“What happened?” I asked again, my voice barely above a whisper, when he didn’t answer.

He took a deep breath, studying me and he shut his eyes.

“Tony?” I croaked out.

His eyes suddenly flew open and he looked at me with nothing but pure determination.

“I’ll tell you but right now, right now we need to get you out of here,” he whispered and it was only then that I noticed I was still huddled in the corner of my mother’s study but it was only Tony and I and that made me nervous. Where were my parents?

“Wh-?” I started to say but he placed his finger over my lips.

“Shhh, okay, I just need you to stay as quiet as possible okay?” he pleaded softly and I nodded. He nodded too and took a deep breath as he took his finger off my lips and then looked down at my body and grimaced. “This is probably going to hurt but I need to get you out of here, okay, so just, try and stay quiet, okay?”

I wasn’t too sure what he was talking about until he suddenly placed his arms around me again, one going under my knees and the other around my back. He began to lift me up and I couldn’t control the strangled gasp that escaped my lips as he began to move me. My head was throbbing and there was a piercing pain coming from my chest and my whole body was just in so much pain at the moment; I had to bite my tongue against the scream that was bubbling in my throat. Oh god it hurt so bad. I began to take in deep shallow breaths - which really wasn’t helping the whole chest thing - gasping in pain as he finally stood straight, me cradled in his arms.

“I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry, fuck, I’m sorry Effie,” Tony whispered in a rush his own face contorting in pain as he watched me suffering.

“I’m fine,” I gasped out through clenched teeth and I knew he didn’t believe me; he grimaced again and then turned, walking carefully to the door trying not to jostle me too much.

I kept my mouth shut tightly, afraid that if I opened it a scream would escape my lips. Tony paused just under the doorframe and he took another deep breath.

“We’re coming out,” he whispered and it confused me because I had no idea who he was talking to. He waited a moment before and then he began to walk out the room; he quickly glanced back and forth in the hallway and then turned left which once again confused me because the front door was the other way.

Before I could say anything I heard a laugh and Tony froze and I felt his body tense up. He waited for just a second before he started walking again, moving his feet cautiously against the carpet. He continued down the hall and I could feel my eyes begin to get heavy again as he entered what appeared to be a back bedroom. There was a sliding glass door that lead out onto what I assumed was a porch outside. The door was wide open, the white curtains in front of it shimmering in the soft breeze. He began to walk toward the door just as my eyelids began to flutter.

“Hey, keep those beautiful eyes open for me,” he whispered and I glanced up to see him looking down at me, a worried expression on his face. I managed to give him a small smile though I was still trying to fight the screams of pain so I doubt he found it very assuring.

He stepped over the threshold and I welcomed the cool Seattle breeze as it blew against my damp skin, whether it was damp from blood or sweat though I couldn’t tell anymore, it was probably both if I were being honest. Tony turned right and my eyes widened as he began to walk down the steps, the pain I was feeling taking a back seat behind the shock that I was now feeling. Tony nodded to one of the many men that were lined up along the wall, wearing uniforms and holding guns, the word SWAT sprawled across their backs as Tony continued down the steps.

I felt a numbness begin to creep throughout my body as Tony took the last step and considering the pain I was feeling, I welcomed it willingly. He kept walking while I struggled to keep my eyes open, the numbness feeling just too inviting at this point.

“Effie, stay awake,” he said sternly and I tried my hardest to listen to him.

I turned my head slightly which also caused me to whimper against the pain that shot through my head. I was once again shocked as I saw about a half dozen or so cop cars along the street, just a few houses down from my parents and I was still too busy trying to keep my eyes open to try and process what all this meant and the last thing I remembered seeing was Tony walking us toward an ambulance before everything went black again.

---

“Effie, did you hear that?” Emily asked as she jumped down from the last branch of the Oak tree.

“Hear what?” I muttered with a groan as I too jumped down from the branch though I stumbled and had to catch myself, my hands now covered in dirt as I stood straight and brushed them off on my jeans.

“That!” she said excitedly. “There it was again, did you hear it?”

“I don’t hear anything,” I said flatly, looking over at my sister and beginning to question her sanity.

She sighed. “Come on.” She said simply and began to walk further into the forest.

“Emily!” I groaned, stomping my feet. She ignored me though and continued walking. I sighed and began to follow her, crossing my arms.

We walked along the barely there dirt trail and Emily paused, making me stumble into her as I was too busy watching where I was walking to notice that she stopped.

“Listen, Eff,” she said and then turned toward me, smiling.

I sighed but did as she said, trying to listen to what, I had no idea. Emily jumped excitedly and then turned again and I knew she was trying to signal that I should have heard something. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and it was then that I heard it.

Whooooo. Whooo.

“Look Effie!” Emily said and I opened my eyes to see her pointing at something up in one of the trees beside us. I followed her finger and immediately my eyes locked on a pair yellow eyes and I gasped.

“It’s so cool, do you know how rare it is to see an owl in the daylight?” Emily whispered. “Do you know the myth behind owls?” she asked then, her eyes never leaving the spot where the owl was perched on the tree.

“That they're creepy as heck?” I muttered, beginning to feel uncomfortable because I was almost positive that that dang owl was staring right into my soul.

She giggled. “No, silly, they are a symbol of change and also knowledge of the unknown. I was reading that if you see an owl it’s a sign that something will change in your life.”

“Like what, death?” I asked, shifting under those yellow eyes that I couldn’t seem to turn away from.

“Not necessarily. It can just mean a change in a habit, or how you live your life. Owls are like guardians, they can see in the dark and I was reading that many people believe that owls can guide you, to help you in times of need. They can see what you keep hidden from everyone. It’s fascinating really.”

