Second chapter this week! Enjoy!


"I swear Rufus was here. He took them, I know it. I'm not the only one that heard him, right?" Nina turned to the others.

Eddie nodded. "Yeah, I heard him talking, and someone screaming. You don't think he hurt anyone do you?"

"I don't know; what I do know is that he has Stevie."

"And Jerome," Mara said softly, hugging herself. Amber wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders and held her close comfortingly.

"And Patricia; this time, he's crossed a line, one that he shouldn't have crossed if he valued his life." Eddie growled and headed for the door.

"Eddie, wait," Joy stopped him. "Patricia will be fine, trust me. What we have to worry about is that Rufus kidnapped them, all three of them, at the same time. He's either, got something planned, getting really desperate, or starting a soccer team. I'm guessing it's one of the first two."

"This isn't a joke, Joy. Patricia is terrified of Rufus and he's got her held captive. I'm not going to just sit here and wait for him to blackmail us."

Alfie spoke up and they all looked at him with sad, worried or burning eyes. "All three of them are terrified of him; they were vulnerable when they were alone and he took advantage of the situation. We need to keep our heads and think this through. We should wait until Rufus contacts us. If we tried to get them back now, who knows what he might do to them.

"And on top of that, Jerome wouldn't have gone with him unless he had a good reason. He could 'help' him and then betray him later, or Rufus threatened him. Last year when he kidnapped Jerome, he told me Rufus had threatened to hurt Poppy. Jerome wouldn't let anything happen to her, that's why he went with him. So, if Rufus had threatened him, and has been watching us, I'm guessing he threatened to hurt Poppy, or Mara.

"Patricia either went with him to protect Poppy and Mara or because she was just too scared to say no. And then, Stevie, that wasn't Patricia's scream. Rufus did something, maybe Senkhara did. They all had reasons to go, not because they were afraid. They had a choice, and they chose to submit."

The others didn't have the time, or energy, to give him surprised looks, they just nodded and left the library. They made their way to Anubis House slowly and soon they were heading to their rooms without another word to each other.

Alfie sighed and entered his room. Charlie perked up when the door opened but his expression sobered when he saw who had walked in.

"Nice to see you, too," Alfie scoffed sarcastically. He fell onto his bed and closed his brown eyes, waiting for the darkness and dreamlessness to overcome him.

"Where were you?" Charlie asked, closing his laptop.

"Out."

"Okay, where's Jerome?"

"Out."

"Where are The Beatles?"

"Out."

"Okay, dude, what's up?"

"Nothing, can you just let me sleep?"

Charlie shrugged even though Alfie couldn't see him and he lay back in his pillows, arms behind his head. As his eyes drifted closed, his thoughts wondered off to Stevie and how he'd blown her off. He frowned and got out of his position, hurrying out of the room to the stairs. He crept up the creaky boards and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Victor wasn't in his office. He slid into the girl's corridor and knocked gently on Stevie's door.

Nina answered with tired eyes and she smiled politely at Charlie, though to him it looked strained.

"Can I talk to Stevie?"

"Sorry, Charlie, she's sleeping." The American yawned.

"Okay, well, if she wakes up, tell her that I'd like to talk to her. She can come in and wake me up or whatever at anytime."

"Yeah, sure, I'll let her know."

"Thanks. Night."

"Good night," she said softly and shut the door.


Amber rubbed Mara's shoulder comfortingly and let her shake with quiet sobs. They sat in the common room while the others were asleep. Victor hadn't shown up to order them to bed yet and Amber was glad. She wanted to comfort her friend without getting interrupted and she couldn't do that in their rooms when the others were resting.

"Amber, what would you do if Alfie was the one kidnapped?" Mara asked, sniffling, tear stains glimmering in the light above them.

"I probably would be running around like a chicken with my head cut off." the blonde shrugged.

"What?" Mara looked up at her with bloodshot eyes, filled with wondering and a hint of amusement.

"I heard Stevie say it once, I don't really know what she meant by it."

Mara let out a combination of a sob and a chuckle.

"He'll be alright, Mars, I promise. You heard Alfie; he said that Jerome wouldn't have gone unless he had a good reason. So, if he left with Rufus, that means that Alfie might be right, Rufus could have threatened to hurt you or Poppy, maybe even both of you."

"You're right. Jerome would do anything to protect Poppy—"

"And you. Don't forget that Jerome's like, head over heels in love with you." Amber sighed dreamily.

