Thank you for all your supportive and constructive comments! I love them