Kidnapped By Cannibals- Leah Marshall

Chapter Twenty-Four

Hey guys, so I know Mason's started her spin- off, which by the way I'm super fricking excited about and can't wait to read more because you all know my love for Jared and Theo, but I'm going to finish this book off anyway, primarily because i don't want to leave people hanging and some of my readers haven't read the series ( which they should lol). I don't think it will be much longer now though, but I'll have to see. Also, congratulations to Mason for being part of the Wattpad Beta programme for Patient Twelve, which is just incredible and she definitely deserves it; she works so hard!!

The next morning, Leah awoke to nobody in the bed with her. She rubbed her eyes which were slightly swollen from the lack of sleep she'd had last night, and then furrowed her eyebrows. She scanned the room, checking in the bathroom, but to no avail did she find Jared. She was confused, and headed downstairs to see if they were having breakfast.

When she entered the kitchen, Lindsay was humming whilst she mopped the tiled floor, and Leah's blue eyes shot to the dinner table to see it was empty, everyone's breakfast bowls neatly stacked up by the sink. Oh, so they'd ate. Without her. Again. Like she wasn't part of this family..

" Lindsay?" Leah said, ignoring the sinking of her heart in her chest, and Lindsay's head jolted up from the ground. She was hesitant for a moment, until a controlled smile was shoved across her lips.

" Hello, sweetheart, your breakfast is on the table." Lindsay announced cheerfully, pointing over to the kitchen side where that same oatmeal lay, and she rapidly turned back round, continuing to hum.

This is what Lindsay always did. She'd envelope herself in fake happiness in the worst of situations. She'd act like nothing major had happened so that Leah didn't feel uncomfortable, and Leah had always appreciated that massively. But today, Leah was perplexed and in question.

" Where's Jared?" She asked, and she watched as Lindsay's eyes flickered from the side, but they didn't look at her. What was her problem? Her tone said one thing, but her body actions were saying another. Bubbly and gratified but then awkward and twitchy.

" He's already out with Gabe," Lindsay said. "Will you just pass me that pile of clothes near the fridge, please?" Leah noticed her change conversation, and she beaded her eyes, staring at Lindsay, but Lindsay still didn't face her.

Leah warily headed over, grasping the fabric of the clothes between her bony fingers; they were heavy, or maybe Leah was just too weak.

She placed them beside Lindsay, and she thanked her with something that didn't sound like a thank you because it was so under her breath.

The room was filled with swallowing silence for a few minutes, and Leah kept clearing her throat to create some source of noise. Noise that would break whatever had built in the room that caused Leah to feel so uneasy.

She was picking at the torn skin around her unpolished fingernails when she decided to speak up.

" Is Gabriel mad at me?" Her ocean-blue, vulnerable eyes stared up, awaiting Lindsay to turn around and come face to face with her. But she didn't. She froze for a few moments, and Leah thought she wasn't going to respond.

She stopped folding the washing, and rotated, hurrying past Leah to the other side of the room before they made eye contact.

" Not mad," Lindsay now spoke quietly. " Just disappointed." 

That means mad. Lindsay had never been a good liar. Why couldn't she just say it how it was?

" Oh.." Lindsay must've seen the fearful expression on Leah's face- the red begin to spread across her cheeks, because she interrupted before Leah could say another word.

" But don't worry, dear," Leah felt Lindsay place her old, frail hand on her shoulder. "We just need to make sure that nothing like that happens again."

" I didn't do it because I wanted to... leave," Leah almost whispered, gulping straight after as the burning tears scolded her sockets for being so damn stupid. All she ever did was cry.

" I believe you, Leah. But actions speak louder than words."

Actions speak louder than words.

Lindsay was right. It wasn't enough for Leah to just tell Jared she wouldn't pull anything as stupid again, but the way she behaved begged to differ. She knew he wasn't as mad as he was a few days ago, but Leah still felt terrible for breaking a promise with Jared- a promise that she'd never leave him. He told her he couldn't live without her, but she left the house like a selfish fool anyway. It was like she was almost heartless.

The distrust was stronger than ever at this point, and Jared had probably convinced himself that Leah wasn't in love with him. And she was. More than anything. Him and his family had done a lot for her, and she needed to respect that and just listen. Listen and obey the rules.

" How about we bake something before the boys come back inside?" Lindsay suggested, breaking Leah's intense thoughts. " I'm sure Jared would love that."

Leah turned to her, a smile lifting up onto her face, despite the tears that hung from her eyelids. Lindsay was just too sweet; she was always trying to do the right thing.

Leah nodded, and they headed deeper into the kitchen.

——-

A few hours later, and the side was filled with goods, the pungent smell of overly-baked cakes coated the air, making it hard for Leah not to breathe in through her nose to endure it. Lindsay took her oven gloves off, and Leah washed the flour and egg off of her hands.

" I think we did a pretty good job," Lindsay said, and Leah smiled over at her from the sink. The cakes really did look great, and she just hoped they tasted as delicious as they looked.

Before Leah could respond, the door opened, and in came Gabe and Jared, looking as if they were discussing something really deep. Gabriel had his arm around Jared's shoulder, and Jared was nodding to whatever he was telling him; it was too quiet for either of the women to hear.

Once Gabriel realised that the room was hushed, he snapped his head up to see Lindsay and Leah peering over, but they continued to wash up like they weren't trying to listen to anything.

Gabriel let go off Jared, still eyeing Lindsay with The Devils glare as he locked the door beside him. Leah kept body straight forward, and began using a towel to dry her hands.

" You baked?" She heard Jared say, and when she looked up, he was right in front of her, holding a cake between his hands.

" Yeah, I hope you don't mind," Leah said, still wiping her hands. " Lindsay convinced me i'd have fun," she added an airy laugh on the end. Jared took a bite of the cake, but didn't give it much recognition as he stared at Leah.

" And I'm guessing you did?" He rose an eyebrow at her, smiling, and she nodded her head at him.

" I did," she agreed, and he placed the rest of the cake on the side, walking over to her.

Leah watched him, and he leaned out to tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear that had turned white from the flour making its way into the lose curls. " You look cute when you're like this," Jared said, and Leah felt her skin tingle, and her face flush.

Oh, Jared. How could she have ever been so stupid to hurt this boy? All he ever did was shower her with the compliments she desired, but was too shy to take. He wasn't afraid to let her know how he felt about her, and this was something she'd been destined for, for such a long time.

" Thank you," she grinned, looking down at the floor as her cheeks still glowed with pinkness as the embarrassment of her own husband. "But I better get cleaned up."

" Go ahead," he said, and Leah's eyes met his briefly before she hurried past him to head upstairs, but her ears pricked as Jared spoke before she got a chance to leave the room.

" Oh, Leah,"

Leah turned on her heels, and his black eyes now firmly locked on hers, providing full seriousness, and Leah felt her bones tense in her body for some strange reason. It was like she knew she wasn't going to be happy with what he was about to say, and she felt her eyes twitch to remove themselves from his.

" After dinner I want to talk to you,"