I grabbed a hold of Garrett's hand and held tight to his arm as we walked to our room.

I clung to him like my lifeline because that's exactly what he was. Had it not been for Garrett I would be dead already. I would have never found out about myself, and The Order would have had an easy time disposing of me. Without Garrett's help I would've never been able to talk to Steven again, or meet my mom.

Despite the fact that the last few months have been mangled with confusion and fear, they have also been the best months of my whole life. I learned more about myself than I ever dreamed. I owe so much of that to him.

"I love you." I told Garrett while he swiped his card in the door.

He turned his perfect face to me. I watched carefully as his smile stretched across his face, touching his eyes and making them shine brightly. That was what I'm going to remember. When the time comes, and I'm face to face with The Order, I'm going to play that smile over and over in my mind. He tilted his head, studying my expression, probably my emotion too.

I quickly grabbed him by the back of the neck and brought his face down to meet me. I crushed my lips against his and he didn't hesitate for a second. He held the back of my head with one hand and the small of my waist with the other. He pulled my body closer to his and I knew I didn't need to worry about my emotion showing through anymore. All I am feeling now is love. Burning, white hot love.

I didn't even realize we were still in the hallway until he spun me around quickly, pushing my back against the door, never breaking the kiss, and swiped his key again to shove the door open. We stumbled backwards laughing into the room.

My back was against the wall and he pulled away, holding my face in both hands, and stared into my eyes. We were both panting and all I wanted to do was put my mouth back on his. "I love you Cadence James." He whispered breathily. "I don't know what I would have done had you never fell into my life." He kissed my nose.

I couldn't hold back my smile. "I was just thinking the same thing." I told him.

He leaned down and trailed a line of kisses down my neck, his hands moving to hold my hips firmly. "You know what else I was just thinking?" He asked against my skin. I was having too much trouble breathing to answer him, it came out more like a sigh. He let go of me with one hand and reached over to grab the Do Not Disturb sign off of the back of our door and he winked at me as he hung it on the front, then pushed the door shut slowly.

***

Hours later I laid on my back, in our disaster of a bed, with Garrett's sleeping head resting on my chest. I watched his back as it rose and fell with each of his easy breaths. I ran my hand through his hair, over and over, trying to convince myself that I could do this. I looked over to the clock and saw it was already 3 in the morning. I need to get out of here if I have any chance of getting this finished before everyone wakes up and notices that I'm gone.

I feel tears well up in my eyes while I watch him and I have to lean my head back against the headboard, staring up at the ceiling to keep the tears from falling. I keep telling myself over and over that I'm doing the right thing. It's the only way I can know I'm not causing them to all die for me.

I bite my lips to keep from crying and I slowly slide his head away from me and situate it on the pillow. I leaned down and kissed his sweet face one more time before I silently slid out of the bed and across the room to where our bags are.

I dress quickly in a pair of black leggings, throw on my converse, then grab one of Garrett's sweatshirts and pull it over my head. I wrapped my arms around myself and left the room without looking back. If I did, I know I wouldn't go. I'd climb back into that bed with that perfect boy.

But I can't.

I walked fast to the stairs, taking them two at a time until I make it out to the parking lot. I scanned the lot, looking for Charles's car. I spotted it in the far back and I began to weave through the cars.

"Excuse me, miss?" I hear a woman call to me, but I keep walking, hoping whoever she is will just move on.

"Cade." That voice I can't ignore.

I whip around fast, eyes wide, to see Derrek. My heart swelled at the sight of him, but then dropped when I took in the woman standing behind him. "Hello, Cadence." She smiled. Her shiny brown hair, and heart shaped face held a hint of familiarity. "I've always hoped to not meet you, but I guess even I can't get everything I want." She grinned and her two dimples in her cheeks were on full display. There was no mistaking her. This was Carrianne's mother. "Now before you go doing anything rash, just think about whether or not your friend here means anything to you." Annabeth said slowly as she displayed the silver handgun she had shoved into Derrek's side.

"Cade, I'm sorry, I was try-." Derrek tried to speak but Annabeth shoved her gun under his ribcage and he winced loudly.

Annabeth just kept smiling. "Follow me." She said calmly as she dragged Derrek along with her until we reached a small white Honda. She opened the passenger side door and carefully pulled out a small bag from the seat. "Tie her hands and blindfold her." She directed Derrek.

