Shattered Asylum

Chapter 86

Dinner after the phone call with my mom felt like trying to smile through a panic attack. She sucked all the joy out of me the second her name lit up on my screen.

I tried to push through, tried to go back to laughing with Leslie, to enjoying the food, the restaurant, the moment, but the damage was already done.

Everything after that tasted like worry. Even the Tikka Masala I loved suddenly felt too heavy.

I didn't tell Leslie about the call. I didn't want her looking at me with pity, or asking too many questions I wasn't ready to answer.

I feel too embarrassed by the woman I unfortunately have to call mom, by how she acts, how easily she ruins things. I just wanted to pretend it didn't happen, shove it into some dark corner of my brain and move on.

Now I'm back at the house, bags packed, standing by the front window with a cramp in my stomach and nerves buzzing just beneath my skin.

The bodyguards Grandpa sent is now three minutes from being late. Three minutes doesn't sound like much, unless you know Grandpa's guards.

They're always fifteen minutes early. Always.

Punctual to a fault. Predictable. Sharp.

Not this time.

And every second that ticks by without headlights pulling into the driveway makes my heart beat faster.

Something feels... off.

I'm about to call Grandpa, thumb hovering over his name, when headlights finally cut through the dark.

A sleek black SUV pulls into the driveway. Tinted windows. Silent engine.

I let out a slow breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.

Leslie appears behind me, her voice soft. "Is that them?"

I nod, even though I'm not completely sure.

"I guess this is it, then," she says, pulling me into a hug. "Be safe, okay?"

"I will."

Stefan walks up from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel. "Call us when you get there."

"I will."

I sling my bag over my shoulder and step outside. The air is cooler than I expected, sharp against my skin.

The SUV doors open before I reach the steps, and two men step out, clean cut, dressed in black, military posture.

I've never seen them before. But I usually don't.

Grandpa rotates guards so often, it's rare I get the same faces twice in a row besides Teddy. Still, something about them feels... off. Too polished. Like they're playing a part.

They don't smile. Just nod.

I hesitate for a second too long before moving toward them.

~

The car ride was awkward, to say the least.

Bodyguards don't usually talk to me. They drive, they watch, they follow orders. Silent, efficient shadows.

But the one in the passenger seat, tall, blond, a little too smiley, actually turned around and asked, "So, where do you go to school?"

I just stared at him for a second, thrown.

Shouldn't he already know that?

I've heard Grandpa go over those kinds of details with his guards before, where I'll be, where I'm staying, what school I'm at. And it's not like there are a lot of options in Forks. There's Lakeview and Lodges, that's it.