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"DON'T TOUCH IT!" DARCIE SHOUTS.
Jacob pauses, fingers inches from the chain as he sighs, pulling the sleeve of his hoodie over his hand to pick up the chain. "Darcie," he says. "Rochelle held it in her hands."
"And it didn't burn her," Quil realises. "What the fuck?"
Frowning, Jacob uses his free hand as his finger presses against the rusty chain, not reacting as Darcie had. The four stare, at a complete loss.
Jacob's eyes fall on Darcie. "How...?"
"We don't have time," says Embry, holding a wet flannel against the raw skin of Darcie's hands. "We need to take you to the hospital, Darc."
Darcie nods, still whimpering from the pain. Jacob places the chain in his pocket before hurrying to get his keys with Darcie reminding him to check Bruno's bowls before leaving. Her poor dog is whining, knowing something is wrong as his nose brushes against Darcie's leg.
"Can someone call my dad?" Darcie asks. "A-And Callum, please?"
"Already on it," Quil promises.
They then leave, where the two guys sit at the front with Embry at the back with Darcie, still keeping the cool flannel against her hands. Her fingertips twitch, burning as she cries. Upfront, she can hear Quil trying to calm down her father, telling him to meet them at the hospital.
"It's okay," whispers Embry. "I've got you."
"Why would she do this?" Darcie questions, heartbroken.
"I don't know," Embry answers. "It's... I have no words, Darcie."
Darcie's lip trembles, unknowing what to say herself. A part of her hopes Rochelle didn't know that Darcie was going to end up burned, but it had seemed like a test — one that Darcie had failed. And now, here she is with her hands on fire, and her sister likely with him.
"This is Sam's doing," Darcie realises. "He's... gotten to her somehow."
"Rochelle's not stupid enough," says Embry.
"I don't know," Darcie disagrees. "She's doing a lot of stupid things for love."
At the hospital, Darcie sits in the waiting room with a fresh towel on her hands. Embry keeps an arm around her, offering support as the tears still haven't dried up. Quil and Jacob wait outside for Callum and her father, wanting to help in whatever way they can.
"Darcie..." her father appears with her two friends, eyes drooping with sadness as he finds his daughter. "Oh, sweetheart."
He sits down on the seat next to Darcie as she turns to her father, letting him wrap his arms around her. Seeing him causes her heart to crack as she doesn't have the heart to tell him what happened, but she can't lie.
