A Wolf's Purpose

•Chapter 81• Be Honest

Jayden glanced over his shoulder. Megan was fast asleep against the window on her side, Jerry was resting against her and Jack rested against his window. All three of them passed out. Jayden himself was feeling a bit tired as well. But he refused to let Leah drive alone with no one to talk to. He checked again to see if they were really asleep. "Do you want to talk?" Leah looked at him with her kind and motherly eyes. "About what, sweetie?" Jayden adjusted a bit in his seat and let out a small sigh as he turned to her. He put his head against the headrest. "What did Louis say to you?" He wanted her to spare no detail. It was his uncle – who brought him to safety – who was telling his murderous father about him and his brothers. And it was all part of some plan? "I need a little more than what you told us." He asked her as calmly as possible. She appeared to relax in her seat. Her eyes never turned away from the road. "He told me he was going to see Bill. He wants to win over his trust. He mentioned something about framing someone else so you and your brothers would not have to go back to prison. That is unless someone on the outside can find a better solution. Something we can take into court. Hopefully, the other two kids will find it. I don't like the idea of an innocent person going to prison." Leah explained to him honestly and calmly. She shot him a brief look. Jayden even spotted a small smile. "Anything else?" Leah shook her head as she focused on the road. "What does this mean, though? For us, for you?"
"I don't know, sweetie." Leah started, "We are going to a hotel for now. We'll be safe there. Louis should have an address or plan for us tomorrow. We're going back to Hill, though. Be a bit closer to home for you" Jayden nodded along. "Sounds fine to me. Been in worse conditions." He said.

The knot in Leah's stomach only became heavier. She was worried, scared, and a bit happy. They got out before Bill came to her home. She wasn't sure what would have happened if she saw that man again. Leah missed her family; she craved nothing more than a hug from one of her kids or her husband. Instead, she was driving four kids to a hotel, to hide from a murderer – who was the father of three of them. "Mrs. Elms, are you alright?" Jayden asked her kindly. He did not know what she felt but he could see it in her eyes, it wasn't great. "It's just a lot to take in." There was no reason to lie to the boy. "Do you want me to drive?" Leah looked at him again. She did feel tired after driving for so long and rushing out of her home like that. She pulled over and switched seats with Jayden. Even if he was tired, he was happy to take over. "Thank you," Leah said as she clicked on her seatbelt. Jayden shrugged. "You can take a nap if you want, Mrs. Elms." He liked driving at night even with the radio only playing very quietly. It had a special kind of ambiance that Jayden always adored. Louis would take him on late-night drives sometimes, they were a lot like this. "No, then you'll be alone," Leah told him. "I don't mind. If you want, you can." She let out a sigh and rested in her seat like Jayden had a few minutes before. But her eyes remained open. "No, I'm staying awake. With you. If that's okay." Jayden shot her a quick glance. "Yeah... that's fine." Although they did not know what to talk about, they were both happy with some company. Leah reached out to him and grabbed his right hand off the steering wheel. Jayden could drive perfectly and safely with one hand. "Don't you want the two and ten, ma'am? Aren't you supposed to be responsible?" He joked. Leah trailed her nails over the palm of his hand before she intertwined their fingers, locking their hands together. "Just needed to feel something. That's okay, right?"
"Of course it is." Jayden assured her, "Can have it as long as you want. But I do want it back one day." Leah and Jayden laughed quietly, careful not to wake the others.

"Hey, come in." Liz smiled as she walked passed him. Andrew shut the door behind them and followed Liz who was already embracing Jade down the hallway. Jade seemed almost happy about it. Liz pulled back and looked at the other girl. "Are you okay? We were so worried about you." She started. Jade nodded quickly and shot a brief glance at Andrew. "Thanks to this one. He got me out of the house where my dad was."
"So, he's really back then?" Andrew caught up with them and placed a reassuring hand on Liz's shoulder. His warmth made her smile. "We're safe here for now. He doesn't know it's me." Jade looked at Liz as well. "And my dad doesn't know anything about you yet, so that's perfect. Lucky you." Both girls laughed softly, even if it wasn't that funny. "How are my brothers?" Liz nodded as she sat down on the stairs with Jade. "They're okay. Mrs. Elms is taking them away to a safe place. Louis... he went to Bill to lure him away." Jade felt her chest becoming heavier. Almost as if she was holding her breath. "Get him inside. Bill trusts Louis."
"He wasn't sure about the plan at first when I told him. But we didn't have much of a choice. Bill is too clever, too quick. He always seems to be a step ahead or have a backup plan." Jade nodded along as Liz explained everything to her. Still, something stung and tightened in her chest. Louis was there and she did not get the chance to see him. "You came up with that?"
"Uh, yes... I thought it would help buy us some extra time. Maybe we won't have to frame an innocent person for any of this." Liz truly was a sweet soul. Jade couldn't help but smile at her. "That is amazing, Liz. Thank you. For all your help. Kind of feel bad for almost shooting Leah now, though." Andrew's eyes widened slightly, his eyebrows raised, as he looked at Jade.

"Hey, I thought she stole my dad's corpse. And I missed." No normal person would have said that, probably. Ever. Andrew shrugged it off for now and Liz did the same. "Happy to help. Although, this is not exactly a welcome into the family I was hoping for." This made Jade laugh. "You really should have picked a different family for that. From another town. Speaking of which, you have been nice to my brother, right?" Liz's cheeks turned a light shade of pink, and she suddenly avoided all eye contact. Even if Jade tilted her head to follow her gaze. "I'm not asking to embarrass you. I just want to know if he has some comfort." Jade assured her in the softest tone she could bring up. And she meant it. Jerry and Jade have always been close – she is with all her brothers, but Jerry has always been a bit different – and she wanted to make sure he wasn't feeling lonely. Jerry openly admitted that no one would ever be interested in him with Jayden and Jack's shadows covering him most of the time. And those concerns were genuine... until they disappeared one day. She guessed that's when Liz came into his life. "We miss each other but he's okay. Jack and Jayden are doing just fine. Meg's... she's not great but she pulls through." Andrew had already told her that. "Jayden has been hitting on Mrs. Elms a lot, though, according to Jerry."
"That does sound like Jayden." Andrew agreed with Jade. He crossed his arms over his chest. "I'll get my laptop and we can get some work done, yes? Sound good?" Liz and Jade stayed behind together. "How's it going with your... situation?" Jade summarized what happened with Bill and that she was okay for now. It felt a bit strange to talk to Liz about this. To talk about this at all was strange. "You and Andrew?" Now Jade's cheeks were the ones that heated up causing Liz to start smirking. "Oh, you've got something to share with the class?"

Jade shook her head. "Not much. It's a little complicated," she admitted. She was feeling both terrible and incredibly happy about it. She wanted to be closer to him but also thought about Casper and what he'd think if he saw her like this with him. "I know complicated." Liz chuckled softly. It was nice to have someone like Liz to talk to. "As long as you're okay." She added. "Yeah. Did you see Henry?" Jade questioned. She did not care too much about him, but she tried her best to show some interest. This was still Andrew's brother. "He's doing okay. Had a bit of a fever so they want to keep him a little longer just to make sure he's okay." Jade nodded along. Andrew returned and set his laptop on the table in front of Jade. He opened it and logged in whilst standing behind her. Liz's gaze darted between them and then started smirking a bit. Jade was trapped between his arms, but she seemed to enjoy it. "Let's get to work, shall we?"