Page 18 of We End With Us

“I think she hates us even more,” Jordy mumbles.

“More like she’s afraid of us,” Bass says.

They’re right, I could see it in her eyes, Nova’s either afraid of us or what we’re capable of, which one I'm not sure.

My stomach fillswith waves of nausea, and shock jolts through me when I crumble to the floor. Strong arms wrap around me from behind and then I'm being lifted up.

“I’ve got you, pup,” Cass whispers, his lips brushing the side of my face.

Placing me on the bed, he sits behind me, letting me face away from him.

Cass’ hand moves over my back in a calming manner. Tears sting my eyes as his words play over and over in my mind.I’ve got you.

It’s all too much right now, I feel like my chest is about to explode.

“Pup.” Cass’ turns me, his blue eyes catch mine and hold steady. My heart stutters when he says the nickname softly like that.

“Don’t be afraid of us.” My brows dart together, frowning. Am I not supposed to be?

How could I not? They’ve all done horrible things, things I could never comprehend. How am I supposed to forget? Our lives have been so different.

A muscle in his jaw ticks when I don't respond. His fingers dip under my chin, forcing my gaze on his, Cassius stares down at me waiting.

“I’m not,” I lie because even though I know they’ll never hurt me, they are still The Sinners and they are capable of so much violence.

“H-he was supposed to be my friend.” I sniff. Cass rubs circles over my back, letting me catch my breath.

“I know, pup, fuck I’m so sorry. If I’d known about Miller, I would have ended him before.” I swallow not doubting that statement.

“Please forgive us?” Cass breathes. Closing my eyes, the pain becomes unbearable, finally I find my breath.

“I want to go home,” I tell him again.

Cass sighs, dropping his hand, his tongue darts out wetting his lips before he stands. “You know we can’t let you, pup. It’s not safe, not out there.” Turning his back for a moment, he stares out the door then looks back over his shoulder at me.

“We’re not the enemy, Nova.” He walks out, closing the door behind him.

Waiting a few moments, I tread carefully to the door, softly I open it, poking my head out doing my best to not be suspicious. When I don't see any of them, I close the door again. I knew I couldn't hide forever, they weren’t about to let me do that, but I needed answers and they weren’t exactly about to let me walk out the front door without supervision. Throwing a jacket on, I gently lift the window doing my best to not make a sound. When it’s up far enough for me to squeeze through, I slide out onto the roof. Tiptoeing toward the edge, I peek down to see how I can safely make it to the ground. Spotting a structure to the side that may just be strong enough for me to climb down, I lower my legs, dangling for a second before my foot touches it and I grip the side as tightly as I can. I place both feet down and take each step slowly.

Checking the coast is clear, I run toward my house. I’ll be quick, they won’t even know I’m gone, I just need a few moments to find something, anything that will lead me to who killed my father.

Reaching my door, I find the hidden key and let myself in. Closing the door behind me, I bolt upstairs to my father’s office.

Turning his desk lamp on because his office is shrouded in darkness, with the blinds closed and the room already being at the back of the house, I begin to rifle through his drawers, coming up empty. I find nothing but profiles on people in the town. Guess he really was keeping tabs on everyone. There’s a folder full of photos of me with each of The Sinners.

There's even dates on the photos, was he watching us the entire time?

It’s not until a bank statement catches my eye that I freeze.

It’s an account in my name with a number so high my mouth drops open.

Did my father open this?

My head shoots up when a creaking sound drifts upstairs.

Crap. I was followed.

Swallowing, I hide the papers in one of my father’s filing cabinets and then head toward the corner of his room where a large cabinet sits out enough for me to squeeze behind.

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