“So, basically, if you have a lot of secrets, stay away from owls right?” I asked, smiling at how intrigued Emily was over this weird bird.

She giggled, shaking her head. “Oh Effie, sometimes you just have to open your eyes to the beautiful things.”

I wasn’t too sure what she meant by that; Emily had a habit of talking in riddles that I couldn’t really understand, but I continued to stare at the owl, my eyes seeming to get lost in its bright yellow ones and I couldn’t help but feel like maybe he was trying to warn me about something. The owl hooted once more before it spread it wings and flew from the tree, vanishing in the cover of the forest, taking his secrets, and I’m pretty sure mine, with him.

I took in a deep breath and winced when I realized that it hurt. I ignored it though, my focus on that annoying beeping that was coming from my alarm clock. God, alarm clocks were wretched things. I groaned and tried lifting my hand up, only to realize that something was on my hand.

“Effie?” I heard a familiar voice say in shocked relief.

“Tony?” I croaked out, my throat dry and I cleared my throat as I focused my attention on trying to open my eyes.

“I’m here,” Tony said and I felt him squeeze my hand.

My eyes opened then and I blinked against the harsh bright light. I realized then that the beeping I had been hearing wasn’t from an alarm clock but rather a machine next to the bed I was currently lying in. I felt another squeeze and looked over to see Tony looking at me, a small smile on his lips, both of his hands clutching my right one as he leaned over in the chair he was sitting in. His eyes were bloodshot, as if he had been crying and he had dark bags under his eyes making it look as if he hadn’t slept in days.

“What happened? Where am I?” I questioned though I was pretty sure I already knew the answer.

“You’re at the hospital,” he said and then frowned, looking up at me.

“How bad?”

He sighed. “Well you have two cracked ribs and quite a few bruised ones, a dozen or so bruises all along your body and that throbbing your probably feeling in your head is from the seven stitches you needed to close up that gnarly gash.”

“Yep, I can feel that,” I muttered, the throbbing coming on strong as soon as he mentioned it.

He smiled sadly. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“Don’t, it’s not your fault,” I tried.

“I should have been there, I should have protected you.” He said, looking down and shaking his head.

“Tony, it’s not your fault.” I insisted.

He sighed and looked up at me and I could see the hurt in his eyes. He was beating himself up over this and of course that made me feel a hundred times worse than I already did. He leaned forward, pulling my hand up to his lips as he placed a gentle kiss on the back on my hand, avoiding the various needles and bandages I had placed on my skin. I sighed and closed my eyes, trying my best to breathe through the pain of my ribs.

“What happened?” I whispered, opening my eyes to look at him and he looked down and I knew he knew what I was asking.

“You know, you weren’t the only one on the run. Your parents had been living pretty much the same life you had, constantly moving and changing their names, except, they weren’t as careful about it as you, and they didn’t always do the nicest things,” he muttered and he shuddered slightly before he continued. “After I talked to your mom,” he started to say but I cut him off.

“What did she say to you?”

He sighed, shaking his head. “She said that if I ever wanted to see you again I needed to get three grand and bring it to her, I could tell though, by the way you said my name when you had called me that something was wrong. I knew you were hurt, I just never imagined…” he trailed off, closing his eyes and I squeezed his hand. “I knew that if I just showed up with the money things were going to end even worse so I,” he sighed. “I went to the police, I had no choice Effie, I needed to save you.” He kissed my hand again.

“It turns out they had been looking in to your parents for some time now and when I told them everything that I knew they finally had that missing piece they needed to bust them. They set up an operation in record time, I swear, I was shocked. Their plan was just to storm into the house but I wouldn’t let them, not until I knew you were safe, so after a very loud and hefty argument the police chief let me sneak in to get you. They used one of those heat sensor things to see inside the house and saw that your parents were in the front room while you were alone in that room, they also saw that your heat signal was fading fast so we had to hurry.

“I snuck in through the back and when I saw you like that, in the corner. Fuck Effie,” he stopped, his voice strained and I felt a few tears escaping as I watched him try and control his emotions. “I thought you were dead, I thought I lost you.” He sighed and leaned over my hand on the bed, his head resting on my leg and I saw his body shaking.

“Tony, I’m here, I’m right here,” I whispered, squeezing his hand again.

He sat up while taking a deep breath and ran his arm across his face, wiping away his tears. As he did that I couldn’t help but stare at him, at his neck. It was then that I saw his owl tattoo again. It had been one of the first things I had noticed about him that first night at the diner, the first time I met him. I couldn’t help but smile as I thought about that day Emily and I had been hiking in the forest.

I went to lift my other hand, I wanted to reach out to him but as I tried to pull my hand towards him I was suddenly held back, the sound of metal clanking together causing me to look over at my hand. My eyes widened as I stared down at the new metal bracelet on my wrist.

I was handcuffed to the bed.

“Um, Tony,” I started to say but I was cut off as the door to my room opened.

I felt the panic begin to creep into my veins again, the machine next to me signaling the rise in my heart rate as two burly police officers made their way into my room. I had no idea what was going to happen next and judging by the way Tony’s grip tightened on my hand, neither did he.

Notes

Sooooo, sometimes I embarrass myself with how quickly I update my stories because I feel like I'm basically admitting that I have no life....hahaha so yeah, but I'm off work today so you guys got lucky lol

and @Lost in Neverland I love writing with you too! That last chapter was beautiful; I never would have thought of that so thanks for nearly making me cry....lol hopefully you can figure something out for the next chapter, I tried ... good luck! <3


And your guys support is seriously amazing! Thank you for all the lovely comments I'm glad you are enjoying this story as much as I am! :)