Annabeth looked impatiently at me and I desperately wanted to know how she managed to make someone wish the Earth would swallow them up whole just to avoid her gaze. But instead of asking, I ran to grab my jacket and stashed my knives in my pockets. When I headed back, she started walking towards the door and I followed with Travis on my heels.
Finn started coughing as he walked quickly to catch up to us.
"Lacey," Finn said, "Cough, Lacey."
I didn't think he cared that you weren't supposed to say cough. He grabbed my elbow and pulled me away from everyone.
"Need to talk to her for a minute. Carry on with yourselves," he waved Annabeth and Travis on but they stayed where they were.
"Finn," Annabeth said deceptively calm.
Finn just started coughing more, working my name into it, and saying cough now and then as he hauled me to his and Annabeth's room.
"What the hell was that?" Travis said to Annabeth before Finn slammed the door, blocking out whatever her reply was going to be.
I stood in their room anxiously.
"Welcome to my humble abode," he said, letting his arms splay out wide in front of him.
It was one of the only rooms I didn't frequent, only because usually Annabeth was in here when she wanted to have alone time away from everyone else and I was willing to respect that. Even when the two of them weren't in the room, the door was always shut.
"Can I help you?" I asked hesitantly, eyeing the books that were double stacked on top of each other in a corner of the room. There was a single flower in a cup on the dresser amid boxes of matches and lighters. Shoes were scattered on the floor and on the ground in front one wall, a mirror was propped with tons of makeup surrounding it.
Finn walked up to me and put both of his hands on my shoulders, causing my attention to snap to him. For once, he had a serious expression on his face. No joking, no warm smile, no troublesome glint in his eyes. Instead, he leveled a hard stare on me.
"I need you to watch out for Annabeth," he said quietly.
I felt a bit of my muscles relax at this, "Of course."
"No," he shook his head. "Really watch out for her."
Did he not believe me or something? I wasn't going to let her get hurt if I could help it. Did he think lowly of me and this was how I was only just finding out? My confusion must have been obvious on my face because he kept talking.
"Her dad is out there. And she's been through shit - they all have. We all have," he corrected, and I couldn't disagree with him on that. "But some of them have been through more."
I nodded, "I know. I promise, I'll watch her back. I'll-"
He cut me off, "That's not what I'm talking about. You're going out with her alone to look for her dad. You have to be the rock."
This was where I was starting to lose him finally and I was really not loving Finn constantly talking in riddles. Or was I just not smart enough for them?
Finn let go of my shoulders and sighed but stayed close in my space. "You remember when we ran into Scully with Dylan? Annabeth froze?"
"Just for a second, then she came to help me with Dylan."
"Yeah, she left Scully. Her, Cameron, Travis, even...They've been through things that I've heard about and could barely stand just listening to because it was fucked up. There's a lot that they have in here," he tapped his head with one finger, "that takes over and they can't help it. They freeze or freak out."
I opened my mouth but shut it, not understanding why he was telling me this or where he was going.
"If something happens, you have to be the rock, something safe for her or Travis to hold onto when their head is frozen or exploding or short-circuiting. They can't do what they have to do if they don't have someone safe to hold onto. You need to be that. When everything in their head is screaming at them and they can barely see straight, it's your job to be the distraction and quiet the chaos."
Annabeth in the doorway of the Casey house when I shoved passed her, utterly frozen when she saw her dad came back into my head.
"Do you do that for Annabeth?" I asked cautiously, the last few conversations I'd had with him trying to click into place to form a bigger picture.
"You think I'm naturally this annoying?" Finn asked like the answer was obvious but when I opened my mouth, his hand reached out and covered my lips. "Don't answer that."
The seriousness in his whole demeanor paired with how he was when he was talking about him and Annabeth fighting the other day made me suddenly not sure how to answer that. Right now, he didn't seem anything like the usual Finn I knew. He didn't seem like he had a stash of lollipops somewhere in here and he didn't look like he made more jokes than he could keep track of. He was always the one that was lightening the mood, even when it drew Annabeth or Cameron's rage. Still, that never even frazzled him and up until that point I just thought he refused to acknowledge the anger they directed at him.
Finn continued, "Ben does that for Travis a lot. I do it for Cameron and Annabeth. I mean, distract them, get them to come out of their heads. When they feel like they're falling, it's our job to give them stability."
I clenched my jaw, annoyed with everything now. "This isn't fair. They don't deserve any of that."
"Life isn't fair, little one. You gotta accept it and remember you signed up for this."
He reached out and rubbed my shoulder for a moment and I could feel how tight my shoulders were with nerves.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked because I didn't want to know. It felt like more baggage on top of the massive amount I'd already accumulated. I didn't want there to be any moment again that would cause Annabeth to freak out or freeze.
