Against My Will

Chapter Four

RECAP OF CHAPTER THREE

"Last night was my nineteenth birthday. Peyton had planned a huge party, and it was pretty good. But I eventually lost him, so I started looking around. I took a break after a while to go to the bathroom, so I walked into our room. And then I found him. With another girl.

            "I yelled at him and I broke up with him this time. It's the fourth time I've caught him. I'm guessing he's cheated a lot more than that, though. But anyways, he wouldn't let me go, so I kneed him and ran off and somehow ended up at the coffee shop. I saw Nash and he took me to the storage room and hid me so Peyton couldn't find me. Then he brought me here. And you know the rest."

            "I'm so sorry, Abby!" Erica said.

            "It's okay," I said weakly. "I should have known better."

            "No. It was his fault. Oh, and you work with him, don’t you? You poor thing," Alice sympathized.

            "Yeah."

            "Hey, the coffee shop's looking for a new barista during my shift. Crystal left and we've been looking for a new one. I could probably get you it," Nash offered.

            "Really? You could? Thank you so much, Nash! You've done so much!" I said happily.

            He blushed, and then continued, "Well, and now you need somewhere new to live. I've talked it over with everybody, and you can stay with me if you want."

            "Thank you so much!" I squealed, throwing my arms around his neck.

            "Now's the hard part. We need to go get your stuff from Peyton's."

            "Oh," I mumbled.

            "We can all go with you," Alice said gently. "We can leave in ten minutes."

            "Okay."

            And ten minutes later, we were off to collect everything from my old life to move into my new one.

 

Chapter Four: Moving On and Being Gone

                As we pulled up to the pack house, I start to shake.

            What would Peyton do? Would he let me get my things and leave? Would he hurt my friends? Would he make me stay?

            And what about Devin? Could we still be friends? I left her brother, but he cheated on me. Four times. She was my best friend. She'd understand, right? I couldn't be with someone who would hurt me.

            Taking a deep breath, I pulled myself together and then let it out as I opened the car door. I walked calmly to the front door, paused a beat, and then firmly knocked. Nash, Erica, Alice, and Braden stood protectively behind me, on high alert in case anything would go wrong.

            The door opened. Mr. O'Meary opened the door. His face looked troubled instead of being filled with its usual joy. He looked at me and his expression turned to one full of surprise.

            "Abby," he breathed. "You came back."

            He said this with such amazement that I hated to ruin it for him, but I had to.

            "No," I said quietly, shaking my head.

            "Then why?"