Mended Hearts x Revised

Chapter Fifteen

Jayden's POV

       Carson slumps against the wall, looking defeated and upset. "I can't believe it," I mutter. At this point, I don't which Orlando is worse. Lauren kissed my brother and ruined his chances with Annie. Johnny and Emily kissed which broke whatever shred of strength Annie had left.
"Did anyone of you see where she went?" Kenzie asks, running up to us. It seems everyone's been filled in on what happened. I shake my head and Carson only groans. The brunette eyes my brother wearily, "If you hurt her again, I won't hesitate to kill you. You don't mess with her without going through us."
I shake my head, mouthing, Don't! He's depressed enough you'll make it worse! She catches on and reluctantly sighs, "Just stay put, ok? We'll go see if we can find her. If we do, we'll let you know." She turns and leaves, heading back down the hallway.
Johnny comes up to us, his eyes lowered, "Did either one of you see An-" Carson pushes himself away from the wall, and walks down the hallway without giving an answer. With a sigh, Johnny turns and leaves. I'm standing in the middle of a hallway all alone, torn between going after my brother or my friend.
In the end, I chose Carson because family comes first. Family always comes first, no matter what...

Asher's POV

Annie sits next to me, the warm sand comforting and the sound of the crashing waves soothing. After she bolted, I ran after her and caught up with her. She was done crying, the heartbreak had been replaced with betrayal and anger. Yet, somehow she was numb and oddly emotionless.
She just told me she wanted to escape and go find comfort somewhere else. I suggested the beach and we agreed to go there. I'd texted Jack and Will, so they'd know where we were. They'd offered to go find some snacks and comfort food for Annie, and had gone off in search of the nearest store.
"Do you think it's me?" I turn and look over at the girl sitting next to me. A loose strand of hair blows into her face and I impulsively reach out and brush it away. "Is what you?" I ask.
She lowers her eyes, "The reason I can never be happy. No matter who I date I never get my 'happily ever after' and I always end up hurt." She shakes her head, "I just wish I could be happy without a guy but it seems like I need someone to tell me I'm beautiful and loved because I don't believe it myself. It feels as if I'm never enough."
I frown, "You deserve to be happy and while life hasn't been the greatest lately, just know you still have us."
Two more voices join in, "Yeah, you always have us." Jack sits on the other side of Annie, while Will sits next to me. They hand out the snacks they brought, before exchanging a look.
"We want you to know we're always here for you. I know we're not perfect and we're a bunch of crazy kids, but deep down we care for you." Jack says.
Will nods, "Think of us as your support system." He smiles, "Anyway...who are we killing first? Carson or Johnny? Personally I think Johnny would be easier, so we'll get rid of him first. Then, we'll take care of Carson."Annie can't hold back, as a laugh escapes her mouth.
She shakes her head, pulling the three of us in a hug. "Y'all really are the best." She whispers. Then she gently pushes us away and begins looking through the snacks. Jack laughs, "Gee thanks, Anns." She only smiles, picking up a bag of skittles. She opens them and shakes out a few, before her eyes widen and she drops the bag. The multicolored candy spills out onto the sand, as she jumps up and begins to squeal.
"Tayler!" She exclaims. I turn and see a guy who looks like he's in his twenties approaching us. He throws open his arms and Annie runs towards him, hugging him tightly.
He hugs her back before squinting, "You've been crying. Who did it? What jerk am I getting rid of?" He eyes the three of us suspiciously, and I see Jack begin to squirm. Will looks away and I can't help but feel a little nervous.
Annie shrugs, "It doesn't matter. I want you to meet my friends." She grabs his hand and drags him over to us. She grins up at him, "This is my stepbrother, Tayler Holder." We politely exchange hellos, shaking hands before he crosses his arms. "Seriously though...who did this to you?"
"I don't want to talk about, ok? Besides, why are you here? I mean I love you and I'm glad to see you, but why are you here and how did you find me?" She replies, staring at the ground.
He shakes his head, "I came to surprise you at your first show and found out you'd bolted. So, I figured I'd drive around and look for you. I saw a group of teenagers and thought, 'why not check it out' and sure enough, here you were." He winces, "Mrs.Orlando called Katie and Billy." Annie deflates and softly says, "I should probably call them both, huh?"
He nods, squeezing her shoulder, "I think the stepparents would appreciate a call. They were pretty worried." Annie nods and goes off to make her phone calls.
Tayler turns to us, glaring, "Ok, talk. Who did this to my little sister? If it was one of you then be a man and fess up." The three of us shake our heads, "Wasn't any of us, man." Jack says.
He frowns, "Then who was it?" We exchange a look, trying to decide if we should tell him the truth. He continues to glare at us and we give in. Jack breaks first, words spilling out of his mouth before he can stop them.
  "Well, first it was Carson. He and her best friend kissed...but then it was Johnny. He and her best friend also kissed. So, um it's been a rough day for her. But we did nothing to cause her any pain." He stammers, sounding both nervous and uncomfortable.
  Annie returns, eyeing the four of us suspiciously, "Tayler, what did you do? Jack is practically shaking, Will looks ready to run, and Asher is deathly pale."
  Her stepbrother holds up his hand, "All I did was ask a few questions." Her eyes narrow, "About why I was crying? Look, I don't need you fighting my battles for me! I-I," her voice falters, "I wish people would stop using me!"

ꕥ 𝙳𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝? 𝚆𝚎𝚕𝚕...𝚜𝚊𝚍𝚕𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚒𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝. ꕥ
♥︎ 𝚡𝚘, 𝚋𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚊 ♥︎