Hey you guys! Sorry this chapter was super late because I've had a really busy week. It's really short as well, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Much love! ~ Lucy (guccinarry) x

Getting home was easier than expected. I was quite deep in the woods and I didn't know where I was at first. I didn't venture far from the cave but I lost the entrance too it almost immediately. I couldn't find it again in the unfamiliar part of the forest. Eventually, I found the main path and getting out of the woods was easy at that point. Having emerged from the woods about an hour and half after I was released from the cave, I found the bus stop and went straight home.

Now, I'm stood at the front door of my house, with my bag, preparing myself for the worst. With a deep breath, I lift my quivering hand to the door, pull the handle and step bravely into the house. I feel sick to the stomach. What is my mum going to say?

To my surprise, my mum isn't angry. Actually, she's a soggy, shivering mess with a mascara-covered face half concealed by Mrs. Robertson's shoulder. Lilith spots me cowering behind the door frame and her face lights up. Dropping my mother's quaking hand, she waits for a pause between my mother's shrill wails and shouts my name with unprecedented relief. "Lilith..." I manage to say before she abandons my mum completely and throws herself at me, trapping my body within her welcoming arms. James' mum lets go of me after realising I can't breath and my mum, who (until now) has been too consumed in tears to notice I've returned, gives out a weird, high pitched cry and runs at me with a smile on her face. Embracing her tightly, I say hello to her but she doesn't repsond in words. All I can hear is muffled crying.

Mum emerges from my shoulder and grabs my face with gusto, "Scarlet, my baby, where in God's name have you been? I called Lilith but she said you weren't there and she didn't know where you'd gone!" shrieks my mother, who looks like she's about to drop to the floor; her legs are trembling like crazy. Come on, scarlet, think - quickly! I can feel my cheeks burning up and the whole world suddenly gets 300% hotter. Heart racing, brain panicking, I just blurt out the first plausible excuse that comes into my head; "Ummm... I was, errr... kinda offended - I guess - when you said that thing about never adopting me so, yeah, I just sort of like spent the night in a hotel. Yeah, sorry." I mutter. Nice save, Scarlet. Real smooth. My mum just stares at me with a gormless look, wide eyed and open-mouthed, as if she is struggling to process what I just said. I think she's a bit overwhelmed, being the overprotective mother she is. Despite the fact that she is quite strict, she thinks the world of me and I love her. Lilith is very calm and never gets mad, so she balances my mother out. I can tell she knows I am lying from the way she stares at me and the way she subtly shakes her head - the disappointment in her eyes kills me. "Why did you go alone when you knew it was dangerous?" she enquires, clearly referring to me going after the Fangwolf.

"Don't worry, I didn't go as far as you might have expected." I reply, trying to reassure her. Mrs Robertson just doesn't respond. The entire room goes quiet apart from my mother's hushed sniffling. "There, there, Joanne," whispers Lilith in a comforting voice, "she's back now." Once again, the noise dies down and we're all just stood here. I'm so done - I can't cope with this awkward silence anymore. "Where's James?" I say, shattering the tension. Lilith informs me that he's in the lounge. I'm so excited to see him even though I only saw him like, two days ago, or something.

As I approach the door of the dim room, all I can hear is heavy breathing and the ticking of a clock. I enter to see James sat on the sofa, head in hands. My heart does this weird sort of flutter thing when I see him again (finally). "James..." I murmur softly, with a small smile appearing on my face. James' head shoots up instantly and his wide, sapphire eyes meet with mine. I've always loved his eyes. His mouth drops open at first glance, and then he jumps up energetically, holding his open arms aloft. He still looks stunned to see me and he literally grabs my top and drags me into him aggressively, squeezing and shaking me in his strong embrace. "Nice to see you too..." I state sarcastically with a laugh. James' response is nothing more than a loud sigh of relief. After what seems like three billion years, I finally get to hear James' thick, Irish accent again when he says, "what the actual fuck, dude?" He sounds like he's tired out, but he's just breathing really heavily.

"I was going to go after it." I say, arms around James' waist and head on his chest listening to his racing heart.

"Did you kill it?" he asks.

"No but he-" I stop myself - telling him what happened would put his life in jeopardy. For the second time today, I have to think fast; "I mean but I decided not to go last minute. It was already late at that point so I went to a hotel. I didn't want to disturb my mum." I manage to spit out. At least I delivered this more convincingly than earlier. To my disappointment, somewhat, James lets go of me and puts his soft hands on my shoulders. "Never do this to me again, you bitch." he remarks, bluntly.

"Sorry, James Robertson."

"You should be, Scarlet Rose Ashburn."

An hour or two later, James and I are sat upstairs in my room. He keeps giving me skeptical looks. "What?!" I finally ask.

"Which bus stop did you go to?" He enquired. Strange boy.

"The one down the road from college..."

"What time was this?"

"Late."

"Why did you decide not to?"

Jesus fucking Christ, why is he asking me so many questions? Does he not believe me? Am I really that bad at lying? What if he saw right through it? Oh my God, stop panicking - he'll pick up on it! James can read people. "Stop interrogating me!" I snap unintentionally. I didn't mean to shout at him, I was just in a moment of panic! Wow, good one Scarlet. He's really going to be entirely convinced now.

James lunges back slightly when I raise my voice, looking totally taken aback. Still, he doesn't shout back or say anything, he just sits there; very calm, as usual - although he's definitely puzzled. Without a word, James stands up to leave and I'm overcome with guilt. As he draws closer to the door, something slips out of my mouth - "Sorry." Looking more confused than he did before, he asks "For what?"

"For everything," I reply.