Double Back - Mistwater Chronicles #1

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Hey y'all! Hope you enjoyed the bombshell of last week.

Hope you like this chapter!

xoxo,

Morgan

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As Zack turns to deal with the fact that my sister is dead, I'm still in shock. No one's noticed the fact that I look like I'm in the middle of a panic attack except for Annabeth, who's just come in through the front door with her brother. Edward doesn't even notice me, walking past to my shaking body converse with a still drunk-as-ever Zack.

Annabeth's gray eyes get huge as she looks at me, motioning for me to come over to her. Grabbing my jacket out the coat closet, we slip outside.

"Teresa.." she says, prying my hands from my bloody face. "What the hell happened to you?"

I swallow, burning with shame. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Talk about what? The fact your sister is lying dead in your backyard?"

I suck in a breath sharply. I knew she was dead the second I walked away from her, but it all feels surreal. It's one thing to know your sister is gone, but it's another thing entirely to have to deal with the aftermath - especially when it's your own fault. Pressing my lips together, I wipe away the tears that have leaked out.

"I can't do this," I say finally, the Denver wind making me shove my hands into my pants pockets. Taking my backpack off for a second, I put my winter jacket on over it, sighing in relief when it's zipped up. "I can't do this anymore."

"You can't do this," Annabeth repeats back at me. "What is that supposed to mean?"

I sniff, wiping more tears off of my cheeks with the back of my hand. "I don't know. I can't stay here anymore, so I'm leaving. It's a really long story, Annabeth. I wish I had time to tell you, but I've got to get out of here."

The unspoken before things get worse hangs between us.

"When are you coming back?" she asks, eyes shifting toward the door for a second. People are still in there talking, which means Zack is still distracted, but I don't know how much longer he's going to be inside. Any second now, he could come out and do something else to me. The people inside could come out and see the healing bruises and scratches on my face and put two and two together.

"I don't know," I reply softly. "But I have to go right now."

She nods, leaning down to hug me for a few seconds. I hug her, but it's over before I can really press her tightly to me like I used to do with my other close friends. Annabeth is one of my good friends, I think to myself. Never thought I'd see the day.

"Promise me something," she calls out to me when I'm halfway down the driveway. Spinning around, I start walking backwards as we make eye contact.

"What?" I reply, grabbing my keys out of my coat pocket. Opening the door to the car, I listen as she jogs over to me and grips my hands tightly in hers.

"If he ever touches you again, you come find me," Annabeth whispers, her voice shaking. "I don't care what happens to me, but I'm going to call the cops next time. Do you understand?"

"I never said he hit me," I say, jerking back from her. "I never said that. I tripped and fell on the ice, Annabeth. You know how slippery it gets in December."

"I'm not an idiot, Teresa," she hisses, making a point of dropping her eyes to my nose and cheek. "I know exactly what a handprint looks like."