Temporary ✔️

Chapter 22: Helping a friend

AN: here's chapter 22. Enjoy, people.

Lexi's POV:

"Jackson? Are you okay?" I asked.

He looked up and I gasped. His face was mottled with purple and black bruises, his left eye swollen shut. "Not really, to be quite honest. Um... can I come in? I'll explain everything."

"Of course." I opened the door and let them both in, "you must be Violet?" I asked the girl, who smiled and nodded. She had long blue hair and sharp green eyes.

"Lexi, right?" I nodded and she shook my hand. Ace introduced himself as well.

"Lex who's at the- oh, hi Violet." Noah stopped short when he saw her. He smirked and Violet scoffed, rolling her eyes. I raised an eyebrow at Jackson, who shrugged in return. Apparently, he was as clueless as I was. 

"Lexi, do you have a first aid kit I can borrow for Jackson?" Violet turned to me, pointedly ignoring Noah.

"Yeah... it's in my room, follow me." I shot Noah a confused look and he shook his head, mouthing 'later' to me.

The three of us went to my room and Jackson sat on the bed, his sister sitting next to him. I brought out the kit and Violet quickly got to work, applying ointment and cream to the various injuries on his face. It made my heart hurt to see them like this.

"What happened?" Ace asked.

Violet took a shuddering breath, "Connor had brought some of his friends home. They kept... looking at me and I was honestly terrified. Jackson forced me to stay in our room while they were here. After a while, they left, but not before-" she choked up, tears gathering in her eyes.

Ace frowned and seemed deep in thought. "Violet, how old are you?"

"Nineteen, why?" She replied. 

"If you go to the police, you can get custody of Jackson- since you're legally an adult- and Connor can be put away in jail." He explained.

Violet shook her head, "I'm sorry Ace, but we can't afford it. And if we lose, our situation will be worse than before. I might get away, but there's no way in Hell I'm leaving my brother there."

"There's just too big a risk." Jackson continued quietly, "Connor is retired from the force. He's got a lot of friends in high places."

"We'll help you." Our heads snapped to the doorway, where Flynn was standing with a grim expression. 

Violet's eyebrows furrowed, "Why would you want to help us?" Her voice had a hint of defensiveness to it, as if she was ready to refuse any bargain Flynn would make. 

Flynn's gaze darted to me, and then back to her and Jackson. "Because I know someone who's gone through a similar situation. I can't get revenge on their abusers, so I'm going to make sure this doesn't happen to someone else." 

A flicker of hope passed across Violet's expression, but Jackson still looked uneasy. "He threatened Dean and Maddie. He said that if I told them or anyone else, he would kill them, then us. I've already told them-" he stopped, tears building in his eyes. 

"Jackson," I said softly, "I know that this is a huge step to take. But by doing this, not only will you help yourself, but your sister too. Every day, I wish I'd been brave enough to get help years ago. Don't let your fear hold you back." 

Jackson looked at Violet and they had a silent conversation. Finally, he nodded, a small smile breaking through the sadness.  

"Excellent." Flynn clapped his hands. "I'll contact our family lawyer- she's the best in the country- and you guys can stay here, if you want?"

Immediately, Violet shook her head, "We have a small cabin-house that belonged to our Mum before she passed. We'll stay there." She intertwined her fingers with Jackson's. 

"If you're sure." Flynn shrugged, looking slightly confused. "But stay here tonight. You can use the guest bedrooms- Lex can show you where they are."

I nodded and gestured for the two of them to follow. As we walked out, we saw my brothers just around the corner, their eyes wide. 

"Don't you know it's rude to eavesdrop?" I snapped. They shuffled and looked anywhere but at us. 

Noah stared at Violet, his expression a mixture of regret and something else I couldn't identify. "Vi... I'm sorry, I didn't know-" 

"Save it," she growled, her eyes blazing with rage, "just because you didn't know, doesn't mean you had the right to treat me like that." I shot a questioning look at Sam and Luke, who shrugged and shook their heads in return. 

"Um... the rooms are this way." I muttered, trying to break the growing tension in the room. 

Violet turned on her heels and followed me, glaring at Noah one last time. 

What was all that about? 

End of chapter 22. 

Most likely going to finish at around chapter 30-35. 

Plot twist coming up that will probably make you guys hate me 😈😈

I hope you guys liked it! 

Stay safe and thanks for reading :)