Chapter 23
Chloe's POV
Everything is dark, with the occasional shadow and whisper of quiet voices. I strain to make out any of the words, but they suddenly stop and the world is lit up with screams. They pierce my ears, making me slap my hands over them, tears streaming down my face.
"They're never coming for you," Luke says, appearing in front of me. His hands slam on the cell bars, making me flinch.
"You don't know that," I rasp and even I know that he's right. It's been too long.
"Stop lying to yourself. It's-" Luke's voice is cut off, his mouth forming an o shape. Blood pours does his chin as he gurgles. Glancing down, I see a claw sticking through his stomach. It retracts with a sickening squelch and Luke falls to the ground, blood pooling all around him.
Fear consumes me and I back away, peering through the darkness, trying to find who just killed Luke and if they're here to kill me too. All I can make out is a short figure and silver eyes that shine through the dark. It's claws swing through the air, coming toward me.
I scream and try to back up, but I hit a wall, with nowhere else to go. My voice is lost in the screams and color of blood which paints everything. The figure steps forward and the last thing I see before I wake up, is a set of teeth coming straight for me.
Gasping, I sit up, instantly groaning. I'm bruised all over and I'm pretty sure my left arm is broken. Anytime my dreams don't go the way Julian wants, he beats me and throws me back into the dark, lonely cell.
I'm afraid that I will die here. There's been some close calls when Julian or the other wolves have beaten me to bad and I could feel my life draining away. At those times, they get a doctor to come check me over and then leave me alone for several days until the next time they want a vision. The dreams have shifted away from Beca and me and more toward other things. Anytime I see a person, Julian gives me a photo album which I look through and point out the people. He never tells me who they are though.
Beca...My heart aches just thinking about her. I long to hear her voice and to see her beautiful face, but I'm stuck down here. I'm beginning to think I won't get out. Her cries in my head have stopped, silence taking over and leaving me stuck with my own thoughts. I'd rather hear her cries of pain than nothing at all. It leaves me with no hope of getting out of here. Of being able to live again.
"Get up," Luke demands, opening the cell door. "Dad wants to have a chat with you." Holding back cries of pain, I stand up, holding my arm protectively. Luke grins and leads me to Julian's office. When I hear Julian's booming voice yelling for us to come in, I flinch. We go in and I spot the photo album out and ready.
"Anything?"
"Nope," I lie, knowing that if I tell him I saw his only son die, I would surely be beaten to death. "Just a repeat of last time."
The last dream I had, showed a different pack leader, breaking some kind of deal he had with Julian, which gets his whole pack demolished. Julian just laughed and said he couldn't wait to see that alpha's pack ripped to shreds.
"I've held you here for months and out of all that time, I've only gotten a few good visions. Why is that?" I've been here for months?
"I don't control it," I say for the hundredth time. "It-" Julian lunges forward, punching me square in the face. Crying out, I bring my good arm up to block anymore hits. Pain radiates everywhere in my skull and every small movement sends another wave through me.
"Jus get out of here and Luke, get someone to clean her up. It's disgusting just to look at her." Luke nods and we leave the office. Yanking my bad arm, Luke drags me into a small bedroom, shutting the door, leaving me alone. There's a small bed which I go to, tracing my fingers along the soft comforter. I long to just lay down and fall asleep, but if Luke comes in and gets mad...I shudder at the thought. Instead, I sit in the corner, waiting for someone to tell me what to do. Voices sound out from behind the door and curiosity brings me closer.
"But dad, this is one of Beca's friends," Luke whines.
"Son, she is here with Beta Swanson who is a respected official in this pack. If he trusts her, than I do. Now, let her in so I don't have to see that disgusting redhead again." Heavy footsteps walk away and there's some cursing before the door swings open. Startled, I run back to my corner, ignoring the pain that shoots through me and closing my eyes. I wait until the door shuts again to open them.
"Chloe?" Emily's soft voice hits my ears, sounding like heaven. Sobbing, I run toward her and we both hold on tight. I can't believe she's here after so long. Emily pulls back, moving some of my hair out of my face, taking a good look at me.
"What did they do to you?"
"I'm fine. You're here now and I'll get out of here. Everything will go back to how it used to be." I smile but Emily doesn't smile back. "What?"
"It's just, a lot can change in 3 months." I shake my head, not sure how to process how long I've been here. It's only 3 months. How much can possibly change?
"Let's get you cleaned up." Emily leads me into the bathroom and sits me down on the edge of the bathtub. I watch as she gets stuff together, trying to figure out why she won't meet my eyes.
"How is everyone?"
"As good as they can be considering the circumstances. Stacie and Aubrey are dating now." An involuntary smile covers my face at the news. They deserve to be together. Emily grabs a rag and crouches down in front of me. She wipes my face, making me wince when she hits the huge bruise forming from where Julian punched me. I watch her closely as she cleans me up, not sure if I want to ask my next question. Do I want to know the answer, even if it's not good?
"How is Beca doing?" Emily's hand freezes in place right above my forehead. "Emily? Is Beca okay?"