"You're going out with Annabeth. Ben was out with her last time and he knows. I need you to be that rock for her in case something bad happens. I need you to keep her grounded. Can you promise me that?"
I looked around the room again, at the little bits of Finn and Annabeth's personalities stashed around the room. Annabeth didn't deserve to be this damaged. Either did Cameron or Travis. And Finn didn't deserve to have to shoulder the burden of that damage. When was he ever upset? Annabeth was upset or Cameron was upset and if I understood what he was telling me, he didn't have time to be upset. He worried instead about them, keeping their heads afloat.
"Lacey?" Finn asked, bending down to get in my line of sight.
"Yes," I forced out, trying to keep my anger at everything Melkin-related contained. "I can do that."
His cheery face came back on as fast as a snap of the fingers, "Great, let's go. They're probably out there bored and that will only last so long before they start murdering each other."
Finn opened the door and I walked out in a bit of a haze, trying to piece together everything that made Finn, Finn. There were so many times that Finn would do something and Annabeth would yell or cuss at him and he would just laugh and laugh. How much of that was just to keep her grounded? To give her something to direct her anger at, as he mentioned when we were walking around the town last time. How much was he bottling up?
Travis and Annabeth were right where we left them. Annabeth was propped up and leaning against the front door which was open. Travis was leaning against the wall and twirling a set of keys around his finger. When we emerged, Finn ran off calling Ben's name at an obnoxiously loud volume. Travis looked at me curiously when I walked up to them.
I shook my head, "It was nothing important."
What we talked about didn't sound like it was something Finn advertised, seeing as he didn't tell me in front of them. Maybe he just didn't want Annabeth to know he was telling me to watch out for her.
Either way, I looked at her expectantly. "Are we going?"
"By all means, after you, your highness. Whenever you're ready," she said, motioning elaborately for me to walk through the door first.
We walked out and I saw Cameron loading his crutches into the backseat of the SUV. Annabeth's sleek car was parked behind the SUV at an angle, taking up more space than necessary.
Cameron turned around when he heard us approaching. "We've got Annabeth and Lacey on the streets, Finn and Ben going back to the Casey house, Travis up on the roofs and me below him in the car. Just looking for Scully," Cameron said but his eyes cut towards Travis.
"What?" Travis' voice was offended.
"Just looking for Scully. No shooting."
Travis' middle finger made an appearance as he made a general jacking off motion in the direction of Cameron.
"Any questions?" Cameron's tone cut through the air like a knife. I was pretty sure he was trying not to grind is teeth.
Travis was making his way to the driver's side of the SUV and Cameron didn't stop him. I was sort of glad I wasn't going to be in the car or near them to listen to their bickering. Or listen to Travis intentionally push Cameron's buttons.
Ben came barreling out of the house, with Finn coming out last. Finn had a huge duffel bag on his shoulder as he locked the house door. I wanted to know what was in there and what he was going to the old Casey house for. As far as I knew, everyone was supposed to have gotten anything out of there already and to stay clear of it to avoid the cops or Dacostas. Cameron had stressed that multiple times over the last few days and in group text messages to avoid the Casey house as much as possible for safety. But I figured that I didn't want to know what they were doing or what the bag was, whether they were collecting things or not. Maybe it was money. Either way, it would probably add extra stress to my already high stress level.
"Here!" Ben yelled, coming up to us. He threw a small black object at Travis, who caught it. He gave Annabeth two, and she handed one to me, before he went to give one to Cameron.
It was an ear piece but it looked a little more high tech than the ones we usually used. At least judging by the tiny buttons on the outside of it.
"I picked these up the other day at the store. Long range. That way when Travis ruins things, we'll know in advance. Ow!" Ben shrieked and when I looked over, he was clutching his leg as Travis walked away from him. "I meant, so if someone has any news..."
Ben explained how to turn it on and which button to press on the ear piece to talk and then we were set to go.
The best thing about working with Annabeth was we got to ride in her car. Her very, very fast car. I gripped the armrest and door handle as she turned this way and that but there was a smile on my face the entire time I sat in the passenger seat, watching the world fly by.
"That car is great," I said getting out of the car once we got to Melkin.
I was surprised she wanted to leave her car around here but I assumed she knew what she was doing a little more than I did.
"It was my first big purchase once I started doing jobs and making my own money," she said and then pointed down the street in the direction she wanted to go.
