It Comes In Three's

Chapter 45

Alex‘ PÓV

“Alex! Please come back! They’ve found me!” Lottie instantly sobs down the line the second that I answer, as my body goes tense and I tap Del and signal for him to turn back.

Luckily we had only left them five minutes ago, so it wouldn’t take us long to get back there…

“Lottie I’m coming what’s happened?” I ask, the worry evident in my tone as Del swings the car around and floors it.

“Please!” Is all she manages to choke out, as I feel myself grow flustered from not knowing what was going on.

What the f**k could have happened in the five minutes that I had left her tucked up in bed?

“Stay on the line doll I’ll be two minutes.” I state firmly, however all I receive back is more sobs and staggered breathing…

She’s having a f**king panic attack!

I’m going to f**king ruin every last one of them!

I listen to her gasps and cries, before we eventually pull back onto Anna’s street – fully alert and somewhat sober now from the ordeal.

Del pulls up harshly, as I waste no time before swinging the car door open and heading for the house…

Great! We are f**king locked out now because we posted the damn key through when we left!

“Lottie… I need you to come down and open the door for me… can you hear me?” I test, listening to her as she cries.

A moment passes, as Jace attempts to call Anna on his phone, having no answer either – she will be drunk and out cold no doubt!

“Lottie come downstairs and let me in.” I tell her loudly, hoping to gain her attention, before she coughs a couple of times and sniffles.

“Did you hear me?” I test, pacing back and forth on the front porch impatiently.

“Mhm.” I sigh heavily, hearing her weak mumble, before shuffling is heard next down the line followed by more sobs.

A light is flicked on from inside seconds later, before I see movement through the door window – followed by the sound of keys jangling before being placed into the lock.

Lottie unlocks the door, as I push myself inside instantly – seeing her dark, mascara stained face as she cries. Jace and Del wait back for a few moments to give us space as I waste no time on lifting her up and carrying her back up the steps for privacy.

She hugs me tightly, as I lead us back towards her room…

I sit on the edge of the bed, Lottie still wrapped up in my arms as she sobs into my shoulder heavily.

“Shhh doll it’s ok… what happened? You’re safe with me…don’t cry!” I rub her back in comfort as she only cries, feeling her small body shake in my hold.

She doesn’t respond, but only grips me tighter as if worried that I might just up and disappear…

“Lottie you’re safe… I won’t let anyone hurt you…” My tone comes out sharp and defensive, not directed at her of course, but she only nods in my shoulder.

712

“Tell me what happened.” I ask again, as she sniffles and attempts to regulate her breathing – having not much luck in the process.

“The- They- My phone…” She hiccups, as I continue to rub comforting circles – feeling her calm ever so slightly from the action.

Her phone…

I look around us, in search of the device, before my eyes land on its spot amongst the dishevelled duvet. I reach out with my free hand, grabbing it and pulling it into my eye view with ease.

What’s on here that’s gotten her so panicked…

“Where on your phone doll?” I ask gently, clicking to her call history first thinking that maybe someone had called her – maybe her Mom again? But nothing.

“Instagram…” Lottie all but whimpers, as I tense slightly before opening the app.

I knew that app was

bad f**king idea… I just didn’t want to tell her to delete it when she was so happy..

I open the app, my instinct clicking to the messages, before I see Anna’s chat only. My eyes narrow slightly, before I notice the (1) notification beside the requests tab.

Bingo…

I open it, seeing the petty fake account with no profile picture, before I almost launch the phone across the room when reading the message-

‘Found you princess…‘

My temper rises, as Lottie remains hidden in the crook of my n*ck, silently crying.

I instantly accept the request – allowing me to chat further with the little b*tch – before I begin to type…

‘Who is this?‘ I decide to play dumb, pretending to be Lottie in order to find out more.

Now I just need to wait…

It was twenty past two in the morning, Lottie was shaken up and terrified, Anna was passed out drunk in her room and the duo downstairs have no idea what’s happened yet.

F**k this…

“Lottie…” I shake her slightly to gain her attention, since her sobs had now seemed to calm a bit.

“What?” She whispers quietly, as I take her by the shoulders to detach her from me – allowing me to study her face.

“Pack a bag. I’m taking you back to our place tonight.” I tell her, as she only stares back for a moment – before nodding tiredly.

“O–Ok…” Lottie doesn’t argue, as I stand and place her on her feet – watching her stumble slightly before regaining her balance.

“Pack a bag quickly, I’ll wake Anna and tell her to come too and I’ll go and let the guys know what’s happening downstairs. You’ll be safe with us.” I tell her, as she sniffles and heads towards the bathroom, grumbling when she checks her appearance in the mirror.

I watch as she fumbles with some face wipes first, ridding her face of the makeup I hadn’t bothered to tell her to remove when we had arrived back home since she was far too drunk.

I sigh, placing her phone in my pocket, before exiting the room to go downstairs. Del and Jace were in the kitchen, water in hand as they turn to me expectantly as I enter

“Is she good?” Del questions, as I shake my head.

“One of them, I’m assuming the Tommy one, sent her a message request on Instagram. She only just downloaded it today and they must’ve seen that she was at the festival.” I explain, as their eyebrows knit together.

“What’s the f**king chances of them seeing her post that fast?” Jace complains, as I shrug and go to the fridge to retrieve a bottle of water for myself.

“It could be anything, she could’ve shown up as a suggested account for one of them, or they could’ve been on looking at the festivals posts which she had tagged, or maybe even someone from her old school follows Anna on social media and seen her there? F**k knows!” I rant, as Jace covers his face with his hands and groans.

“What now?” Del questions next, as I take a long drink of the water before responding-

“They are coming back to sleep at our place. It’s safer there. The last thing we f**king need is for them to find where she’s living and break in during the damn night!” I clench my jaw from the thought alone.

“Yeah that’s probably best. Is Anna up or will I go try wake her?” Jace asks, getting up from his seat knowingly.

“She’s out cold. I told Lottie to throw shit into a bag so tell Anna to do the same.” I tell Jace, as he sighs and trudges his way upstairs.

I’m going to kill the three of these bastards…

“What did the message even say?” Del suddenly asks.

“Found you princess!‘ I recite in a mocking tone, the sheer venom coming through when I speak and think back to it.

“They don’t know what they’re getting themselves into!” I rage next, standing to go back upstairs to check on Lottie.

“We will get them!” Del states firmly, as I only nod. Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

That we f**king definitely will…