Read The Academy - Friends vs. Family for Free Online

me.
“You’re so full of shit.”
    I attempted a smirk. He was right. My face still hurt. My throat
and lungs felt twisted like knots. I hated feeling so helpless. I hated that
I’d brought them into this. I was consumed with worry that my mother was
looking for me right now, maybe even calling the police to find me. Still, I
didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay forever.
    “What do you need?” he asked.
    “Water,” I mouthed. “And I want to get up.”
    North held his hands out, palms up. I let go of Kota and clutched
at North. He hefted me until I was on my feet. I blinked at the bandages at my
wrists. I felt more crunching of bandage seams around my ankles. I was wearing
a pair of shorts that didn’t fit and a large Nike t-shirt. I wondered who
changed my clothes but I really didn’t care. My poor brain couldn’t handle that
thought at the moment.
    I wobbled on my feet. My legs didn’t want to work. My ankle
throbbed. I willed myself to at least stand up straight. Kota rose with me, and
wrapped an arm around my waist. North held on to my hands until it looked like
I was stable.
    North stepped beside me, holding on to my left hand like he was
never letting go. Nathan and Silas hovered behind him. Their eyes were wide,
mouths drawn, terrified. I mustered up another smile, hoping they would know I
was okay. Nathan looked relieved but Silas hesitated, his dark eyes narrowing,
unsure.
    “Let’s get inside and sit down,” Dr. Green said somewhere behind
Silas. “We should talk.”
    “I think we need to let her sleep,” North said next to me. “She
needs to recover.”
    “We need to figure out our next move,” Mr. Blackbourne’s smooth
vocals cut through and I shivered with embarrassment. I couldn’t believe he was
there, too.
    North squared off his shoulders. “What we’re doing is getting her
the hell out of there,” he said.
    I squeezed at his hand. His eyes glided to mine. “Inside,” I
whispered. “I want to talk.”
    He smirked at me. “Baby, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you
can’t talk.”
    I rolled my eyes. “Never stopped me before,” I croaked out.
    He and Kota, who must have been the only ones who could have heard
me, started chuckling. Silas finally relaxed his shoulders. He and Nathan
stepped out of the way. Behind them stood Dr. Green, with Luke, Gabriel, Victor
and Mr. Blackbourne next to him. Nine concerned eyes fell on my face and I
shivered under the weight of their pity. Heat clung to my cheeks but I was
feeling too miserable to protest.
    It took a little bit of stretching and a few steps assisted by
Kota before I was able to break the stiffness from my limbs. The entire lower
half of my body felt numb. I staggered toward the house. Mr. Blackbourne held
the sliding door open for me.
    I stood in the living room until everyone collected inside. Kota
motioned to the large leather chair but I shook my head. There was a large
wooden coffee table on the rug in the middle of the room. I slid onto my knees
to the rug and sat with my butt on my heels. I felt the bandages against my
ankles wrinkle and a pain through my legs. My tailbone radiated equal agony
through my lower spine. It was dulled, more like a throbbing ache that eased in
and settled into my bones. I couldn’t sit on my butt, I knew, not right now.
The ankle was bad enough but tolerable. I folded my hands into my lap and I
patiently waited, my eyes challenging anyone to tell me to do otherwise.
    The others took positions around the table. Silas, Luke and North
sat on the couch. Victor fell into the armchair. The fire was gone from his
eyes. I only caught glistening and it looked terrible on him. Kota and Gabriel
took up positions next to me on the floor. Gabriel chewed on a thumbnail, as if
he wasn’t sure if he should be near me or not.
    Mr. Blackbourne stood by the coffee table, his arms crossed
against his chest and looking displeased. Nathan disappeared for a moment but
came back with a bottle of water to