Fine Line

Chapter fifteen

Silent Activity

"You're home," I stated dumbly.

"I am." The smile hadn't left her lips, but it didn't bring one to my face as it usually would.

She was here, that was a good thing. But she was meant to pick me up from school, she was meant to let me know if she was running late, she was meant to be here weeks ago. None of the things she said she would do had happened, and yet here she is, fulfilling her promise to return from London for the first time since she had made it all those months ago.

"She arrived about an hour ago," my father explained when I said no more to her.

"Nothing to let me know you wouldn't be at school?" I asked.

"It wasn't that simple," she assured me. "I was on a train. We were going through tunnels."

"And that prevented you from sending me a text that you were running late? I'm not stupid, Mum. I have been to London on a train before. There aren't that many tunnels."

"No, I know. But it really wasn't that easy for me to do. I had no signal, I couldn't get in contact with you."

"Valerie," my dad warned. "Don't take this out on your mother, it's her first night back."

"Yes, it is," I agreed. I wanted to be happy she was back, I had missed her so much. When she was here, I could talk to her about anything. She was probably the one I would trust most with what had happened between Jaden and I - excluding the fact that he had secretly climbed into my bedroom and slept over. In my bed. With me. But I couldn't get past the fact that she was meant to have been back weeks ago. "Shouldn't be, though, should it?"

♡♡

The sudden knock on the window startled me, causing my body to jolt upwards from the peaceful position I had finally gotten myself into as I dozed off into a dreamless sleep. I didn't get past the blackness of peace where everything in the outside world was unknown to me.

I had stormed upstairs after my father's comment and hadn't left since. I didn't even leave for any food. But neither of my parents had come up to check on me, and I doubted that they were going to any time soon. My mother would have to wait till the morning to sort things out with me, and I knew she would. Eventually, I would forget about it, and then she would have to go back again.

Again, the knock sounded, and my window began to move. Someone on the other side was trying to lift it up and open it, but it had been locked three days ago so they had no luck in the task they were attempting.

I threw the covers off of my legs and moved them so that they hung down the side of the bed. My feet were touching the floor, reading to stand up and move towards the window if the knock sounded again. It didn't for a couple moments, but then it came more forcefully and I scurried over to pull my curtains back.

Jaden.

"What the hell?" I snapped when I opened the window for him.

"Get dressed," he said, ignoring my question. I moved backwards as he climbed through the window and walked to sit on my bed, waiting for me to do as he said.

I stared at him, wondering if he really thought I was just going to do what he told me after ignoring me for the last three days.

"Get. Dressed," he repeated.

"Why should I?"

"Valerie, we do not have the time for this. Get your ass dressed and moving or don't come at all."

It was my curiosity that made me do as he said. The way he spoke about it was mysterious, and I knew that he would not give me a straight answer if I asked where we were going. Which meant the only other thing to do was go with him.