Never Say Never (Completed)

Seventeen {This Place Is Not A Home}

With the Gala over and done with, my focus was on my mother. So much so that with her being back home, I'd hardly slept and was continuously falling asleep in class. Ian, who'd never missed a class in his life, had been ditching all week, texting me halfway through the day to let me know I needed to take notes for him in the classes we shared. The joke was on him, because I was asleep through half of every class, and if not asleep, lost in thought about my mother back at home.

"Let's get out of here." Bryan's voice stirred me out of my tired daze, closing my locker when I didn't respond. "Well, you look like crap."

"Thanks." I yawned, looking toward my phone to check the time. "It's lunch time. There's still two periods after. I'm not leaving."

He snickered, blocking me from every angle, not allowing an escape. "You can barely keep your eyes open, Evans. At this rate, you'll be asleep as soon as you sit down to eat."

"I'm not messing my attendance up to ditch with you, Bryan." I said, followed by another yawn.

"Ian left with Savannah and Devon." Bryan retorted, eyes trained on the door. "So don't expect him to be here."

I shrugged a shoulder carelessly. "He's been ditching all week. Wait, did you say Devon? Devon what?"

The name woke me up. I recognized it. Devon Williams had a reputation, and it wasn't a good one. He'd been selling drugs since eighth grade, and continued to do so now, especially to the incoming Freshman. Ian leaving with him, no matter the reason, was not a good thing.

"Figured that'd wake you up." Bryan draped his arm over my shoulder. "You want to come now?"

*

I don't know why I expected Bryan to actually take me wherever Ian had run off too, but when he parked the car in front of an old, nasty building of weekly apartments, I couldn't help but turn to him in shock.

"Ian's here?"

He shook his head. "No. I don't know where he is and I don't care. Come on."

Bryan waited in front of his car, locking it behind us once I'd reached him. He made sure to keep his hand against the small of my back until we'd climbed one set of stairs and walked passed a few apartments before he stopped in front of one and pulled a key from his pocket. He cleared his throat as he opened the door, and we were immediately greeted with two young girls, no doubt twins. Both had their black hair in a braid down their back, brown eyes shifting from confusion to excitement as soon as Bryan walked through the door.

"Bryan!" They squealed, bombarding him so quickly and unexpectedly he almost toppled over. I frowned, joining him before he shut the door behind me.

"Where's Dad?" Bryan asked the taller of the two girls. She pointed down the hall before joining her sister in front of me.

They couldn't have been much older than William and wore giant smiles as they looked me up and down.

"Are you Bryan's girlfriend?" the shorter girl questioned.

"You're so pretty." The taller one added.

I opened my mouth to respond when yelling started at the end of the hall. Both girls winced, as if they were used to hearing it, but still didn't like being victim to it. Just as I was about to break passed the girls and down the hall, a man stumbled down the hallway, nearly crashing into me on his way to the kitchen. He stopped as soon as he reached the end of the hallway, cocking his head to the side a fraction.