Shattered

Chapter 17

About an hour later, we made it to the apartment smoothly, with the exception of one instance in the garage where Nakoa was adamant about refusing to leave the car. I couldn't blame her, you can feel the hellish apartment vibes from down there. Yes, I'm dramatic, no, I don't care. Lucas ended up just carrying her. After the rough week I had, there was no desire to try anything unless I had a very well-formulated plan. I'll skip out on unnecessary pain, thank you.

The moment I sat on the couch, I wanted to nap. I wasn't even tired. Chandler had taken Nakoa and Lucas upstairs to their room, which I had made spotless yesterday, probably so they could wash up. Traveling has a way of making you feel nasty. Patiently, I watched and waited for a chance to speak to Nakoa, preferably without the men supervising. Hopefully, this time would come soon.

After another minute of aimlessly shutting my eyes, I stood from the cushions, which were making me quite sleepy, and went into the kitchen. It was nearing 12:30, so I figured I'd do something for lunch, despite not being entirely hungry. I simply needed a distraction. Trying not to fight with Chandler is hard enough, especially with how unreasonable he can be. If he's going to keep me locked here, would it hurt to treat me fairly? The tiniest act will set him off, and it's pretty fucking frustrating. Sorry you can't handle my personality, jackass.

I was beginning to near a point of irrationality, desperate to take control of my life. This irrationality scared me, I knew my mind was capable to go on an extremely destructive rampage, and stopping myself in those times always proved difficult, especially when I'm in a depression. I really was scared I would take it too far and do something irreversible.

"It's Jess, right?" Caught by surprise, I quickly turned my head away from the simmering tomatoes I had been stirring and watched as Lucas walked into the kitchen. "Yep, that's my name," I mumbled out, sounding more annoyed than intended. He smiled at me, his bluish-green eyes seeming more friendly. In my head, I guess I imagined him looking a lot more evil, not so... normal? Nonetheless, I didn't doubt what he was capable of.

"Chandler said you were small, but I didn't expect you to be this small." He laughed along with his sentence, to which I frowned. "You're not the first to tell me that." I'm not tall, not at all, but god it's annoying to have everyone tell me. Yes, I live in this body, I think I know my size.

"I also expected an accent, seeing as you're from England and all." I couldn't help the eye roll as I shifted my focus back to the food I was working on. "I was raised in Washington, I moved when I was fifteen." Pacing around the kitchen Island, I opened the fridge and took out the garlic. Before he could respond to my statement, I asked "Where's Chandler?"

Believe me, I wasn't asking because I wanted his company, I needed a knife and he moved them someplace else. I don't blame him, I did try to use one against him. "He was in his room when I came down."

"Can you go get him for me?" If Lucas was going to be nice, I'd use it to my advantage, and I currently didn't feel like going upstairs. "Sure, no problem."

"Thanks," I muttered through a tight-lipped smile. That was all he would get from me. While waiting, I returned to my tomatoes, adding salt and olive oil. No point in using tomato sauce from a jar when I have plenty of time to make it myself. If I could get my bag from Chandler, I'd be able to find my work notebook, which I kept all my recipes in. However, there were some dishes I could remember from the top of my head, such as this one, but my notebook would be a big help.

"Lucas said you needed me." Chandler wrapped an arm around my waist as he stood beside me. "Yeah, I need a knife." His arm tightened and pulled me closer, causing my tender stomach to sting a little. The pain wasn't much, but it still reminded me of the feeling when it happened.