Traveling Souls

Chapter 12

I stared at her, studying her face for any signs of compassion that I knew so well. "It feels horrible." I snapped, slightly surprised at my harsh tone. "I'd rather have met a bear than you."

I widened my eyes as I was slapped, letting out a cry of surprise. I dropped my head as she walked away.

"Let's go. We don't need to be here any longer." Lily said, walking out of the house.

Killian and I followed her by force. I stayed quiet as I was almost thrown into the back of the van along with Killian, and they slammed the doors.

"Lu? Are you okay?" Killian asked me quietly, looking at me with concern.

"The bracelet. When it shocked me. It was tracking us." I muttered, ignoring Killian's question. Obviously I wasn't okay.

"Lucy, answer me god dammit." Killian snapped, squirming.

I stared at her, shaking my head. "Obviously," I let out a breathless laugh, returning my eyes to my knees. "I mean, my mother was tracking us, and now we're going to jail. Yes, I'm okay, obviously, Killian. I mean, who wouldn't be damn okay after this happened?" I shouted, digging my nails into my palms.

"Lu, it's okay. We can get out of here. Tal and Dusty will help us-"

"How? They have to listen to Lily, they care about their job more than us if they were so easily silenced." I snapped.

"How can you say that? They didn't turn us in or go to anyone when we took them along!" Killian argued.

"I don't know anymore, Killian-" I was cut off by a bump and I jumped slightly, landing back down on the bench

Killian was silent for a moment, staring at me. "Does your mom hit you, Lucy?"

"What?" I asked, bringing my attention back to her, startled by the question. "Of course not." I lied, gritting my teeth.

"Why are you lying, Lu? Do you think I'm going to treat you differently?" she asked me, a slight crack in her voice.

"I didn't want anyone to know. I deserved it, usually." I muttered, bringing my bangs over my eyes.

"You need to tell us these things. None of us would have let that happened if we would have known-"

I cut her off quickly. "That's the point! I don't want-" I cut off my voice before it could turn into a vocal sob, and shook my head. "I don't want anyone fighting my battles for me. I can deal with it,"

Another bump shook the back, almost making me slide off the bench.

"I swear."

Killian stared at me sadly. "Lu, when will you understand friends are there to help you and support you? Also to keep you from doing stupid shit like blaming yourself for us getting caught. Dusty and Tal want to help you, I want to help you." she paused, averting her gaze from me to the floor. "I don't want to know what kind of friends you had before, but if they never tried to stop your mother, then they aren't real friends."

I opened my mouth to retort something but stopped. Why had my friends never tried to help me before? "I don't know," I whispered, mostly to myself. "I don't know why I can't understand that."

I'll tell them when I get them all together, that my mother hit me. I never deserved it. I paused for a second before opening my mouth again, about to speak before the van stopped.

"End of the line. Come on out."

I stared at the man, before standing up and following him out, walking into a large building. He seemed familiar for some reason.