Living With Ian

Chapter 24

“What on earth were you thinking?” Roger asked Sarah. Sarah sighed and looked up at her aunt and uncle. They were pacing back and forth in front of her as she sat on the couch.

“Do you know how serious this is Sarah?” Kay asked her. “First of all, you skipped school, which is extremely irresponsible and not smart. Then, no one knew where you were at. What would’ve happened if something happened to you and no one could get to you?”

“I’m sorry,” Sarah said. “I didn’t mean to skip school. But I overslept and my phone was dead. So I didn’t bother with going in late. I’m sorry, but I won’t skip anymore. I promise I’ll get all of my work made up and I won’t let it hurt my grades.”

“It’s not just that,” said her uncle. “Where were you?”

“I was with Ian.”

“Of course you were,” her aunt muttered under her breath. Sarah looked up at her.

“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked.

“That boy is nothing but trouble Sarah. I don’t want you hanging out with him. He will do nothing but hurt you.”

“That’s not true!” Sarah shouted at them.

“Don’t raise you voice at us young lady,” her uncle warned her. “And I know for a fact that he is not good for you.”

“How so?” Sarah challenged him.

“In the few months that you have lived with him you have been severely injured on the streets, hospitalized, and in the presence of criminals! And now he’s causing you to skip school. He’s a bad influence on you and I refuse to let you see him again.”

“You can’t do that,” Sarah whispered. “He’s my brother. I need him.”

“When you live under my house, you follow my rules. Don’t forget that you asked to come here. Now go to your room. We’ll call you down for dinner.” Sarah sighed and started heading up the stairs to her bedroom.

When she got in there, she collapsed onto her bed.

They couldn’t forbid her from seeing Ian. He was the closest thing that she had ever had to a real family. They just didn’t understand him. No one did. No one else understood that he wasn’t dangerous. Even Sarah, an extremely skittish person when dealing with strangers due to her past, had felt safe and secure under Ian’s care. Not at first of course, but she had still confided in him and trusted him faster than anyone else that she had met.

Don’t forget you asked to come here. Sarah groaned. Her uncle’s words were repeating in her head. She knew he was right. She had made a stupid, rash decision because of one argument with Ian and now she was paying the consequences for it. Sarah knew that her uncle was also right about living under his roof. She had to follow his rules, just like Caitlin. Sarah looked around her room and then she made up her mind. She headed into her closet and got started putting clothes into her backpack.

If she had to follow her uncle's rules while living in his house, she just wouldn't live there anymore. She knew that she belonged with Ian anyways. She had spent a lot of time thinking about everything that had happened in the past few days and she had begun to think that what Ian had done wasn't so bad.

He was just trying to protect her; like any good older brother would do. He just had different methods than most people.

When Sarah was finished packing, she slowly slid open her window and walked out. Her room was on the second story but by climbing out onto the roof of the front porch, she was able to be low enough to jump to the ground. And that’s exactly what she did.

Sarah jumped from the overhang of the porch roof and headed off down the street.

Thirty minutes later, she was out of the country and into the city. And after a twenty minute walk, she was standing in front of Ian’s front door.

Sarah took a deep breath and then knocked on the door. She was surprised when, instead of the buff, muscular brunette opening it for her, a beautiful blonde did.