"I'll know it for sure when he says it. Now, let's get to bed so we can wake up early tomorrow. Rufus could contact us anytime tomorrow. I want to know Jerome is okay as soon as possible."

"What are you two doing, get to bed!" Victor stormed in, waving his hands in a shooing motion.

"Victor, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Mara is suffering from a broken heart. And you have the nerve to come in here and yell at her." Amber frowned at the man and led Mara out of the room, holding back a giggle when she heard Victor's sputtering.


Stevie hugged her legs to her chest, resting her forehead against her knees. The warehouse she, Patricia and Jerome were in was cold, dark and damp. She could really see anything, but her eyes had adjusted to the darkness. Jerome was a few feet away from her to her right. Every few seconds he would drag his fingers through his hair in frustration. Patricia was across from Stevie, curled up just like her. Each of them had different thoughts running through their heads.

Stevie still couldn't get the voices, the laughter, and the grins – all of it, out of her head. It echoed and grew louder by each passing second. She tried to push it away but it was too hard, she couldn't build up the courage or the mental strength to do it.

Jerome's thoughts were of regret. He regretted never telling Mara that he loved her, even though he might get out of there within days. Rufus wouldn't hold them too long. He would use them as his secret weapons for a few days and then let them go.

Patricia, for the first time, was thinking about someone else, other than herself and Eddie and the others. She was thinking about Stevie. She had been in such pain and Patricia had to pinch herself to keep from running across the room to hug her friend. Only a few people ever made her want to comfort them like that and Stevie was one of them, even though Patricia knew hardly anything about her. She didn't know what she had seen but she was going to find out.

"What was it that put you in so much pain, Stevie?" Patricia asked softly, green eyes looking up at the brunette.

Jerome nodded from the other side of the room but he stayed silent.

"I lived my biggest fear."

"Care to elaborate?" Jerome asked his voice hoarse.

"Being rejected, losing my friends, being alone. It's a stupid fear, I know, but I grew up hating the thought of never having anyone. In the vision I was living it out. Everyone at my old school, this school, my family, my friends, you guys, everyone was laughing and pointing and calling me stupid. I've never been the brightest crayon in the box but…I try, I try really hard to do something with my life. I just don't have the intelligence to do that. And I grew up being alone. My parents always focused on my sister and brother. I never had any friends, until junior high and then I met Mandy and Kelsey. They were outcasts and loners and we decided to be loners…together. I can't handle abandonment." Stevie sniffed and brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

"I know how you feel. My parents always liked Piper better because she was the gifted musician. I only know how to play the piano. Ooh, big deal. Who doesn't?" Patricia scoffed at herself.

"At least you guys have families." Jerome muttered.

Stevie and Patricia's gazes snapped to him as he stared at the floor.

"What did you just say?" Patricia asked.

"Don't pay any attention to me; I usually speak my mind when I'm in a dangerous situation. I don't bother to hide my feelings. I don't know why, I think it might be because I feel like I might die and everyone should know at least something about me."

"But, what about your dad and Poppy, they're your family right? And then you have your mum?"

Jerome groaned. "Now I've got to confess, you're not gonna let this go." he stood and moved closer to them but stayed more than a yard away from Stevie, sitting across from Patricia. "My mum sent me to school without my father's consent when I was five and later my mum had Poppy and my dad went to prison. He stayed there; they got a divorce and then she remarried. She never came back for me. I've been staying at Anubis House since I was five. The first time I ever saw Poppy was when she first came to school. I'm not going to tell you everything; that was just a summary of the first few years of my life."

Patricia stared at him with wide eyes while Stevie gaped at him.

"Jerome, gosh, I didn't know. When I called you a cold, heartless, selfish jerk that time, I didn't—"

"Trix, water under the bridge; now, rules: no one speaks of this, don't talk about it, and don't give me your pity – I hate that." the blonde told them in a firm voice.

"Jeez, man, you have lived one heck of a hard life. But, at least you get to see your sister whenever you want, and your dad is out of prison, isn't he?" Stevie asked.

"Yeah, he—" Jerome's mouth clamped shut as Rufus walked into the warehouse.

"How are we feeling?" he smirked at them.

The teens stayed silent and he chuckled.

"Okay, who wants to leave?"

Their eyes deceived them.

"Then this is what I want you to do."


You know the drill! Merry Christmas! I gotta go to my grandparents house so I can't make much of an A/N

I'll update as soon as I can!

Whoever loves his discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid. -Proverbs 12:1

Love y'all!

-Rachel