Marked By Pain (The Marked #2)(33)

They hooked us up with this car, and now we're driving back up to mainland Scotland. From there we will need to get on the ferry to the island, and then we’re returning to the academy. I said I wanted to go home, but my idea was quickly vetoed. Apparently, the school has better security than my home. They also conveniently ignored me when I pointed out the fact the security wasn't so stellar at the academy, considering that I had been taken from there last time.

Enzo had gone with his sister, Stacey, who as well as being the spirit teacher at the academy, is also apparently contracted by the council for something. He didn’t explain what she was doing there, just that he would meet us at the ferry and then drive up to the school with us.

"Kenzie, you can't ignore us all the entire way back," Locke says quietly. I notice that Logan turned up the music now blaring from the car stereo, just a second before Locke spoke. I turn and glare at the back of Logan's head. They must have twin telepathy or something, that was way too convenient for them. I don't answer Locke, as that would defeat the purpose of the silent treatment, if I broke it to tell him that he was getting the silent treatment. They all are.

"Kenzie, please don't be like this," he pleads in a low voice. I try to take a look at him in the car's rear-view mirror, but it's not angled right for me to be able to catch him in the reflection from back here. I try to sneak a glance at him, but he's staring at me. I'm not able to look away, caught in his eyes' intense gaze like a deer trapped in headlights. "Talk to me," he whispers, breaking me from my trance.

"You all just left them," I blurt out, and a hurt look crosses his face. He swallows thickly, his eyes darting away from mine as if he can't look into them.

"We didn't just leave them, we had no choice. Getting you out and safe was the priority, both Kelly and Ryan knew that. They'll be happy you're safe, and you know we will rescue them as soon as we can," he answers.

"But what if that isn't soon enough, what if he hurts them?" I snap, feeling my fingernails digging into my palms. I relax my hands and look down, spotting the little crescent-shaped indents from my nails, a couple of them even broke the skin. I wipe my hands off on my jeans, the tiny bit of blood not even leaving a mark on them. Locke grabs my hands and pulls them to his lips; he kisses one and then the other gently.

"He won't kill either of them, I won't lie and say they won't be harmed, but they won't be killed, and we will get them back. We will get them as soon as we can. We care about them too, Ryan is our friend."

"But he's my brother, and Kelly is my best friend. We spent so much time together growing up. She basically lived at our house, because her parents were always too busy for her. She'd sometimes sleep over for weeks at a time, and her parents wouldn't even notice," I explain quietly. When he doesn't say anything back, I continue. "She spent most holidays with us, nearly every Christmas and New Years since we became friends. Whenever we went abroad, her and East would come with us. East would obviously be there with Ryan, but me and Kelly would follow them around. Ryan hated it back then, I'm not sure when he started liking Kelly, he never seemed to like her when we were younger. She was like a bonus annoying sister back then," I ramble on, I barely notice as he scoots closer. This time I don't stop him as he wraps his arm around me.

"What was the last holiday you went on?" he asks.

"We went skiing in France," I say, pulling a face at the memory. "I hate the cold, and I was so terrible at skiing. East was naturally amazing at it, I swear he's always annoyingly good at things. Ryan could keep up, and Kelly could ski just fine, but instead she chose to keep me company. On the last day of the trip, we basically raided the booze, and got drunk in the lodge while my mum and dads went skiing with East and Ry. We ended up drinking so much, and then we fell asleep before we could clean up."

"I can guess your parents weren't thrilled when they got back?" he asks in a humorous tone. I smile wryly.

"Instead of telling us off, they quietly opened the door again, and then they used the air mark to move some of the snow from outside into the cabin, and they dumped it all over the two of us. We were completely covered and still slightly drunk when we were shocked awake like that. I was shivering for ages after, and I was so mortified at East laughing at me," I say, fully grinning now as I picture it.

"I bet," he replies, smiling too.

"I'm sorry for being moody with you guys, I know it's not your fault. You wouldn't have left them if there was another way," I mumble.

"You don't have to say you're sorry; I know you're just worried about them, all of us are. We will get them back, but first, we need to get you back to the academy and keep you safe. You can't go anywhere without one of us from now on, Kenzie. We can't trust anyone else with you, not when the rebels could be recruiting anyone." Locke's arm tightens around me, hugging me close to his side. I rest my head against him.

"That's okay with me, I don't want to be away from any of you anyway," I admit.

"You won’t. Don't worry, we're all going to stick to you like glue," Logan's voice says from the front. He reaches a hand out behind him and I take it in mine, feeling him squeeze mine comfortingly. After a moment, I notice the car is noticeably silent.

"When did you turn the music off?" I ask, not having noticed.