Us Against The World

Chapter 42

Before I have the chance to run, I'm yanked into the door by my right forearm. The door is softly shut behind me and I look around the living room in which everyone else sits. Ander smiles widely at me and Jexton looks uncomfortable.

"Farrah, dear, so good to see you again." Ander says and my heart pounds against my chest. "Thanks for bringing my brother back." the young woman, who is sitting on the couch across from the one in which Jexton and Ander sit, says. I snap my head to her and watch as Halten stumbles over to her and she brings him onto her lap.

"What's the matter?" Ander asks and I glare at him. Tears threaten my eyes but I hold them back. Crying is something I have done too much of, and none of these people are worth my tears anymore.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves." Ander says. "I already know who you are." I say through my teeth. Ander smiles and leans forward. "What's that? I couldn't quite hear you." I turn my head to Ren and she looks up at me from the floor sympathetically. She attempts a smile but fails. How do these people know Ander? Do they know Jexton too? Do they know that they're related?

"I'm Jonah." the tall, dark man says with a deep voice and I don't turn to him. I continue to stare between Ren, Ander and Jexton. They each take turns looking at me, then away at whatever else.

"I'm Henley," the woman holding Halten says and I turn to her. "have a seat, hon." I stare down at the floor as I slowly and cautiously walk to the couch. I sit next to the woman, who had said her name is Henley, and rest my elbows on my knees. I stare at the floor as silence fills the room.

"Why are you so upset?" Ander asks and I try to ignore him. "We're being friendly here. No harm, no foul. Okay?" I shake my head. I know he is lying. He is a liar. Everything he said to me in the past floods through my head and I try my hardest not to believe a single word of it.

But how can I believe Jexton when he's sitting in a house next to his brother, the one we ran away from?

"Farrah." Jexton's soft voice seeps into my ears and I look up at him warningly. "Don't talk to me right now." I warn and he looks at me with concern clear in his face. He knows exactly what I'm thinking and I'm glad he caught on as quickly as he did. I was afraid that I would have to call him out in front of all of these people. It is something I have done before, but I did not want to do it again. I don't have the energy nor strength right now to be aggressive.

"We can't just sit here in silence forever," Ander says and leans back. He rests his ankle on his knee and crosses his hands over his abdomen. 

What is there to say, smart-ass? I wanted to yell.

"Why are you here?" I finally build up the courage to ask. Ander smiles and sits up. He turns his head at everyone in the room, smiling at them. He raises his hands in the air. "And she finally speaks!" he announces. I roll my eyes and he relaxes when he sees my annoyed expression.

"I'm here, because these kids were missing. And their guardians were worried about them." he says and I look down at Ren on the floor. "I'm sorry." she mouths and I shake my head. I look away from her and back to Ander.

Guardians? I though Ren and Halten's parents were dead!

"We're awfully grateful that you guys got back safely. Jexton said you'd get too curious to just wait it out." Ander says and I stare at him. I can see Jexton's facial expression from the corner of my eye and I choose to ignore it. At this rate, I cannot decide whether or not Jexton is more believable than Ander. If Jexton didn't want anything to do with Ander, he would have ran away and came back to me. He would have told me to get out as quickly as possible and we would have ran. He would have warned me.

But what if he tried doing those things and Ander held him hostage? What if he threatened him?

"Relax a little, will ya?" Jonah says and I turn to him. He's standing in the doorway that separates the living room from the kitchen. He crosses his arms and leans one shoulder into the doorway and I roll my eyes at him. He does the same and spins around, then walks into the kitchen.

I press my hands to my face and sigh. Henley gently places her hand on my back and rubs it slowly. The gesture sends emotions throughout my body; as my mother used to do the same thing whenever I had been upset or stressed out.

"Are we guarded?" Jexton asks and I do not bother looking up. The last thing I want to see is Ander's smiling face at the moment. It is the most annoying thing I have come across so far, and seeing it again will only drive me even more mad than I already am.

"No, of course not!" Ander surprises me by saying. I sniffle and Henley removes her hand from my back. Halten shifts his position, then nuzzles his mother.

"Then what's the point of us playing 'gather the family circle'?" I ask and slowly look up. Ander waves his hands in front of himself and shakes his head. "You're taking this in a way inappropriate way," he says and rests his hands on his thighs. He continues to shake his head and I sigh. "all I want to do is talk to you and my little brother."

"Don't call me that." Jexton says and Ander turns to him, throwing his hands up in defeat. "Sorry." he says and slowly lowers them.

"How did you even know we were here?" I ask. "I didn't, actually." Ander says and I tilt my head in confusion.

"Jexton just showed up with Ren and I knew you were with him, so we waited. And now here you are." I nearly faint at Ander's words. What does he want from me? Who are these people?

Is this another set up?