Much like before, we were just wandering around spots Scully might be. It felt very similar to what Josh and I did when we first arrived. However, each step Annabeth took was punctuated and her head was held high like she had a destination. She didn't, I asked on the drive. But she was bound to know where Scully might be more than others. She had told me in the car she had a few ideas to check out but also that he might seek her out because they had, and I quote, "a little fight". Travis and Ben had said Scully wanted to kill her so I'm pretty sure she was downplaying this.
"I'm jealous," I told her about the car.
We were walking down the road and if I'm being honest, fear was starting to take root in my heart like a cold breeze running over me. I knew we needed to find Scully but a very big part of me did not want to. Not after the conversation with Finn. I'd rather someone else be here with us.
"I was mad at my dad," Annabeth said. "I wanted to leave Melkin and the guys in the gang were older, worse than they are now. They were horrible. And I knew no matter how hard I trained, if I made a run for it on foot one day, they'd catch me. If they couldn't catch me, they'd shoot me. So I figured if I couldn't beat them by foot, I could drive. I went to the dealer and asked for the fastest car they had. I didn't know how to handle it and thought I was going to crash it on my way home. My dad was pissed because it was a lot flashier than anything the Caseys usually bought."
I looked down an alley as we passed but it was empty. "Jay told me I couldn't even touch it when we went through the parking garage."
Annabeth nodded, "I would hide it in there away from the cops and Dacostas to keep them from messing with it. It's always been my ticket out of here."
Finn's voice invaded my ear, "Can you guys hear me? Testing. Testing. Butts. Ass. Fuck."
"Shut the fuck up," Cameron snapped.
"Wow, okay," Finn ignored Cameron and continued, "Ben told me to test it out and like, I'm so sorry for listening to him and trying to be a team player and actuallyâ"
"Finn." Cameron was not amused. "Are you at the house?"
Silence greeted us and I kept looking around where we were walking for any signs of life.
"Finn," Annabeth prompted when he didn't say anything.
Ben's voice came through instead, "He's saying he was told to shut up. But yes, we're at the house."
Annabeth spoke to me only, "They should not be allowed to use earpieces or any form of communication."
I laughed.
They were quiet after that so I focused back on looking for Scully.
"What do you do for fun?" Annabeth asked, after some time.
I bit my lip and wondered if I had heard her correctly. "Um."
"When you're not here," she added.
"Well before this," I began slowly, "I was in a training academy and I was number two in my class so I didn't really do a lot outside of that..."
She groaned. "I'm trying to get to know you and do the Girl Talk thing I've read about. Why are you making this so hard?"
I wanted to tell her she was making it hard because of who she was but didn't think she'd appreciate that. I also felt my heart break a little bit as she admitted it was something she had only read about.
"You want to girl talk?" I asked as I tried to think of something good to talk about.
"Never mind."
"I haven't really â I mean, when I was in school, my dad let me go to school and dance and that was about it. Then I came here and after that, I went to the training academy where that became my life. I haven't had much time for fun. I like to watch movies, I guess? Or travel documentaries. The Planet Earth ones are my favorite," I rambled, trying to answer her question.
"What are those?" she asked softly.
I fought the urge to bite my lip again. "They're documentaries about different regions of the Earth. It's more about nature, not really attractions in different cities but it still makes me want to go to all of those places anyway. They have some really cute animals in them."
"Will you show me later?"
"Yes," I grinned so hard my cheeks hurt. I didn't want this conversation to end. "What kind of books do you like to read?"
"Ones about love," she said but it was quieter than before because she had her turned away from me. "Finn likes to hear about things the main guy does for the girl in the books and then tries to do it."
I opened my mouth and it took a second to get anything out. "Really?"
She laughed once. "He always messes it up."
"That's still nice," I said.
"Yeah. It is."
I wanted to scream with how anxious and excited this conversation was making me. I wanted to hit the talk button on the ear piece and tell everyone that I was having girl talk with Annabeth Taylor. I wanted to jump up and down in circles around her but she'd probably shoot me. I think a small squeal came out of me though, based on the glare she gave me.
"Maybe Travis should read your books. When I first met him, I had to teach him how to be a boyfriend," I gushed, so hyped to be talking to her. "He got another girl's number once and he left me at a grocery store."
Annabeth let out a few more small laughs and I wanted to run around chanting We Are The Champions because it felt like a victory.
"Why did you date him if he didn't know what to do?"
"Oh, we made a deal," I began.
She raised an eyebrow at me but I didn't get to explain further because when we turned the corner, my smile finally dropped.
We weren't alone on this road. However, it wasn't Scully. Instead, based off the eyesore of the cars by them, a few Dacostas were posted up down the road.
Annabeth didn't slow her walk any as she shoved her hands in her jacket pockets. I wanted to know what she had in there but my attention was on the three Dacostas who had noticed us.