"So much is different," Emily whispers, making me frown. "You don't understand." Tears fall down Emily's face and when she finally meets my gaze, I'm shocked by the fear there. What is wrong with Beca?
"I didn't reject her. She's fine, she has to be." I mumble this to myself but I know that what I'm saying isn't true. The lack of communication from Beca should've told me something was wrong, but I didn't want to think that way. It was much better imagining that she was moving on in life and moving on from me.
"She's not okay, is she?" My voice cracks, thick with tears. Emily just looks at me, giving me my answer. I should've known that the minute I made the decision to surrender to Luke, to step out of the house, that nothing would be the same. I screwed everything up. Sobs build up in my chest and Emily just brings me into another hug, letting me get it all out.
"At least tell me that my mom is okay." Emily nods and I let out a sigh of relief.
"She's a lot stronger than she looks. Your siblings too."
"They're still here?"
"Yeah. They dropped out of school for the semester." Guilt consumes my mind and more tears fall at all the lives I've put on hold. Because of my choices, the people I care for can't live life like they should be. What have I done?
"How are you? How's Ben?" Emily smiles.
"I'm doing pretty good. Ben is amazing as always. He's learning some new magic tricks. Want to hear about his latest one?"
"Sure." I want to keep Emily here for as long as I can and something in her expression says that I need to listen to whatever she says next.
"It's just a simple disappearing act. The trick is to create a distraction, to have the crowd focused on one area while the person leaves. When the crowd looks back, the person is magically gone. Afterward, Ben is supposed to bring the person back, but he just can't figure out how to do it." Emily raises an eyebrow and I try to think. Is she saying they're figuring out how to get me out of here? I left, disappeared from the house and now they're trying to get me back.
"What I think he should do," Emily continues, "is create another distraction. Chaos almost and then have someone bring the person back. The crowd will never know they were gone." Emily stands up and throws the rag into the sink. The word chaos rings through my ears, bringing up memories of my dream.
"Well, I should probably go and help him with that magic trick. He's got a pretty big show coming up." She winks before giving me one last hug.
"Tell my mom and siblings that I love them. Tell Beca too and also, tell her I'm sorry."
"I'll let your mom and siblings know that. As for Beca, I'll see if I can catch her." Emily exits the room, leaving me confused. What did she mean by that? Catch Beca?
….
"My dad is not getting the results he wants," Luke sneers. "He's done with you and your deal." Without another word, Luke grabs my bad arm and flings me against the cell wall. I gasp, withering and trying to catch my breath. Pain consumes me and suddenly, screams do too. Only they aren't mine.
My vision goes red, but it's with the blood of others. Luke laughs and pulls me up before punching me.
"They aren't coming for you," he taunts and I sway on my feet. His fist goes flying, connecting with my throat. Coughing, I bend over and when I finish, I stand straight.
"You don't know that," I rasp, hoping that he's wrong. That they will come and I'll be okay. Everything will be okay.
"Stop lying to yourself. It's-" Luke's voice is cut off, his mouth forming an o shape. Blood pours does his chin as he gurgles. Glancing down, I see a claw sticking through his stomach. It retracts with a sickening squelch and Luke falls to the ground, blood pooling all around him.
I scream and go to move when the claw grabs ahold of my shoulder. Bright silver eyes stare into mine as though they're staring through me. The figure starts to step forward but everything goes dark before I can see who it is. Before I can see them kill me.
My eyes fly open as the door to the room slams against the wall. Luke storms in and grabs my arm, dragging me back down to my cell. I must've fallen asleep after Emily left, but not on the bed. I stayed in the corner, too afraid of the repercussions. That dream...I've had it multiple times now which means, it's going to happen and this time, I'm not sure how. Usually my dreams are like a broken record, playing the same thing over and over. This one though seemed to change which makes it unpredictable.
I watch Luke as we walk. Does he know that he's going to die soon? Is there some sort of feeling that he gets or is he just oblivious that he won't live to graduate? A part of me feels sorry for him, that he won't get to live his life like I so wish to do. The other part though- the stronger part- knows that he isn't a good person. That whatever gets him killed, is his fault. Instead of trying to beat the odds and be different, he wound up exactly like his father. Cruel and unforgiving.
Luke remains silent the whole time, even after he throws me into the cell. It's like he knows that there are no words left to say. Nothing can change what will happen. He walks away, his feet stomping against the cold, concrete until it's nothing but silence. It's at these moments that I wish Beca still attempted to communicate with me. I know that it's just wishful thinking and hope. Something I haven't had in a while.
Emily gave me some back though, with her hidden messages. They're going to come get me, but will they succeed? If something is wrong with Beca, can they still do it? What exactly is wrong with her? Hopefully, when she sees me, even with my bruised and broken body, she'll still want me.
Then, just as I'm drifting off into another fitful sleep, it comes, floating into my mind like an angel. Beca's voice flows through my mind, like a good drink after being sober too long.
I'm coming. That's all she says and that's all I need her to say. Hope springs up, rising beneath the pile of rubble Julian created. I'm getting out of here, once and for all.