𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥

𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘳

Audrey's POV:

Our feet shuffled almost in sync as we made our way down the beach, Jack never loosening the grip he had around my shoulders. The walk was uncomfortable, pain shooting through my side with every step. The heat beat down onto my face, causing beads of sweat to form on my forehead and trickle down to my eyebrows before I hurriedly wiped them away.

In an attempt to lighten the heavy silence that lay between us, I decided to make an attempt at conversation.

"Thanks for the help back there," I said simply, glancing up at the fiery boy with a thankful smile.

"Don't expect it all the time. Lucky for you, I just happened to be feeling nice today," he stated coldly, his blue eyes flashing as he glanced down at me.

The smile faded from my lips when I realized he wasn't joking. I half way expected him to laugh after the statement, but I was only greeted by the dead stare he had on the scene ahead of us. I looked back down at my feet, slowly shuffling through the warm sand.

Jackass, absolute jackass.

"Well thanks anyway, I appreciate it," I stated, my tone not as nice as before.

The silence once again grew heavy and this time I didn't bother to break it. A circle of boys began to come into view and a mix of fear and excitement overcame me as I searched for my brother in the sea of heads.

I spotted a mop of coarse hair that could only belong to Simon. Summoning every ounce of strength I had left, I practically threw Jack off of me and sprinted towards the boys. After a few moments of ungraciously stumbling across the sand, I approached the group, falling onto Roger as I did so.

Our heads collided together before I completely fell to the ground, wincing at the sudden impact. It took a moment of effort, but I finally caught my breath and looked up at Roger to apologize. Instead, my eyes were caught by those of a boy with a light complexion and fair hair, who stood at the left of Roger. Noticing the scared and worried look that had taken over his gentle facial features, I shifted my glance to Roger who now had a stream of blood traced from his temple to his brow bone.

"I'm sorry Rog, it was just an acciden-"

"Oh, darling," he began, wiping the blood that now trickled down his cheekbone.

"You're going to pay for that."

Before I could finish my sentence, I saw his lips curve into a devilish smirk as he kicked the wound in my side, causing it to splatter warm blood across the sand. I heard a chorus of groans from the boys as I coughed and held a finger up to Simon, telling him it was okay. As much as he wanted to protect me, I knew he couldn't take Roger, and I didn't want to see him get hurt trying.

"Rog," he repeated the nickname I had previously called him.

"That's real cute," he decided, teasing as he winked at me, still laid out in the sand.

Slowly regaining my strength, I got back to my feet and wearily walked past Roger, noticeably flinching when he shifted on his feet. Simon ran over to me and engulfed me in a huge hug, making sure I was alright. My gaze met Jack's, his eyes seeming to hold a bit of sympathy, although he did nothing to prevent the situation.

I've only known him for a day, but so far, Jack really confuses me. One moment he's caring and helpful, and the next he's a complete jerk. It intrigues me, and at times I wish I could figure out what the hell was going on inside his head.