They pushed away from the banana yellow car with racing stripes down the side that they were leaning against. There was so much chrome added onto it that I fought to not squint at the sun shining off it. It wasn't until we got closer that I saw a long key mark in the side of the car.
"Hello, boys," Annabeth said with a malicious smile on her face. "Did you come all this way over here to see me?"
We were definitely in Casey territory.
"Taylor," one of them said, "Carson."
At least he didn't address me as Miller's girl.
Annabeth made a kissy face before the scary smile came back.
"You know who did this?" the guy gestured to the spot on his car.
Another one of the guys had his eyes glued to Annabeth, going from her head to her feet and back again a few times. The other kept looking between Annabeth and I, but I recognized the emotion on his face as fear.
"Nope," Annabeth said, popping the last syllable.
The guy glared and started advancing on us.
"Maybe you hit a pole," I suggested softly.
The guy's pointed to the mark before he pointed to himself, "I think I would remember hitting a fucking pole."
I shrugged, "You never know."
The guy came at us, fists clenched at his sides.
"You owe me a new car," he said in Annabeth's face.
She remained silent and I watched the other two to make sure they stayed where they were.
"Fine, be a bitch!" he said and reached into his pocket and came out holding a knife.
I kicked the back of his knees before he could do anything and swiped his feet out from underneath him. He fell back onto the sidewalk hard, the knife dropping from his hand in the process. I bent to pick it up and held it out towards the other two.
Annabeth stepped forward before the guy on the ground had a chance to catch his breath and put her foot right over her neck. My eyes jumped back and forth between the two guys and the Converse shoe that was currently cutting the guy's air supply off. Annabeth's face was passive as she looked down at him.
He started to struggle and grab at her foot. She released some of the pressure and he took a gasp in but she still had her foot on his wind pipe.
"I'm waiting for you to apologize," she said calmly down at him. Her tone, or rather her complete lack of tone, sent a chill through my body.
The guy didn't say anything so she put her foot down harder on his neck. His friends started to come at us and one reached behind him and I saw a gun.
"Annabeth," I whispered but my plea was overshadowed by the guy on the ground making noises.
He said something that sounded like a word so Annabeth released her foot.
"Sorry," he coughed. "Fucking crazy."
Another smile appeared on Annabeth's face as she removed her foot entirely and stepped away. She walked right up to the one with the gun and pouted, looking down at it.
"You won't need that. We'll be on our way, pretty boy," she patted his cheek before walking past him.
My stomach felt like it was going to empty its contents on the worry that the guy was going to shoot her in the back. But he seemed more concerned with his buddy on the ground and went to check on him. I ran after Annabeth, pocketing the knife. I glanced back at the guys to make sure they weren't doing anything because it was awfully tame of them not to react.
Annabeth's face was stoic and her eyes were glancing every which way as we walked and turned around another corner once we got to the end of the block.
"I don't trust them. Keep a look out for others," she said quietly.
We kept walking, faster than earlier. I recognized a few places as we walked, including the alley that had the wall I used to jump over to get in and out of Melkin. We walked passed it. I didn't see anyone and there were no more Dacosta cars so I was hoping they were on and it was just a fluke. That maybe they weren't as aggressive as the rest of their gang. But Annabeth still had a guarded look on her face and I still felt fear creeping along my neck.
"Should we tell the others?" I asked as we passed an alleyway that connected two streets.
She didn't have an answer and when I looked into the alley, a rush of panic ran up my leg, halting my next step. I had to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.
"Bethie," Annabeth's dad called.
Scully stood in the middle of the alley and I suspected he entered it from the other end. He had his arms out wide like he expected Annabeth to rush into them and hug him. His clothes were dirty, his shirt ripped at the end. His hair was greasy and he had a smudge of something dark on his face.
"Alright, that's fair." he nodded once and lowered his arms. His eyes flickered to me and a smirk appeared on his face. "Always a pleasure seeing you, honey."
Annabeth took one solid step into the alley and I stuck to her side. There was a loud pop in the distance like a gunshot, echoing through the air but I couldn't deal with that. It was possible it was just the Dacostas from earlier causing trouble.
"Are you ready to talk, Bethie?" Scully taunted. "I've been looking for you."
OOOOO WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN?!?!?!
I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKED IT. SORRY FOR THE WAIT. I'M SO AMPED UP FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER I'VE BEEN WAITING SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THIS STORY TO WRITE THE NEXT SCENE. okay lower caps. I hope you liked it and I hope you have a great rest of your day/night. Vote, comment, tell your friends.
Also -- thank you for everyone who commented on the last chapter with what they like/dislike. It made me so happy to read the feedback and is super helpful!
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