Fallen

Chapter Forty Two

The toilet lid was cold against my legs. For the last half an hour I'd been crying on and off in the pitch-black bathroom. I let my arm - now wrapped up in a bandage - hang heavily by my side to alleviate the pain a little. The pounding of my head was only made worse by the bright light of my phone screen. My thumb hovered over the keyboard on my screen. For a long while, I toyed with the idea of sending the message, but something was holding me back. Maybe it was the fear of getting caught, and of the consequences that would follow. I almost put my phone away, but the throbbing pain of my arm served as a reminder to what Jackson was capable of. I brought up Blaine's photo in my contacts and admired his soft smile as if I was falling for him all over again. Then it dawned on me, he was the only person I had left in my life. The only person I could reach out to.

With a shaky hand, I typed out a new message, praying that he was still up at this hour.

Hi x

I waited, chewing nervously on my lip and finding something, anything to do on my phone to distract

me from the hammering of my heart. Every minute I worried Jackson would wake up and find me in here, but all that melted away from the moment I saw Blaine's name on my screen.

Hey. I'm glad you text me. I was so worried about you x

His words almost made me cry. I quickly replied.

I'm fine. How are you? I'm so sorry for what Jackson did. x

It's not your fault. I'm okay, just glad I finally get to speak to you again xx

This time I really did start to cry again. It was the reassurance I needed, to know that he still wanted to know me after tonight. I wiped at my eyes when another message came through.

Is something wrong? Do you need me to call you?

The room I was in was at the end of the corridor opposite the room Brody was sleeping in. I was hesitant at first, but the doors of the house were heavy and the one for the extravagantly large bathroom I was in was several yards from me. So I said yes. Seconds later a facetime call came through. I picked up to see Blaine's crooked smile and pretty eyes, but the light of his own phone screen illuminated the bruise on his cheekbone and the cut on his bottom lip.

"Hey," he said, but then his face fell. "What's wrong?"

I sniffled and wiped under my nose with the back of my hand. "I'm sorry, I just don't know what to do..."

"What do you mean? Are you safe right now?"

"No," I whispered. "I don't think I can do this anymore."

Sobs tore out of me like a volcano that had been waited years to erupt. All Blaine could do was watch me break down. This was the first time since meeting Jackson that I finally let myself feel, rather than simply pretending that everything was okay. The truth was I wasn't okay. I missed working at the café and spending most of my time with Mark and Dee. I missed Ellie too. This was the first time I've ever lived away from my sister and just the thought made my chest tight with worry. Finally, on top of all of that, I watched Jackson almost kill someone I never really stopped loving.

Blaine was worryingly quiet. When I finally composed myself, I stole a glance at him. He was deep in thought, but one thing was certain; he was angry.

"We're going to get you out of there," he said.

For a moment, I was hopeful. To be whisked away by Blaine and driven towards the sunset to live happily ever after sounded perfect, but it was far from doable. Jackson would stop at nothing to keep me here.