Coveted {FINISHED}

|Chapter Thirteen |

His chuckle filled my ears as his lips pressed to my cheek and the tip of my nose before hovering back towards my ear. "How about you take a nap first? That way you'll stand a better chance."

"You think I can't put up a good fight?" I mumbled through a yawn, my eyes fluttering closed again as my body revealed in the moment, my skin still buzzing.

Shifting to his side, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders pulling me into his chest as I curled my arms between us. Resting my forehead against his chin, I couldn't help but let that warmth take complete hold of me taking me somewhere where the world opened up and embraced us in this invisible bubble of protection. 

"Trust me, that's the last thing I'm thinking." Was the last thing he said before the world went dark.

Well, that was until I was shaken from my sleep, Shane fully dressed gripping my clothes in his hands. "Nancy, Nancy we need to go."

"Huh? What's going on?" I groaned, my fists grinding the sleep from my eyes as I sat upright letting the blanket fall down to my waist. "What time is it?"

"Four fifteen. We need to get back to the mansion now." The urgency in his voice was met with the calm waves in his eyes only confusing me more. I took my clothes from him, throwing my top on and forgetting my bra as I scrambled to get my pants on. 

"Is everything okay?" I asked clearing my throat and waiting for him to blow out the candles. This wasn't the exact way I'd thought I'd wake up today but then again when does anything expected happen around these boys? He practically ran from the tent without a word as I struggled to catch up, my jacket flung around my waist.

We hurried by the various coloured tents, sticks breaking under our shoes echoing across the still camp and light grey-blue sky until we running down the same narrow dirt path as before, everyone else hidden behind us. 

"Shane!" I yelled, his shaggy hair barely visible through the thick bushes. 

Why is it after a single night with either one brother, everything seems so hectic the day after?!

"Shane wait!" I tried again, his speed and lack of communication throwing me around the place. This wasn't like him, every time we'd met, which in all fairness wasn't that much, he was so wrapped up in us, in everyone else's feelings and well-being. He'd never ignored me or just ran off with barely any information . . .

Did that just mean-

"Nancy," he muttered, suddenly appearing right in front of me as my chest bashed against his, his hands holding me firmly by the shoulders. His eyes peered into mine, the brown darkening with that usual concern as his lips stayed drawn in a straight line. "Police came to the house looking for you."

"W-What?" I stumbled, my mouth suddenly dry. 

"Regan and Ian have been arrested." 

"What?!" I yelled louder, the ground under my feet felt like it was breaking ready to take me right under with my head slowly spinning faster and faster. For a second it felt like every breath I tried to take was burning my lungs up from the inside. "Why?!"

"I don't know but we need to get to back to Jeremy now." All I could do was nod weakly, my body feeling as though any slight tap and I'd fall too pieces. 

I got them arrested. It had to be me. I'd just disappeared, dropped my life and thought what? Nothing would happen?! 

Panic and now guilt bubbled away inside me, my thoughts unable to sway anywhere else.

Taking my hand in his, Shane entwined our fingers while gently pulling me alongside him towards whatever destination was waiting for us. This time there was no car, we trekked it all the way back on foot but with his hand in mine, I couldn't feel the ache that should have been eating away at my legs. I should have at least been gasping from the speed but nothing but a warm bliss radiated around my body as my mind raced in guilty circles. 

Why would they arrest them? I'm right here unharmed! I don't understand why not just wait until we came back?

Am I being overly stupid here?!

At some point, Shane had to squeeze my hand to slow me down from practically running but I needed to get back to the mansion! It was like a fire had set lose under my feet and the only important thing right then was getting there and clearing everything up. 

"Nancy you need to slow down," Shane muttered, the strain in his voice completely going over my head. 

"Slow down? We need to get there faster!" I yelled.

"I know but I can't." He replied this time his hand slipped from mine as he came to a stop slowly resting his side against a tree along the side of the narrow road. Spinning around I hurried up to him with my eyes wide and frantic. 

"What are you doing? We need to go! Weren't you the one practically running out of that camp? We need-"

"I know Nancy." He breathed cutting me off but not once did his voice ever rise or linger near a yell as he stared down at me with pale skin and weak tired eyes. 

