Chapter Thirty Two
1143 Words
Mauve's POV
I wake unsure of my surroundings, f**k where am I.
"Sleeping beauty awakes" Jax grins at me.
"Urggghhh what the f**k" i look at him in disbelief.
"Hey you, how you feeling" Rose looks at me with concern.
"What happened?" I say still looking around unsure how I got here.
Ouch , oh gods ouch.
I look down at my arm , a giant scratch looks....well ....grim.
"You caught your arm , on a rather nasty thorn in the woods" she says
"Great, just great. I feel like I've been through a meat grinder," I mutter, shifting to sit up. The room spins slightly.
"Just take it easy," Jax warns, concern etching his brow. "You scared the crap out of us."
"What do you remember?" Brett says leaning against the couch.
"Not much," I manage, rubbing my eyes to clear the haze. "Just running, the howls, then...nothing."
Rose bites her lip, glancing at Jax. "That's when you collapsed."
"What chased us?" I search their faces for answers, adrenaline still buzzing.
"We don't know but there has been sightings of wildcats recently" Brett shrugs pushing off the sofa.
"Wildcats?" I scoff, shaking my head. "You really expect me to believe that?"
"Look, we don't know what it was," Jax cuts in, arms crossed. "But it's not unheard of"
"Do wildcats howl?" I raise an brow.
"Who knows " Rose nervously giggles. "Look, whatever it was, it terrified you," Jax insists, leaning closer.
"Probably just a figment of your imagination," Brett smirks, brushing his hair back.
I shoot him a glare. "Right, because imagining a creature chasing us sounds super sane."
Rose winces. "No more woods for you, or me ."
"Let me wrap that for you, don't want it getting infected" Jax sniggers
Brett punches his shoulder , shut up d**k.
"Whatever," Jax brushes it off, unwrapping a clean bandage.
"Seriously, I'm not a baby," I protest, eyeing them warily.
"Not a baby, but definitely needing some help," he counters, focus steady as he prepares to tend to my arm.
"Fine, just don't make it worse."
Jax holds the bandage tightly, brows furrowing in concentration.
"This won't take long," he says, his tone more reassuring than condescending.
Brett shifts, arms crossed, wearing a wry grin. "Just don't cry like a baby, alright?"
I shoot him a glare. "Shut it."
Jax's fingers gently touch my arm, I wince but it sends shivers down my spine.
"Hold still," Jax murmurs, focus narrowing as he presses the bandage against the scratch.
I bite my lip, heart racing .
My phone buzzes and breaks the silence .
"Hey "Who's that?" Rose leans in, eyes curious, trying to catch a glimpse of the screen.
"Could be important," I reply, fumbling to check the notification.
A message from Liam blinks back at me, and I feel those butterflies again.
"It's Liam," I announce, unable to hide the grin forming on my lips.
"What does he want?" Jax demands, deftly securing the bandage.
"Just checking on me," I reply, warmth spreading through my chest.
"Tell him you're fine," Rose nudges, eyes shimmering with mischief.
"What do you see in that tool anyway?" Brett huffs from the couch, arms crossed defiantly.
I roll my eyes, smirking despite myself. "He's not a tool. He backed me up when it mattered."
"Sure, but does he have to text you every five minutes?" Brett's grin widens, challenging me.
"He cares, unlike some."
Rose chuckles, amusement dancing in her eyes. "Just admit you like the attention, Mauve."
I shoot her a look, but her teasing only makes me grin wider. "Whatever," I retort, suppressing a laugh.
Jax finishes wrapping my arm and leans back, satisfied. "You're good to go, just don't get too wild."
Brett smirks. "Like that'll happen."
"Shut up," I shoot back, rolling my eyes.
"Right, because you've totally got your life together," he retorts.
"Low blow Brett" Rose glares at him.
"Right, because you're all such shining examples of maturity," I shoot back, crossing my arms.
Brett's smirk falters, eyes narrowing slightly. "Oh really? Look who's talking."
"At least I'm not the one picking fights over nothing," I counter, my pulse quickening.
Jax leans back against the wall, arms crossed, a playful glimmer in his eyes. "Can we focus on something more important, like Mauve's arm? It needs attention."
"I'm fine" I snatch my arm away.
"Rose can we leave please?" I say feeling my eyes well up.
"Umm sure, Lyle would you mind dropping us back at my place?"
Lyle nods, his expression serious. "Let's go now, then."
As we head out, I catch Brett's smirk, but I refuse to let it get to me. The chill of the night air hits me as we step outside, and I shiver involuntarily.
"Get in," Lyle urges, glancing back over his shoulder at me and Rose.
"You okay?" he asks, his expression tight with concern as the door swings open.
I nod, heart racing as I slide into the backseat, Rose beside me.
We get back home and we sneak it around the back, not wanting to get in trouble. We creep up the stairs trying to keep minimal noise.
We collapse on our beds and don't say much, I drift off to sleep, another broken sleep filled with nightmares.
When our alarm goes off ready for school I wake to the shrill beep of the alarm, groaning as the reality of the day hits.
"Ugh, can we just skip school?" I grumble, rubbing my eyes.
Rose rolls over, her expression sleepy but defiant.
"That would be nice" she murmurs
"But we can't, so get up sleeping beauty"
"Give me five more minutes," I plead, rolling back under the covers.
Rose huffs, tossing a pillow at me. "Not happening! Get your butt out of bed or you'll be late!"
I groan, forcing myself to sit up. "Fine, I'm up!"
I wear a long sleeve top to cover my cut, some baggy jeans and some tanned boots. I shove my hair up and check my face in the mirror. "Urggghhh look at the bags under my eyes Rose, i look dead" I chuckle.
"Nothing a bit of makeup won't fix" she pulls me to her and helps me with my make-up.
A few minutes later, I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and the bags under my eyes start to fade.
"Not bad," I admit, smirking.
"Now, let's get today over with"
We hop into her car, we pass the woods as head for school, I stare out the window at the trees , wondering what the hell that was last night.
We arrive at school , I head straight for my locker, wishing lunch would come quickly so I can head to the library and check the history of this town and check out the so called "wild cat" sitings.
- Writer
