Whispers

Chapter seven

"That's her. That's the girl that almost killed Sarah."

"Don't go near her. She might flip you and try to kill you." 

I closed my eyes, feeling every bruise on my body and did my best to keep my cool. I would be back inside my room, down the hall, second door on the right, in a couple of minutes. I just needed to endure the other pack members to get food. Once I get my food, I all but sprint to my room, happy to be away from prying eyes. 

When Luke and I got to my dad's house, he was already there, waiting for me. He was standing in the driveway. I guess someone called him and told him about what happened. However, he didn't expect me to be with Luke. 

Luke stood outside, and kept my dad's attention while I went inside and stuffed everything I could into a bag. When I left the house, my dad was fuming, but he didn't dare lay a hand on me or Luke; Probably realizing that, if he did, it wouldn't look good on him or the situation. I got back into the car with Luke, and we drove to the pack house. 

Around this time, I realized that my school bag was still at school, and Luke said he would get it for me after he got me to the pack house. We got there, and I was escorted to my room where I was told to lock my door, and not to answer it unless I knew it was him or the Alpha. 

The room is decent; There's a bed, desk, dresser and a window that isn't boarded up. I didn't bother to unpack, I just collapsed into the bed and curled into a ball. About an hour later, Luke came back with my bag, which made me happy because my phone was in there. 

I had messages and missed calls from my dad, all of which were angry and threatening. Some texts said he would make sure the house didn't reflect any of the accusations I have made, but he couldn't hide everything. I'm not sure if Grace would tell, but I am sure that, if she does, there will be consequences for her. My dad hasn't hit Grace, but I won't put it past him. 

Then again, Grace is his mate. What she feels, he feels. 

I eat my food at the desk and stare out the window. My face and body hurt, and all I want is a shower. I finish my food and push aside the plate. Just as I got up from the desk to fall back into the bed, a knock came to the door. 

"It's me," Luke's voice was muted, but still distinguishable. I walk to the door and unlock it and see Luke holding two towels and some soap on the other side of the door. 

I felt my blood boil, "You need to stay out of my head," I took the towels and soap. 

"You shouldn't think too freely," 

"Well I grew up without a mind link, so I'm not used to keeping my thoughts guarded," I snap and go to close the door, but Luke stops me. 

"Look--," 

"No, you look," I say, stopping him before he can start, "If you want to make it look like we aren't mates, given that we have both lied to your father's face, then you need to leave me alone," I watch Luke's eyes glaze over in an emotion I cannot describe. 

"I have a feeling he knows that we were lying," 

"Yeah well," I shrug, "I'm not budging," I throw the stuff onto the bed and then cross my arms. 

"I didn't come here because I wanted to," He backs up from me, and crosses his arms, imitating me, "You need to go see the pack doctor. Have him look at your injuries." 

"Nothing's broken, and the bruises will go away in a day or so. I don't need to see the doctor," I turn away from Luke only to be grabbed by the arm and pulled out of the room. 

"Alpha's orders. Sorry," He drags me down the hall towards the pack infirmary.

I scoff at him, "No your not." I yank my arm out of his hold, but he holds on tighter and refuses to let go. We make it to the infirmary, Luke knocks on the door, and then escorts me inside, still holding fast on my arm. He physically seats me on the bench and then goes to stand in the corner. 

The doctor is in the opposite corner of the room, reading some sort of file. 

"Alright, just need to confirm some information," He shuffles the papers around, "Gillian Kathrine Matthews, born July 15, sixteen years of age, species: werewolf," He looks up at me, waiting for me to answer. 

"Yep, sounds right," I clasp my hands together and look up towards the ceiling. 

"What hurts?" He asks, clicking his pen. 

"My dignity?" I say, trying to be funny. Luke chuckles, which earns him a stern look from the doctor. Luke clears his throat, and looks away, a slight smile still on his face. 

"Gillian, please take this seriously," the doctor closes the file and looks at me, not amused. I roll my eyes, and sigh. 

"My head hurts because I got knocked into the corner of the bathroom stall. My nose is still sore from where it was broken. I thought I set it correctly, but now I think I didn't. My wrist isn't throbbing anymore, but it still hurts. My face hurts, but that's pretty obvious," I say to the ceiling, wishing for this to be over with.

