☄. *. ⋆ LOST LIVING, J.W

THIRTY-ONE

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
I'll be right there.

LEXY WIPED HER TEARS, straightening her shirt out as she approached the kitchen, Ruby quickly hurrying beside the two boys.

Jake brought his phone to his ear, the ringing echoing before clicking as it had been picked up, "Uh-Andy Barclay?"

"Jake Wheeler." The man on the other end hummed, "Where are you?"

"In a kitchen in Hackensack." Jake informed him while glancing around the neatly decorated room.

Andy chuckled briefly before speaking, "Hackensack. Figures. You know about Chucky, and you're still alive. Makes you one of the lucky few. It's a shitty club to be in, but welcome."

"At first I thought I was going crazy." Jake replied with slightly furrowed brows.

"Well, you haven't told anyone, have you?" Andy questioned, the boys eyes darting towards the group of teens surrounding him.

He shook his head as if he'd been standing in front of the man, lying through his teeth, "No. No one."

"Look, you feel like you're going crazy? That's exactly what everyone will think if you tell them." He sighed lowly, "Speaking of crazy, Chucky's not with anyone, is he? A woman? Two women?"

"Uh—  No, I don't think so, but listen, Andy, I have, like, a million questions. We're out of time, and we need your help. How do we find him?"

Andy clicked his tongue, whistling while laughing underneath his breath, "Oh, you don't have to find Chucky. He'll find you. And if he can't find you,   he'll go after your whole family to get to you. He killed
our foster parents, Jake. He'll stop at nothing. Oh, and Jake, it'll be somewhere he's familiar with, and you're
at your most vulnerable. That's exactly where he'll find you."

"Junior's house." Jake mumbled, darting his eyes up quickly.

"Not a bad place to spring a trap." Ruby shrugged with raised brows, seeming to take on the awaited challenge.

"Well, text me the address. We're on our way." Andy insisted before hanging up the phone.

Ruby's phone began to buzz, her eyes widening as she read the urgent text from Junior, she grabbed the boy's arm, "Jake, we've got to go."

"We'll meet up later tonight. Be ready." Jake nodded towards the two before they rushed out of the home.

Back at the Wheelers residence, an unknown car sat parked outside of the large home, the front door making an eery noise as they entered.

Junior, Logan, and a long haired woman sat on the opposite sofas, saddened expressions on each of their faces.

Ruby sat beside Jake on the smaller couch, the girls hand reaching out to rest on the crying brunettes hand.

"She didn't say anything to you?" Logan asked, a hint of anger in his tone as she shot daggers at the woman, "You're her fuckin' therapist. You didn't see any signs?"

The woman swallowed as she folded her hands in her lap, "It's normal to feel angry at times like this. When faced with their own mortality, some patients try
to regain control the only way they can."

She eventually left after attempting to comfort the grieving family, Logan shutting the door with a slam as he heads straight up the steps with a bottle of alcohol in his hand.

Jake grabbed Juniors forearm as he stopped him from leaving the room, "Junior, I don't think your mother killed herself."

He turned around, brows pulled together as he looked at his cousin in pure disgust, he shook his arm from his hold, "Stay the fuck away from me. We were fine
before you came along."

"I'm gonna go check on him. Will you get the stuff out?" Ruby asked her friend, running her fingers through the dark ends of her hair.

He nodded, "Yeah."

Ruby smiled gently as she rubbed his shoulder, she hurried up the steps as she knocked on the wooden door, "It's Ruby. You okay?"

She heard approaching footsteps as the door was unlocked and swung up, "Come in."

"Thanks." Ruby flashed a gentle but comforting rise of her lips, stepping over to the edge of his bed as he sat next to her.

His shoulders dropped as he sighed, turning his head to look at the girl beside him, "You're the only one who's there for me. I just can't help but think I don't deserve it."

"Why would you say that? That's not true, Junior. You've been through so much and it's nice to talk to someone about it. I'm happy to be there for you." Ruby faced him, her fingers fiddling with one another.

"I guess so. I broke up Lexy. You probably already know that ." Junior chuckled, watching her face grow red with embarrassment.

Ruby bit her bottom lip as she cringed, "Yeah. Sorry about that."

"All good. Kinda glad you did." He admitted, his voice low.

She was caught off guard by his words as she studied his side profile, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just because I wanted you to know. I took your advice. I feel selfish. Towards the end I didn't love her anymore. Someone else was there for me and filled her spot." His eyes caught hers.

Ruby's lips parted, eyes widening, "May I ask who?"

"I think you know the answer." He teased, their faces now inches apart, "I think you're friends are here. Better get going."

She brought her hands into fists as he stood, opening the bedroom door for her with red eyes and a small smirk, she flipped him off before exiting the room with the biggest smile ever.

authors note.

y'all are abt to be real mad i didn't make them smooch...i'm saving it i promise.