Her Road|Book 2|

Day 8|IV

The statements took an hour or two. I wasn't sure. Time was sort of irrelevant now, everyone just trying to bring themselves back from their hells.

Looking back, it was good to have that time to reflect as well as face what happened. The police officers needed us to go back and tell our versions of what happened. Though it was hard, it also made us accept that that did happen.

Jace standing in the doorway, gun in hand.

The gun pressed against Mr Victor's chest.

Jace's angry words as he tore into his teacher.

'-knowing y-you, you'd protect them so you have to go f-first...'

Harry rising and stalking his way in front of the gun.

The officer wrote all this down as I shivered, Chief Naomi stood next to me seemingly furious. He thanked me for taking the time to tell me everything and moved on to the next student. They could only spare a few officers from patrol.

"He's an idiot but I'm glad he protected you." Chief Naomi whispered, offering me a small smile.

"The way he disabled the gun... I'd never seen anything like that." I admitted, my hands wrapping around myself.

Chief Naomi remained silent. I don't blame her. She and Harry were close, I knew that much from our drive around town. No doubt she had something to do with that action.

I looked across the hall as Annabeth finished up her interview. She looked a bit better, speaking a tad more upright. I wondered how long it would take to see the fierce, caring commander of our little group? How long would it take for me to be myself once again?

When we were allowed out, Annabeth and I walked side by side. I didn't know what to expect outside but one thing was for sure, I didn't want to be here a minute longer than I have to.

My eyes immediately hurt from the sudden light change but when it cleared, I immediately zoned in on my parents. And Zayne.

My eyes widened as I realized it really was Zayne. Zayne from across the country. Zayne that was probably upset that I left with our parents.

In my shock, my mom barreled into me, squeezing me tight. At least I thought it was tight before my father wrapped his arms around both of us, lifting us off the ground.

"You're never going to school ever again!" My mom sobbed into my neck. I don't know why but through the tears I chuckled.

"Never again." I promised which somehow made her sob some more.

Finally, my dad placed us both down and I hugged him. Zayne was to the side smiling, a little teary-eyed as I launched myself at him.

"When I heard-"

"Sshhhh. I'm fine now." I cut him off. It didn't matter to me, I realized. Mad or not, I was so freaking happy to see my brother again.

When I finally pulled away, I felt like I took a shower. Somehow just this bit of contact with my family was enough to remind me that what had happened wasn't all that life was about.

Annabeth's parents were fussing over her too, checking her out and crying. Our friends were here too, all waiting for us. Bran, Shaya, Cass, London and even West.

Annabeth's mom pulled away and looked at us individually, her matte hair flying in the wind. "Let's move away."

And just like that everyone shuffled into their cars and followed Annabeth's family to her house. It was cute, Victorian two story much like a lot of houses on the block. We all settled on the brown leather couches, chairs, bar stools touched by the late afternoon sun as Annabeth recounted what happened this time.

It definitely was a out of body experience hearing how similar we viewed what happened. Maybe we reacted differently here and there but essentially the same thing. Terrified, thinking we're gonna die, then saved. Yep, your typical shooting.

"Wow." London finally broke the silence. Everyone pretty much a loss of words. "I can't believe he would've done that."

"Yeah. I mean I am glad he did but still. It's shocking." Bran agreed, a hand on London's shoulder.

Cass wiped a stray tear. "I'm so sorry, Annabeth. If only I had known..."

I focused on the interaction between the two. She seemed to think that it was her fault for what happened but I couldn't understand why. I remembered a fleeting thought earlier as Jace glared at her.

"All that matters is that you two are still here." Zayne broke my thoughts, pulling me closer. I sighed and smiled at Annabeth.

No matter what happened, we made it out alive somehow. That's all that mattered in the end, not whose fault it was.

My family wasn't sure whether to leave me alone or not. To be honest, I wouldn't know what to do in this situation either if I was in their shoes. Eventually though they let me go to my room alone.

I wasn't even sure if I wanted time to myself. I'd done a lot of thinking, during assembly, during questioning. I was sure that all time by myself was going to do is give me acceptance.

I looked around my new room. We had moved to one of the empty houses in a posh neighborhood. Chief Naomi had explained that because people rarely left Ridgeway, the town often built one or two houses in case someone decided to move in. And with Dad's new standing, the Victorian double storey had become ours.

I moved to my window to open it, wanting some sort of noise in the room but the night was as silent as ever. A soft breeze trickled in and over me but that was it. Ridgeway was not providing comfort nor distractions.

My eyes swept over the street. The houses were similar here and there but they were all unique, a mismatch of architectures. That, coupled with the trees lined every few blocks made it almost picturesque.

A flash caught my attention. My eyes looked for the source of the quick light, seemingly finding nothing. Then again. My body suddenly felt colder than before as a hooded figure stood across the street, their phone unlocked.