"Alright, I'm going to listen to your heart," He comes towards me and sticks his stethoscope over my heart, "Do you feel any broken ribs?" I shrug.

"I know one was broken yesterday after my dad slammed me against a wall, but I think it healed. It was hard to breathe after the fight today, but I don't think I broke anymore," I say, nonchalant. Luke looks at me and shakes his head, his slight smile gone. The look on his face was one of mild annoyance and anger. I look away from him. 

"Alright. Couple more questions," He walks over to where he was before, and sets down the file so he can write in it, "Have you found your mate?" 

"No," I say, even though it's a lie. 

"Are you sexually active?" 

"No."

"What is your s****l orientation?"

"None of your business," I scoff. I'm not having s*x, why does it matter who I'm attracted to? 

"Gillian--," 

"Just put undecided, or unclear or something," I say, my voice rising, "I don't understand why this actually matters or has anything to do with the current situation," 

The doctor sighs and shakes his head, but doesn't ask me anymore questions. Instead, he checks for signs of a concussion, examines my face and skull for breaks, and my wrist. He then gives me a wrist brace, because it is fractured, but should heal fine on its own. He then tells me to put ice on the bruises to help the swelling, and sends me on my way. 

Luke escorts me back to my room, and opens the door for me to go in. 

"Bathroom is two doors down if you want to take a shower," He said, leaning against the door frame. 

"Okay," I whisper, my back to him. I could still feel my blood boiling from talking to the doctor. I didn't even understand why I was so mad about being asked about my sexuality. I open my bag and take out a pair of shorts and a clean shirt. 

The whole time I could feel Luke's eyes on me. Every move I made, he studied it. I turn around to face him and put my hands on my hips, "Do you mind?" 

Luke snaps out of it, and gives a shy smile. For a second my heart skips, because his smile is cute, but I quickly look away and continue to gather up my things for a shower. When I turn back around, Luke is gone. I sigh, relief flooding my body and settling my stomach. I leave my room, and close the door behind me. I find the bathroom easily, and make sure to lock the door behind me so no one could come inside. Sarah wasn't in the house; she was transported to a hospital that specialized in werewolves, so I didn't have to worry about her trying to get to me. However, I didn't trust anyone else not to do anything, not even Luke. 

I take off my wrist brace and get in the shower. I relax under the hot water as I scrub my hair, which is filthy, and my body of all the dirt and blood that has built up over the last couple of days. I let the water run over my body for another minute before turning it off. I make quick work of drying off and getting dressed before going back to my room. 

Down the hall I can hear everyone laughing and having a great time. I can pick out Luke's laugh, even though I have never heard it before, and feel a pang in my stomach. I stop myself from going down the hall and joining everyone, reminding myself that I am not wanted there. Everyone down the hall is on Sarah's side, and even if someone was nice to me, it wouldn't be genuine. I am a joke to them, and I am not wanted. 

I sigh and go into my room. I unpack, finding my hair brush in the process, which allowed me to get the knots out of my hair. I braid my hair and, after, dump my clothes onto the bed so I can fold them. I finish getting them into the dresser that was provided to me when my phone rings. 

I look at it, and see that my dad is calling me. I sit on the bed and watch it ring until it finally goes to voicemail. He tries again afterwards, and keeps calling and calling, until it suddenly stops. I look at my phone and see that it has finally died. I sigh, grab my charger and plug it in. I'll leave it off from the night so I can sleep. I fall onto the pillow, the weight of the wrist brace prominent on my stomach, and do my best to process the day. 

I didn't get expelled, I didn't die, and I'm suspended--again--this time for an undetermined amount of time. I'm not with my dad, and I have the ability to keep people out of my room instead. That's a luxury that I wasn't allowed for a while, and I felt more safe now knowing that no one can get into this room without my knowing first. I close my eyes and breathe a sigh of relief, feeling the weight of sleep take me. 

My dreams are plagued by nightmares. First it was of me running through the woods, the shadow from before chasing after me, but it quickly shifted to being beat to a pulp by my dad. I can't fight back as he kicks and punches me, screaming about how much of a disgrace I am. I sprang up from the bed, heart racing and breath short. A cold sweat made it's way down my back as I did my best to keep back the sense of mortal terror that consumed me. 

