cloud

He wasn't bluffing.

The moment I returned home from the hospital, Gray was back to talking about potential therapists. Despite my repeated attempts at refusing to see one, he kept bringing it up.

Layne, on the other hand, hadn't left my side since that night. Before, she'd just run away from me, but now it almost felt like the other way around. It was hard to find a moment to be away from the four-year-old. Quinn and Gray were considering taking her to talk to a therapist as well.

"Why are you so against this?" Gray asks with a frown. "Why do you refuse to try and get help, Cloud?"

My jaw clenches at his words. I had been laying in my room upstairs when Gray entered and began to, once again, bring up the topic of therapy.

"I don't need it," I repeat.

Gray falls quiet for a minute before he turns to me. I can feel his blue eyes staring at me as they try to figure out what's going on in my head.

"They're getting worse aren't they?" Gray questions and when I don't reply, he sighs. "Cloud—"

"—Stop," I interrupt him and shoot him a glare.

Ever since that night, I had been thinking about the lab more and more. Not just it either, but also Dad. After the scene I made at the hospital, I began having more nightmares, or rather memories, about the two. Because of this, Gray had started to understand that I remembered more than I was letting on. He tried to talk to me about it, but that was the last thing I wanted.

His lips form a line of disapproval. "How long are you going to do this? How long are you going to let yourself suffer?"

"How long are you going to pretend to give a shit?" I shoot back. "You never cared before so why are you trying to play the big brother role now? Go back to just not caring, Gray."

We glare at each other and Gray opens his mouth before closing it and shaking his head. Instead, he sets a piece of paper down on the bedside table and stands up before moving toward the door. His eyes meet mine again and it looks like he wants to say something, but he ultimately decides against it and walks out.

Picking up the piece of paper, I roll my eyes when I see it's a list of therapy contacts and crumble it up before throwing it in the tiny trashcan beside the bed. My eyes focus on the door for a few more minutes before I lay down and close them, forcing myself to fall asleep.

...

Brown eyes stare at me with hatred shining within them. He doesn't even try to hide it. In front of the pack, he may act as if he tolerates me, but behind closed doors that couldn't be further from the truth.

I tried to stay away from home as much as I could throughout the day. I tried to stay away from him. I never knew how he'd react. Some days, he'd just glare at me, and other days, he'd turn violent.

I had been out all day, but when dinner time came around I knew I had to return home. Neither Mom nor Gray was there, meaning that it would only be Dad and me for dinner, and judging from the lack of food on the table, we wouldn't be eating tonight.

"Dad...?" I call out and the man lets out a growl before standing up.

He says nothing as he strides toward me. His hands ball into fists and I feel my body tense up. I turn towards the living room door and run through it, towards the stairs, and attempt to bolt towards my room, but he's faster than me. He grabs the back of my shirt and drags me back toward the kitchen.

"Dad!" I call out to him and desperately try to escape from within his grasp.

My words fall deaf to his ears and out of the corner of my eye, I see the calendar Mom had bought hanging on the fridge. Tomorrow was circled in red marker and when we got close enough, I saw what the writing inside the circle had said.

April 2nd: Cloud's birthday!

...

The feeling of someone touching me has me jolting awake. My hands fly out in every direction as I try to push the person away from me. I don't stop moving until I feel my hand connect with someone and a whimper follows. Turning my attention downward, Layne stares up at me and cups her cheek with tears welling up in her eyes.

Shit.

I reach towards her, but she flinches away from me.

"Layne—" I try to speak, but I'm interrupted when Quinn enters the room.

Her mouth opens, but quickly closes and her eyes widen once she takes in the scene. She quickly moves towards Layne and scoops her into her arms before turning to me.

"What happened to her?" She questions.

"She...she woke me up, I freaked out, and accidentally hit her."

Quinn frowns at my words and nods before disappearing with Layne. A sigh escapes me and I run my hand through my hair before placing my head in the palms of my hands.

Guilt grows inside of me and eventually I stand up, open the door, and move towards the stairs to go apologies. Instead, I stop just outside of the room when I hear the sounds of Gray and Quinn talking.

"He's getting worse, Gray," I hear Quinn say. "When you asked me about letting him stay here until he started to get better, I was completely on board, but he's not getting better. He's getting worse and now it's not only him who's hurting, it's starting to affect Layne and also you."

My jaw clenches at her words.

Gray stays quiet for a few minutes before letting out a sigh.

"I know," he finally says. "I don't know what to do, Quinn. He doesn't want help."

"I didn't ask for your help," I say as I walk downstairs, venom dripping from each of my words. "Never once did I ask you to try and 'fix me', you assumed I wanted it."

The two stare at each other and they appear to be talking through their link. Finally, Quinn leaves the room and it's just Gray and I.

"Tell me, Gray, when did I ever ask you to let me stay here? When did I ask you to worry about me? I never did."

Gray raises an eyebrow. "Then what are you going to do? Sit there and let yourself fall deeper and deeper—"

"—Stop!" I yell at him. "Stop trying to act like you care! I don't need your help, Gray. Accept that I don't want it!"

His eyes narrow. "As each day passes by, you dig yourself deeper and deeper into a hole and one step closer to your grave. You put yourself in harmful situations, and now that's starting to harm others as well. Mom wouldn't have wanted you to live like this."

The mention of Mom causes a sharp pain to grow within. "Don't try to tell me what Mom would've wanted. Mom was the only one who gave a shit, she was the only one who tried to stop Dad. You didn't care, this pack sure as hell didn't care. The only reason you care now is because of your own guilt, Gray. Not because of me. I never asked you to bring me here, and maybe it was a mistake on your part to do so. Maybe...maybe you should've just left me in that fucking lab."

Gray's mouth opens, but his head quickly turns towards the stairs. At the top of it is Layne staring at us with wide eyes. From where I stand, I can see a slight bruise from where I hit her. Her blue eyes find mine and inside of them, I see a look I was all too familiar with growing up.

Fear.

Gray moves towards her and when he does so, I take the chance to bolt past him and out the door. I can hear his voice call for me, but I don't listen to it. If anything, it only fuels me to move faster.

I run through the pack and the woods until I reach the border. The warriors' heads snap towards mine and in their eyes, I can see the hate they harbor. Turning away from them, I pass the border and keep running. None of the warriors try to stop me. Instead, they watch as I leave.

I don't look back at the pack. Memories flood my mind and I push them away. The further I go, the more I try to forget the pack. The more I try to push Dad, Gray, Layne — everyone out of my mind. Once I'm far enough away that the is no longer in sight, I turn around and take in the area one last time.

This would be the last time I saw any of them.