Surviving On My Own Terms | Sequel to Stay By My Side

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Logan Fitzgerald. Infinity Cooper. I'm coming for you."

I quickly sat up in my bed, breathing heavily. Those words had been haunting me for who knows how long. I hadn't slept for days, those words keeping me up at night.

I looked at my alarm clock, sighing at the time. 2:30am. I laid back down, rubbing my forehead as I tried pushing those words out of my mind. However, I had no luck whatsoever. It was basically a routine for me. I would fall asleep around midnight, wake up between two and three, then unable to fall asleep until at least five.

My cell phone rang quietly, so I looked at the caller id before answering. "Hello?"

"Hey, Fin," my boyfriend, Logan, said on the other line. "I figured you'd be awake. Can't sleep?"

I sighed. "No. I tried. Why is it so hard?"

"I wish I knew," Logan said. "I'm lucky to even get six hours of sleep."

"What if it's always like this?" I asked. "What if...."

"Fin, we'll get through this," Logan assured, but I heard the doubt in his voice. It was kind of hard to believe we were going to get through the situation we were in. Having the most wanted man in the country after the two of us wasn't something that I thought we could make through. "Anyway, I just wanted to call you to tell you I love you."

"I love you, too," I said.

"Try getting some sleep, okay?" he said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye," I said before hanging up and placing my cell phone back on the nightstand. Now if I could only get some sleep.

~*~

"Fin," a soft voice said. I slowly opened my eyes, trying to get them to adjust to the light. Very faintly, I saw my mom kneeling by the edge of my bed. "Time to get up for school. You're already late as it is."

I sighed, closing my eyes again. "Can't I just stay home today? Or every other day? I didn't get any sleep last night."

"I know this is hard for you, Infinity," Mom said. "But you can't let it stop you from going to school."

I opened my eyes again, looking at her with furrowed eyebrows. "Mom, some man, a very murderous man, is out to get me all because I did everything those sick people wanted. It's not my fault I can't sleep or even focus in class. I'm terrified."

"I know you are," Mom said. "I'm terrified for you. Flynn hasn't talked in weeks. We're all worried. I'll let you stay home today, but only today. I need to head off to work anyway and I can't wait for you and Flynn to get ready."

"Thanks," I said before she left my room.

It was true that a murderous man was after both me and Logan. We did nothing wrong. All we did was complete ten tasks that a group he created forced us to do. However, the founder of the group didn't seem to like that. Now, he escaped prison and announced on a broadcast that he was coming for us.

Oddly enough, my fourteen year old brother is the one affected the most. Ever since the broadcast, he hasn't uttered a single word, which is odd for him since he was not only a talkative one, but a joker. I really missed his jokes.

I texted Logan and my best friend, Lilly, telling them that I wouldn't be at school. The last thing I need was for them to worry.

After laying back down on my bed, my brother walked in my room, his hair all over the place and a blanket wrapped around him. He sat down at the foot of my bed, reaching for the TV remote and turning it on. I was used to this. He always came in my room and either slept on the ground, or watched TV. I hated seeing my brother so depressed.

Shortly after I heard my mom leave, I heard the front door open followed by footsteps coming up the stairs. Logan appeared in the doorway. "Are you okay?" he asked. "I brought some chicken noodle soup and chocolate and...."

I sat up. "Logan, I'm fine," I interrupted. "I'm just tried so I asked my mom if I could stay home. But thanks."

Logan sat down beside me, placing a grocery bag on the nightstand. "Sorry. I got worried when you sent me the text."

"Logan, don't worry," I said. "You're worried, that's normal. Then again, what do I know about normal?"

Logan wrapped his arm around me. "It's okay, Fin," he said softly. "How's your brother?"

I gestured my chin towards Flynn, whose eyes was glued on the TV. "The same," I said. "I really miss the jokes he had."

"He's just in shock," Logan said.

"For weeks?" I asked.

"Maybe because he's afraid of losing his sister," Logan said. "He already lost his parents."

"I know," I said as I dug through the grocery bag. Logan brought a lot of chocolate bars. He was the sweetest boyfriend ever. I pulled out a KitKat bar and handed it to Flynn, who accepted it without saying a word. There had to be something I could do to get him talking again.

I scooted forward on the bed, sitting beside Flynn. Logan did the same and sat on the other side. "Things would be easier if you would talk," I said to him.

Flynn looked down at the chocolate bar in his hands, still not uttering a single word.

"Flynn, I know you're scared," I said. "All of us are. But hiding away in this little shell of yours isn't healthy. You need to be yourself again."

"You don't get it," Flynn said quietly. Even though the words were sad, I almost smiled at hearing his voice again. "I didn't get to see my parents at the time of their death. I got called down to the office at school where they told me that they died in a car crash. And now, my sister is being hunted by a crazy mad man because he's a hypocrite. I can't lose my older sister."

I pulled Flynn into a hug. "Flynn, I promise you won't lose me." I was doubtful of it, but I had to convince him otherwise.

"We're not going to give up," Logan said. "We're not going down without a fight. The cops are doing the best they can to find him. They're keeping a close eye on our houses. Nobody is letting us go through this alone."

"That man broke out of jail," Flynn pointed out. "You think he won't be able to get pass a few cops? They haven't been able to track him down yet. He won't be found."

"Flynn...."

"I'm going to eat," he muttered before getting off the bed and heading out of my room.

I sighed, hating the way he was feeling. We were all worried, but he was the one who was letting it affect him the most.

"Wow," Logan said. "Even my siblings aren't acting like that."

"Do you think he's right?" I asked. "The cops haven't tracked him down yet and he was able to break out of jail."

I shrugged. "I don't know. We just have to hope for the best."

____________

Here is the long awaited sequel of Stay By My Side! I'm sure you don't have to read that book to understand this one.

That being said, if any of you readers never read Stay By My Side, Flynn is adopted, which is why he's talking about losing his parents.

Updates won't come regularly since I am pretty busy this month.