"Wait . . . What's wrong?" The panic that danced around my chest now exploded all over as I stumbled back from him feeling the urge to want to reach out and touch him. Yet something in me told me this exact reaction was because of me doing exactly that, constantly touching him. I was basically killing him . . . Killing them . . .

I could see his eyes reading mine, one hand resting against the trunk of the tree as he tried to support his weight and reach out for me. 

"No don't," I mumbled, making sure to flinch away from his hand. "I'm draining you . . . That's why I haven't felt the pain from the distance we've been walking . . ." The realisation hitting me hard since yesterday was there a point where I wasn't draining him? Even in the tent . . . Was I draining him then too? "We'll take it slow but no more healing."

"Nancy-"

"I said no more." I let my arms cross over my chest and turned my back to him before slowing my pace making sure he followed close behind. 

The guilt was eating away at me, there wasn't a moment when I wasn't using them up. 

The rest of the two-hour journey we stayed in silence, my thoughts racing around like usual as I bit back the tears. Now wasn't about me, it was fixing all the misery I was causing all the goddamn trouble I had a way of inviting into their lives. 

How could this happen? How could I let this happen?

I got so wrapped up in the pleasure of last night that I just didn't care, I choose to forget about whatever consequences came even if they didn't happen to me directly. Right now, I felt like a selfish waste of space. 

Maybe this is the time. When we get back and when I speak to the cops maybe I should just go back with them. Maybe nows the time to leave and go back to Danny. Try and do some good while I still can. 

The mansions large towering roof came into view throwing my thoughts back to the bottom of the list as my legs darted off ignoring the pain that finally kicked into a gear an hour back. I couldn't help racing forwards, my heart leaping from my chest to my throat as my feet pounded up the porch steps and my fists bashing against the front door. 

Open the door Jere-

"Hell- Nancy Grail?" The officer in front of me let the door fall wide open, his crystal blue eyes staring wide at me as he took me in head to toe. "We've been looking for you how did-"

"Maybe if you'd waited a few more hours you wouldn't have had to look hard," I muttered, barging my shoulder past him and hurrying down the hall past the various officers as they paused looking at me oddly. "Jeremy? Regan, Ian!"

"Nancy?!" Jeremy appeared in the living room door, his hair wild and his eyes red as he ran towards me engulfing me in his arms. 

"Where's Ian and Regan?" 

"They took them, handcuffed them and everything!" He blurted out like a frantic kid, his skin ghostly white with fear as he pulled away blurting out the events in a jumbled mess. "They just showed up asking about you and when Regan tried to explain that douce cop was getting all irritated and Ian being Ian picked that s**t up and bang! Before I knew it they were handcuffed and dragged out of here! They wouldn't let me leave until they found you and I kept trying to tell them you were safe with Shane but they-"

"It's okay Jeremy," Shane interrupted pulling his brother into a hug. "They'll be fine."

"Shane, Ian tried to swing at a cop . . ." He whispered looking up at him with tears swelling in his eyes. 

I had to bit down on my bottom lip to keep mine from falling as I spun on my heel walking up to the first officer who had opened the front door. 

"I'm here. Clearly untouched and safe, let my friends go." I demanded, my eyes narrowing in on him. 

"Uh, Miss Grail we'll have to take you down to the station first to get your statement . . . Your boyfriend called in a missing persons report out for you for a few days now-"

"I don't care!" I practically yelled. "You arrested two innocent men so let them go now!"

"They weren't arrested because-"

"Really? Because you showed up with the preconceived idea that they were behind my kidnapping or murder or whatever and In fact, it's the complete opposite!" The cop stared at me like I'd gone crazy before reaching for his radio and muttering an order into the small machine. 

I could feel all eyes on me as I practically stood there shaking. "I'll go with you Just please . . . Let them go . . ."

I felt Jeremy sneak up behind me wrapping his hand around my arm and spinning me around to face him, "Nancy you can't go, your ex he'll-"

"It doesn't matter anymore." I whispered back, "We need to get them out of there."

"It's not what they would want," Shane added standing behind him. 

"Yeah well, they're not here to have a say." With that, I turned around to face the officer again, this time my chest ached and all I wanted to do was run up those stairs and pretend I never had to leave. Funny how quickly that turned. "Let's go."