No Escape

Chapter Twelve

Lily wasn't sure how he had done it, but Jackson somehow convinced the police not to take Charlotte away from her. She watched throughout the night as he conversed with them but was never able to hear what exactly they were saying. I knew it. I know I was dreaming. This doesn't happen in real life. Originally, they had told her that they had to take Charlotte with the rest of her sisters. Jackson had asked the question that I had been thinking, "where is that?" When they said child protective services, Lily clutched Charlie closer to her and started backing away from them. She was not letting her out of her sight or her arms.

All night Lily tried waking up from the damn dream. She would walk into things or sometimes hit her head against something hard as attempts. She repeatedly tried to pinch herself awake as she was asked question after question. The police had been trying to get information out of her all night, but she couldn't find it in her to speak. They had been too busy trying to get answers, that they hadn't noticed the pinching.

Jackson noticed though, he paid attention to every single thing that his mate did. At first, he didn't have the slightest clue as to what she was doing, but when she, almost obsessively, started pinching herself realized that she still thought she was sleeping. He didn't know what to do to help her, to make her see that this was all truly happening. But he felt useless.

Lily wasn't too fond of being forced to relive through her memories from where she was held, but it didn't seem like there was any other option. It was only after the police got their answers, eventually realizing that the only way she would answer was if she could nod or shake her head in response, that she was able to leave. Lily went hesitantly with Adrienne and her family back to their home. She wasn't planning on staying with them very long, she had to go home soon. If Carter found out that she had the option to go home but chose to stay somewhere else, Lily would've been taught another lesson.

As they made their way, Lily began to worry. She didn't have any clothes for herself or for Charlie. She didn't have the money to buy clothes or food or anything that either of them might have needed. Lily knew she would have been okay without, but Charlie needed and deserved more. She would have to go home and figure out a way to hide her from Carter.

Little did she know, Jackson had that already figured out. His mate and sister were practically the same size, so Adrienne had offered up a lot of the clothes in her closet to his mate, saying that she would just buy more. There was also a bunch of clothes from when she was younger up in the attic that his mom had kept in case anyone might have needed it. It came in handy with orphaned pups, but the clothes would really be put to good use with Charlotte.

Lily became distracted by the huge house they pulled up to. There had to have been at least three floors. It was a contemporary style home painted a cool-toned gray. From what she could tell from outside, the first floor had lots of large windows most likely for natural lighting, but the rest of the home didn't have as many. Lily was stuck on why they would need such a huge home; they were a small family of only four. Doesn't matter. I'm only dreaming. When I wake up, I'll be back in my own personal nightmare.

When the group walked inside, many people walked up to Adrienne and hugged her. She was happy to be back and safe with her pack. They all promised her that nothing like this would ever happen again. She was so relieved that she didn't even think about how all of these people and their reactions might have affected her friend.

Overhearing the conversations everyone was having with Adrienne confused Lily. Why would this happen again? Was this something that happened often around here? She didn't understand where all the people were coming form or why they were there. This was Jackson's home and the entire family had been gone most of the night, shouldn't that have meant that no one else would be in the house?

Jackson could see the wheels in Lily's head turning and realized that this wasn't normal for her. He lightly grabbed his mate's arm, but she quickly pulled away. He would never get used to the pain he felt when she did that. It made him angry; not at her. Never at her. He was angry at the man who had put her through all of this. Nikolas. Jackson didn't care that the sad excuse for a wolf had been thrown in jail, eventually he would get what he deserved, and Jackson would be there to end him. He looked up at Lily and masked his emotions with a small smile, "sorry. Do you want me to show you where you're staying?"

Lily nodded and Jackson led the way. He headed towards the stairs and Lily did the best she could to remember the way they took to get there, so she wouldn't get lost in the future. She wasn't sure why the future was on her mind. Even if this had been real, which she was sure it wasn't, she wouldn't be there for very long. Eventually they made it and Jackson opened the door. Lily took in the big room; it was like nothing she had seen before. It was extremely spacious with a bed that was placed in the far corner seemed as big as her room at home. There was a couch across from it and on the wall behind it there were two doors.

"The bathroom's in here," Jackson said opening the first door. He then went to the other one saying, "and this is the closet. It's got a bunch of Adrienne's old clothes and things that she doesn't wear in here that my mom kept for some reason. You're more than welcome to it." Lily nodded at him and he made his way out of the room. "If you need anything... and I mean anything, my room is right next door so you can just ask me, okay?" Once again, Lily nodded in his direction and he finally left, closing the door behind him.

It hurt Lily to see him walk away. She couldn't explain it but a part of her wanted him to stay there with her so she would be safe. Where the fuck did that come from? She thought to herself. She couldn't trust him; she couldn't trust anyone!

Lily shook those thoughts and feelings of Jackson away. She then laid Charlotte down on the bed, changed her into some clean clothes, and tucked her into bed. She then went to grab something for herself before finally taking the first shower she'd had in months. Lily knew that it was late, but that didn't matter to her one bit. She scrubber her skin and scalp until they were red and raw, making sure they were completely clean. The hot water felt good on her skin and she enjoyed the feeling of finally having smooth legs again, it was oddly comforting to her. Walking out of that shower being all clean and shaven was one of the best feelings.

When she was finished, she put on the shorts and tank top she had picked out and laid down in the bed next to Charlie. Lily kissed her on her forehead then made herself comfortable. She closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep. The last thought that ran through her head was the first positive on that she'd had in months; it was one of hope. Maybe I'm not dreaming after all.