Classified || 2 || ✔️ mature

40 | Lilac

Archers eyes snap to her stomach at the same time as mine, seeing the way she cradles it, her face scrunched in pain.

"What?" Archer breathes out softly, word on the verge of disbelieving.

Holland continues, her words soft, eyes looking over Archers shoulder, a tear falling from her eye, "I- I don't know. He kicked me - I think I just killed- Archer."

"How-" Archer cuts himself off when Holland sucks in a shaky breath,

"A pregnancy can't survive a kick to the stomach this early right?"

"I don't know." Archer murmurs, stroking her cheekbone reverently. He helps her stand up, as her knees struggle to hold her up, face scrunched in pain as she continues to hold her stomach. "We have to get you to the hospital." He says, looking to me. "We have to get her out of here."

I glance down Hollands figure, my brain lagging before I look to my brother and the woman in chains, stepping towards them as they look between the three of us.

"We will." I say, pulling at the ropes binding Clay, ignoring his eyes on me. "And we're going to run, okay?"

He speaks, the words gravel like. "I can run."

I look to the girl I've been ignoring, the vision of her in chains pushing me back to a time I like to forget.

Clay Anders for her, "I can help her."

I nod. I connect my eyes to his, seeing the man behind the facade my father created for his golden child, and I nod.

"Thank you." I whisper, so only he can hear it.

His eyes move from my eyes to the scar, tracing my face as if he'll find something recognisable. His eyes stop on mine again, glancing between them.

He pushes from his chair as soon as he is free, walking for the girl and I follow, my hand shaking slightly as I work to release her from her confines. Her hands drop, wrists rubbed raw.

"Did you know if he's still here?" I ask her quietly and she shakes her head, dark hair falling in a mess around her face. "No, he left as soon as the alarms started."

"I'm sorry." I say, looking between her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't." She mutters, squeezing my fingers quickly before releasing them. "You didn't do this

I might as well have. If only I'd killed him when I had the chance.

I rub my own wrists at the phantom ache running through them, and her eyes snap to them, a knowing glint in them.

"You didn't do this." She repeats, her words harsh.

I clench my teeth but nod back at her.

Clay steps forward, taking her arm and looping it around his shoulder as he takes her weight, murmuring something to her, her name slipping from his lips.

"Let's go." I turn to them all, walking for the door, palming my gun. "Try and keep up, and silent."

I look back at Archer and Clay, seeing my sister and the girl - Cleo, held up by them or carried.

"Stay behind me." I mutter, tightening my grip on my gun and stepping out of the room, glancing down one side of the hallway to the next.

• • •

The sky shakes once more, opening as rain starts to pour freely from the sky, soaking the five of us to the bone as we creep away from the remnants of headquarters, leaving it behind us.