Court of Ambrose

Leave it Alone

{Veryn’s POV}

We sat outside of the room for about ten minutes, and never heard a word. Then, panicked cries, and whimpers coming from inside. I ran to my room and grabbed the key, opening the door as Dayus and I both launched ourselves into the room.

Celeste laid completely tangled in the middle of pillows and blankets, her body jerking, and her head swinging from side to side as tears streamed down her face. “N-No!” She whimpered. “Please! Stop!” She rolled over to her side as the nightmare continued. “Get off of me!” She screamed, and Dayus and I froze.

What did she just say? I asked myself, my body rigid as anger pulsed through me. “Don’t!” She cried, her body jerking violently. “Don’t touch me!” She screamed as her body jerked and she sat straight up looking around the room. Dayus and I stood frozen in the doorway.

“Are you okay?” I asked making my way to the side of the bed. “We heard you screaming, and we came in to make sure you were okay..”

I thought that she’d be angry, that she’d go back to her constant screaming, and arguing, instead I watched as her body shook, tears spilling from her eyes, she shook her head and she dove into my chest wrapping her arms around my waist. “No..” she whispered, her whole body shaking softly.

Dayus crossed the room, sitting down beside us, his hand softly resting on her back as he rubbed it gently. “It’s okay, he can’t hurt you now. We’re here to protect you.” He said, reassuring her.

She looked up at me, tears in her big green eyes. “I don’t want to be alone anymore..” she cried, burying her face back in my chest.

I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer and rubbing her back gently. “You’re not alone anymore Celeste.. you have us, we’re here. I’m sorry that I’ve been such a di**.. I shouldn’t have..” I said, kissing the top of her head. “You don’t have to be alone anymore, just let us help you.”

“You don’t have to tell us anything until you’re ready.” Dayus said, softly running his hands through her hair. “But whenever you’re ready, whenever you need to, we’re here to talk.”

I kissed the top of her head, my instinct to hide her away, to protect her, it was overwhelming. I’d never felt this way before, I wanted to make sure that she could never be hurt again, but also, to end anyone who ever upset her, or wronged her. I felt overwhelmed by the sense of protectiveness, and possessiveness that I had over her in this moment. Pulling her closer to my chest and inhaling her scent. She’s broken.. he did something awful to her, something that no one should ever have to go through. I’m going to ki** that boy.. no matter what, no matter how, no matter when.. I’m going to fu***** ki** him!

We waited until she was asleep, I pointed to the hallway and crept from the room, Dayus close behind me. “I can’t believe that someone could ever hurt Celeste that badly.” Dayus said, pacing across the floor. “He broke her leg.. her spine.. her ribs.. her rib punctured her lungs.. and he just gets to roam free and continue to harass her?” He seethed.

“I’m gonna ki** him..” I said, turning and stalking up the stairs. “He’s somewhere around here.. he’s staying close by, and watching her..”

Dayus grabbed my shoulder turning me to face him. “I want him dead too.. but what if we leave, and he breaks in? It would be safer for us to stay with her. When he tries to come back next time.. we won’t let him leave alive.” He sneered, turning and walking back into the basement.

I thought about it, staring out the window into the dark forest that surrounded the house. He was right.. Mason could be watching us.. seeing if we leave so that way he can break in. We told him we were staying a week.. Dayus shouldn’t have said anything in the first place. I sighed, pacing the floor of the living room upstairs. I looked out on the front porch seeing one of the officers, the one Dayus and I were talking to earlier. I stepped outside, breathing in the cold air. “Hey, so I know there isn’t much you can tell us, but is there any way that we can get a copy of the police file for Celeste? She wanted to look over it and see if there was any hint of where Mason may be staying in the area.” I asked, leaning against the wall.

He sighed. “I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to give that to you, she would have to come and ask for it, but yes we could give her one. Though, according to our records, she has a copy of it already.”

I nodded. “She did, she misplaced it in the move.” I said, thinking on my toes. “I’ll tell her that she’d have to come ask, though I’m not sure she’d feel up to it tonight, she’s already had a stressful night.”

“Okay, let me know if there is anything I can do to help.” He said, turning back towards the woods.

I walked back into the house, locking the door behind me. If I were a file that I didn’t want anyone to see, where would I be? I asked myself, walking around the house. I looked around each room, trying to find something that either looks like a safe, or a hiding place. So far, no luck, and I’d looked through every room except hers.

I walked into her room, looking around each corner. I checked under the bed, in her desk, and through some of the boxes in the bedroom. The last place to check was the closet. I opened it, and saw her clothes, along with some shoe boxes in the floor.

I began opening the boxes, they all had shoes in them. I was about to give up, but as I lifted the last shoebox papers shuffled about inside. I opened the box, seeing a file folder. I stared at it for a moment before I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. I quickly shut the box, putting things back in order, and hiding under the bed.

I looked out from my hiding place seeing Celeste shaking as she opened the closet, and grabbed the shoebox they had the file in it. She grabbed the folder out, and opened it, gasping and covering her mouth. “How did I let him do this..” she whimpered. “How did I let him destroy me?”

She closed the folder, her whole body shaking, as she stood up and packed it downstairs. Only then did I come out from my hiding place. Was she going to show us? I wondered as I followed behind her, back down into the basement. She walked into our living room which was now empty, and walked to the fireplace. She stared into it, her eyes watching the flames as she threw the folder into it. Tears streaming down her face as she watched it burn. She turned, noticing me and quickly wiped her eyes.

“Do you really not want us to know that badly?” I said.

She shook her head. “I don’t want you to know at all.. please.. just leave it alone.”