He hesitated but moved toward me when she put the gun to his head. "Just do whatever she wants, Derrek." I told him. He took the things from her hand and did what she asked him all the while she held the gun flush with the back of his head.

The whole while he was tying my hands he kept mouthing for me to run, but I knew that if I did she wouldn't hesitate to kill him. This woman has no heart and I am not letting her be the one responsible for another loved one's death.

I reasoned with myself. The odds are that she is just going to haul me to The Order's hideout, which is exactly where I was going anyway, so I am just biding my time.

She shoved me into the backseat of the car roughly. I listened as she and Derrek got into the front and we sped out of the parking lot.

I sat quietly and unguarded my mind, and almost instantly my brother and mother were both yelling at me.

"What were you thinking, Cade? We have been trying to help you and you had us shut out." Stephen said frustrated.

"Cadence, you should have never left the hotel. Those people were gathered to help you." My mother scolded me for the first time.

"I'm sorry." I pleaded with them. "People were playing with my head. I couldn't get them out without keeping everyone out. I had to leave those people behind, too. I don't want anyone else to die because of me. The prophesy says I can do it alone, so I'm going to. I just want to do the right thing."

"I understand that," Stephen told me. "But I have been trying to get to you. I could have warned you that Annabeth was tracking Charles's GPS. She got back today and Dalton told her everything." The car took a sharp turn and my body was flung across the seat. "You have an upper hand with her though, she doesn't know all of your abilities. Dalton and our adoptive father aren't in the loop with all of The Order's plans and they wouldn't tell Annabeth anything, that's why she intervened. She thinks you're not able to do anything right now because you're blindfolded and can't use your hands."

"I don't need to see to do anything." I said.

"That's right, Cadence." My mother said. "Use your power to put on your seat belt, then use it to turn the steering wheel. Wreck the car, Cadence." She directed me.

I wasn't sure about this plan, but I didn't have any better ones going for me at the moment. I don't really want to try to beat The Order after having been hand delivered. I stand a better chance if I can take them by surprise.

"Derrek, put on your seatbelt and brace yourself. I'm going to wreck the car." I said quickly.

I waited a minute, waiting until after I heard the click from the front. Once I heard it, I visualized the steering wheel, and ripped it to the left.

Everything else happened so fast I wasn't even able to make sense of it all.

I heard the tires squeal and Annabeth scream.

Then we were rolling. Metal screeching and glass shattering filled my ears.

I was being slung from one side to the other over and over, my head aching at the fierceness of the movements. When the car finally stopped rolling I burned through my binding and uncovered my eyes.

Annabeth was no longer in the car, but there was blood all over the dash and the windshield was busted out.

"Derrek?" I shouted.

He coughed in his seat and turned to look at me. "I'm alright, I think." He said looking back down at himself. "Is she...?" He asked looking out the back window.

In the night you could just barely make out the shape of a body lying across the asphalt. "I'd say, yeah." I muttered as I unbuckled myself and shoved the creaking door open.

Derrek met me at the front of the car and wrapped me in a gentle hug. Both of our bodies sore. "I've been so worried." He whispered.

"You?" I laughed lightly. "I've been the one worried. Where have you been?"

"When they came to my house, I gave them the slip but I stayed close. I had no idea where you and Garrett went and so my plan was to keep close tabs on The Order so I would know if they caught you, or if you came to them. I was just waiting on you." He told me giving me another hug.

I hugged him back but felt guilty. "Derrek, you should know..."

"It's ok, Cade." He whispered against the top of my head. "I figured as much. I promise I'm not mad. As long as you're happy. I knew going into this that you had feelings for someone else, remember? I'm a big boy. I will survive." He joked. Then he began singing the old Destiny's Child song.

I laughed despite myself and slapped his arm. "I'm still so sorry." I told him. "I do love you."

"You're a dope girl, Cade. You'll just have to be my amazing girl-friend, not my girlfriend."

"Best girl-friend." I corrected him.

He laughed and then pulled me off the road into the woods when we saw headlights coming. "Come on, I know where they are, we need to go."

"I don't want you to go with me." I resisted. "I want to go alone." I told him.

"You're out of your mind if you think for even a second that I would ever allow that." He said narrowing his eyes. "Besides, you need my intel, now move your butt. We've got an evil group of psychos to take down."

He gave me a million dollar smile and pulled me again.

This time I went willingly.