I got up from the bed and paced about the room, trying to calm myself down when I decided to open the window. Fresh air always helped me calm down, and it gave me the ability to think. I pry the window open and take a huge gulp of fresh air, thankful that I had an actual window now. 

The urge to run was strong. All I wanted to do was shift and let myself go. My wolf needed a good stretch, but I didn't know if that person, or thing, was going to be in the woods. I doubt it, but I'm not taking the chance. 

Not at night anyway. 

The fresh air calms me to the point of drowsiness. I didn't want to be away from the window, so I grabbed the comforter and a pillow and settled on the ground right in front of the window, enjoying the cool breeze that washed over me as I fall, finally, into a dreamless sleep.

I woke up, again, to the sound of footsteps. My face was angled away from the window, but I could feel a presence there; they were silent as they observed me on the ground. I roll over, my back to the window now, and hear the person move away from the window. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding because I knew, in that second, it wasn't my dad coming to spy on me. I settle back into the pillow and close my eyes again, and listen as the person--or thing--makes themselves comfortable outside my window. I hear a soft sigh and smile. 

Whoever they are, they aren't there to cause me harm--at least not yet. I don't know why they are there, but having them there comforted me for some weird reason. I am able to fall back asleep, and this time I do not wake up until there is a knock on my door. 

"Gill, I brought you some food. You slept through breakfast," I sit up from the floor at the sound of Luke's voice and immediately stick my head out the window. 

No one is there. Honestly, I probably imagined the whole thing. I pick myself up from the floor and unlock the bedroom door. 

"Good morning," Luke smiles at me and hands me the plate. I turn away from him and place it on the desk, and then come back to him with the plate from the night before that I didn't get a chance to bring out. I'm not that hungry, but I'm not sure if someone is going to be in the house to feed me lunch, so it'll come in handy. 

"Your face looks better," Luke takes the empty plate from me, "I'll come by after school with the work you missed. Is there anything I can get you in the meantime?" 

I scratch the back of my head, "Could I get some water?" 

"You know you aren't confined to this room right. Just to the property. If you get hungry you can go into the kitchen and get something." The thought of running into Grace or any one else terrified me for half a second. I guess Luke saw the fear on my face, "I'll get you some water." I gave him a half smile and shut the door, not wanting to see him anymore. 

I could leave the house at least; I wasn't confined to the room. I sat down on the bed and waited for Luke to come back with my water, and mentally decided that I was going to explore the property after I was sure everyone was gone for the day. Luke came back with two water bottles and a smile, "Anything else, love?"

"Don't call me that," I say with disgust. 

"You know," He leans against the door frame and crosses his arms, "someone is going to find out eventually," I stand up and go over to the desk to my, now cold, breakfast. I take a bite out of the dry toast to keep me from laughing. 

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I say after I swallow. I open one of the waters and take a large gulp. 

"You're so mad about me not choosing you, but I didn't know you were even my mate until we shook hands," I laugh, and nearly choke on another mouthful of food. 

"You're a horrible liar," I turn to him and shake my head, "You touched my shoulder in chemistry class, and that was the first time I felt anything." 

"Why didn't you say anything?" 

"I could ask the same to you," I push the plate away, my stomach upset, "Even if you knew there was a possibility you should have said something. And you sure as hell shouldn't have chose someone else."

"I tried to fix it--,"

"Yeah, the next day. After the ceremony already happened. Everyone loves Sarah anyway, and I don't want to be Luna so, it's whatever." I shrug at him and cross my arms with apathy. 

"Your wolf can die if you don't accept your mate," He said, angrily. I scoff and roll my eyes. I look out the window, the sun shining down on the green grass and the trees calling my name. 

"Yeah, well, the only thing my wolf wants is to go on a run. She doesn't want you, and I sure as hell don't want you. So, end of discussion," I look back at Luke, who is pinching the bridge of his nose and doing his best not to yell. 

"Whatever," was the last thing he whispers before he takes the handle and slams the door behind him. I flinch, and wait for him to open it back up to apologize, but I'm not surprised when it doesn't happen. After twenty minutes, I open the door and venture out into the main area. 

