Raine Walker

Chapter Twenty-Five

Adam POV

        Disappointment flooded my mind. I push my back against the wall, hoping that either of them didn't see me. Raine and Scott were hugging. Hugging. I'm disappointed in Scott for the most part. I know Scott's track record for relationships with girls, and they revolve around one thing. It's unsettling to know that Scott is getting closer to Raine. Raine doesn't understand Scott and his priorities. Frankly, I'm still a little confused on that for the most part.

        I practically eavesdropped on their entire conversation, my heart sinking with each word spoken. Raine was caught in trouble, with someone that said something that raised a red flag. He wanted a piece of his reward. One thing was in mind.

        But then there was that piece of me that was glad that Scott was with her and stole my car keys to go get her out of that situation. Thank you, Scott. I can't believe I just thought that.

        He wanted a piece of his reward.

        That one thing would wreck my mind for the remainder of the night, constantly playing over and over. I make my way down the stairs stealth-fully, without making a single sound. I reach the kitchen, and that's when I begin pacing.

        Piece of his reward. It'd be easier to figure out if I knew who this person was and what he did to Raine that left her so effected. Funny how she's talking to Scott about this when I'm her brother. Maybe the whole family thing is confusing to her? This whole situation is probably too confusing for her.

       But what's go her so effected?

        Someone hurt my sister, Lea. I mean...my sister, Raine.

        Suddenly, footsteps sounded as they came down the stairs and into the living room. I stood there, hearing the footsteps growing closer. Then Scott appeared at the doorway, a shocked facial expression sweeping across his face as he saw me. "Hey. I didn't know you were up."

        "I wasn't about to go to sleep," I sigh, eyeing him. 

        "You overheard the conversation upstairs, didn't you?" Scott stands at the doorway, giving me both a considerate and annoyed look. 

        "I wasn't about to sit back and pretend that there was nothing wrong with my sister. Except, you reached her first," I say. A hint of annoyance mocked Scott's tone. Scott looked at me confused. "What even happened to her?"

        Scott runs his fingers through his hair, thinking of the words to begin with. "She went to a party with Holland. It was Holland's boyfriend's party. He tried to...ah..." Scott hesitated to make more words. He had a troubled look on his face as he looked at me. "Holland's boyfriend tried to rape her."

        Those words hit me like a brick. Why was it that my sister was the one living a hellish life? I had to take a seat on that. I slumped into the dining chair, wishing those words didn't just come out of Scott's mouth. "Is she-?"

        "She's okay, now. She fell asleep," Scott takes a seat as well. He looks down at the table.

        "I heard about what he said to her. How he..." I cleared my throat, feeling weird talking about it. "About how he wanted his reward."

        "You're thinking what I'm thinking, right?" Scott looks at me. He's not stupid. He's quite intellectual, so I figured he picked upon that too.

        "That Lacey has something to do with it," I respond without hesitation.

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Raine POV

        They don't realize it. They don't realize that I'm not actually asleep. They don't realize that their words are echoing through the air ducts directly to my ears. I'm sitting up in the darkness, looking at how the moon is no longer visible like nights before. It's masked by the dark and demeaning clouds of a disintegrating storm. 

        I'm frozen, my eyes stuck on the window. Lacey has something to do with this. I finally unfreeze, bringing my legs closer to me to bury my eyes into my knees. There are no tears, though. It's an overwhelming thought that Lacey is now out to harm me.

        I am grateful that Scott came into the picture. He practically saved me from...from the things that could've followed. Scott and Adam turn silent from within the kitchen. 

        What's going to happen now?

        If she plotted this, what else could she manage?

        What's Lacey's next move?

        I could imagine that she's trying to tear any emotional comfort into pieces, to where I'm at my weakest. Then what will happen? Footsteps enter into my room, and I quickly lift my glance to find Scott. He pauses as he sees me, seeing my tired and distant eyes. "You heard that, didn't you?"

        "What's going to happen now?" I edge out of my voice, ignoring the question with another question.

        "I don't know," he takes a seat beside me. I could feel his heat radiate off of him and directly onto me. "But I promise that I'll keep you safe."

        When I hear those words, I feel a wave of relief course through me. It's strange now that I look at it. Before I wouldn't want Scott to try to protect me, even if he had ever good intention. Now I'm okay with that because I trust his intentions. More importantly, I think I really and truly trust him, as I've said earlier in this day. It just came to me. This instinct in me that told me that Scott is trustworthy. 

        "You'd do that?" I ask, almost in a whisper. I was not only shocked, but I was amazed.

        "Yes," he answers surely, with no hesitation.

        I turn my glance to the window again, seeing that the moon is breaking through the barrier of the clouds. "Raine?" Scott's voice sounds. I turn to the steady glance of Scott. "Remember what I said. Don't let this drag you down. Let it build you up."

        His whispering words of inspiration rang true. If I let it drag me down, then she's winning. Lacey doesn't deserve to win, especially after what she's done to my life. The moon breaking through the clouds is a great example, because after fighting to surface through the thick clouds, it's shining brightly.

         As brightly as nature lets it.