The space is well furnished, with plenty of seating but still enough space to house a pack of its size. As far as I can tell, no one is here. Not even Grace, who works part time with the pack watching the youngest children. I sigh with relief; I don't have to worry about running into her today, or possibly ever, especially in the morning. 

I go back to the room, and change into a pair of leggings and an over-sized t-shirt. I then slip on my running shoes and stuff my phone in my pocket, just in case. I crawl out the window, and close it slightly so no one would think that I got out. Although Luke said I could wonder if I wanted, I don't trust him enough to tell me the truth. 

Then again, I've trusted him this far. 

I walk across the back yard, which is manicured to perfection, children toys are in a line against the back of the house, and make my way into the woods. I don't feel comfortable shifting until I know I am far enough away from the house, but still within the pack's territory. With that, I find a tree, strip down behind it and allow my bones to splinter until I was no longer a human. 

I run for a while, thankful for the freedom that is allotted to me, and take a break by a creek. I'm unsure if it is the same creek from the night before, but I don't think too much on it. I take a drink and turn around towards where I left my clothes. When I got there, I shift back and dress quickly. 

The woods are quiet and calming. I sit down at the base of the tree, sweating and out of breath, but alive. I lean against the trunk and stare up at the sky, which, through the trees, is cloudless and the brightest of blues. I close my eyes and take a deep breath; Out here, I am able to forget all my worries. Nothing else matters--just me, the sky and the trees. 

I stay there and relax for a while, allowing my body to adjust to the shift. My wrist throbs lightly in the brace, but, like the bruises and my nose, it was healing as fast as I expected it to. I take one last breath of fresh air and get up. I dust myself off and begin the walk back to the house. I look across the back yard, because I know it is late enough in the afternoon for people to be home, and sneak my way to the window. 

I pause, an unfamiliar scent catching my attention. I look around the window, and see that the area is disturbed. The scent is stale, so I am sure that this didn't just happen--but it did confirm the experience I had the night before. 

Someone was outside my window, watching me. 

Before I had the chance to question anything else, a knock came to my bedroom door. I push the window open and jump inside, and then shut the window so it is cracked. The person knocks again as I finish.

"Yes?" I pause and wait for a reply. 

"Gill? It's Grace," s**t. No, I don't want to talk to you. I close my eyes and curse at myself. She works here, of course she would find out where my room is. 

"Grace, I'm not letting you in here," I say, my hands under the window frame again, ready to yank it open so I can run if I need to. My heart pounded in my chest. 

"Gill, I'm alone. Your father's at work."

"Why would I believe that?" I snap.

"I've never lied to you before," She said, her voice sounding hurt.

"You also never defended me either," I whisper to myself. 

Right now, I have two options. I can open the door, and potentially get attacked or I could tell her to go away and have to face her later because she isn't going to give up that easily. 

"Gill, please. I just want to talk," I sigh, and hope that the decision I make is the right one. I walk away from the window and unlock my door. I crack it slightly to look out into the dark hallway, trying to see if I can catch a glimpse of a hulking figure. 

Grace was there, her face lightly illuminated, and she is alone. I sigh with relief, and open the door fully. 

"What do you want Grace?" I whisper while looking down the hall, trying to see if anyone was listening. 

"I want to tell you that I told Alpha Collins everything. About everything." I look at Grace, waiting for her to say something else. 

"Is that it?" I ask, which earns me an exasperated look. 

"What more is there, Gill?" 

I don't know, how about an apology for letting it go on for six years? For not standing up to him? For not protecting me? For not acting like a parent unless you wanted to?

I sigh at her, and say none of this. There's no point, she will just see me as ungrateful if I say any of it, even though every bit of it is true.

"Thanks, Grace," I mumble. She nods at me, and stands in front of me awkwardly, "Do you need anything else?" I ask. 

"Oh, no. Sorry. I'll get going," Grace turns around and leaves, looking down at the ground as she makes her way down the hall and into the main room. 

I close the door, and press my forehead against it. That was a pathetic attempt at an apology, if that was even what she meant. But still, at least she told Alpha Collins everything. Maybe now he will believe my story. 

If he doesn't, well, I have a plan.