Just a fair warning: I'm sorry if this chapter kinda sucks, I am sick while writing this. And that really sucks for me, because my summer break literally just started. Anyways, I hope you enjoy! ;)

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Julie's POV



'I'm sorry.'

I ran down the dark hallway, not sure of where I was trying to go. There was nowhere I could go that he wouldn't follow.

That's how this works.

"Our little game." That's what he calls it.

He finds it fun. He wants me to run. He wants me to struggle.

He likes the chase. He likes a fight.

And I give it to him every time. Like the idiot I am.

"You can't keep running forever." I heard his voice echo down the hallway from his position at the stairs. He walked up them slowly, enjoying himself. Enjoying his game. "You have to give in sooner or later."

He was taunting me.

He knew who would win.

"Julie."

I flinched when I heard something slam onto the floor. It sounded as though glass had broken.

"Julieee."

I made a weird huffing sound as all the air was forcefully exiled from my body due to me slamming into a wall.

'Julie, baby, you can't fight this. You're only going to make it worse for yourself.' His voice was soothing, like he was talking to a wild animal.

Hell, he might be.

'No, please, I'm sorry. I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry.' I cried out, struggling against his hold. He wasn't letting me go.

'I won't do it again. Please, I'm sorry.' I choked on a sob as my nightmare slowly approached, a deceiving smile etched across the face I once used to love.

'Sweety, it won't be that bad. But you're never going to learn if you don't face the consequences of your actions.' he mocked as he crouched down in front of me.

"J.U.L.I.E.E.E.E.E.E."

I lurched forward, banging my forehead against something hard.

I groaned, as did whatever I hit.

I rolled to the side, trying to create distance before the person could retaliate. But unfortunately for me and my stupid habit of sleeping next to the edge of the bed, I rolled straight onto the oh-so-welcoming floor.

"Oh look what you did. I sent you in here to wake her up, not hurt her." A voice said from further away.

'Okay, what the actual fuck is going on.' I thought bitterly.

"Please watch your language. We don't want Justin to-" the dude was cut off by who I assumed to be Justin shouting-

"FUCK, FUCK, SHE SAID FUCK. SHE SAID FUCK."

"Yes, she said a no-no word, now stop repeating it or I'll wash your mouth out." The dude, who I could now see was standing by the door of my room, said in an exasperated voice.

'Wait, my room?'

This is not my room. I looked around, seeing that the walls were a brighter version of white. I know for a fact that my bed is on the other side of the room, tucked into a safe little corner, and I don't have a purple comforter.

I snapped out of my little analysis when a hand waved in front of my face. I looked up to see the face of an older man. Not old-old, but older than the one who had been standing in the doorway. He looked about, what should be, my dad's age, maybe a little older.

"Are you okay?" He asked in a surprisingly soft voice for someone his stature. Through his shirt you could see the muscles on his arms, he had very broad shoulders, and all-in-all he looked like he could squeeze me like a pulp.

I nodded, taking his outstretched hand to help me stand up. I guess this man saw my confusion because he suddenly started explaining things to me.

"I'm your Uncle Stefano. You're currently at my house. We picked you up at the airport after realising that there had been an... neglection in your arrival. I'm sorry you had to wait so long. The situation is being dealt with. I can assure you nothing like this will happen again."

'The situation is being dealt with.' There was just something about those words that I didn't like.

But was this really Uncle Stefano? From everything I've been told about him, he's a ruthless, coldhearted, hardass who didn't take any shit. So why was he acting so nice?

"How about we go get some food? You missed breakfast, and I would like to at least get you re-acquainted with a few people so you're not completely overwhelmed at dinner."

I nodded my head. "Sorry about breakfast."

"There's nothing to apologise for. You had a very stressful day yesterday. Now, go get yourself cleaned up and meet me downstairs in ten minutes, okay?" I once again nodded my head.

Directions. I like directions. I could follow directions. You can't get in trouble if you follow the directions.

With that Uncle Stefano left, closing the door on his way out. And I was left alone to get ready. I guess everyone had cleared out sometime after he had come in.

Okay, there were three doors in this room. I knew the one to my left opened up to the hallway, so let's try the one directly in front of me.

Walking over to the door, I was right in my assumption that this was the bathroom.

I walked into the spacious room, closing and locking the door behind me. I noticed that my luggage was also in the bathroom, propped up next to a door that I could only assume to be the closet. I was correct, opening the door to see a large space, filled with rows of empty drawers, shelves, and bars to hang clothes on. It was definitely more space than I needed, but I'd worry about that later.

Walking back into the bathroom, I looked at myself in the mirror and winced.

My hair was a mess, my face looked splotchy, likely from the makeup having started smearing in my sleep, and I looked like a total mess.

I dug out my hairbrush and started racking it through the mess I called hair, not giving in until it looked somewhat attainable. I wet it down to help with the friz, and then brushed it a little more because I planned on just leaving it down.

I then cleaned my face, wiping all of the remaining makeup and dirt off, before I reapplied my foundation and concealer, before adding just a little bit of maskcara to make myself look less dead.

Looking at the time I noticed that I should probably get a move on, so I threw on some jeans, a tank top and a hoodie before I left to go find the kitchen.

I honestly had no idea where jack shit was anymore, so I just followed the layout of my house, in hopes that maybe it would be similar.

Thankfully, it was.

After getting downstairs I noticed that after you emerged from the smallest of hallways, you got spit straight into the sitting room. And if you went through the sitting room to the swinging doors, you would be led straight into the dining room.

"Ahh, there you are." Uncle Stefano said as he walked to the table with a plate of what looked to be warmed up scrambled eggs, bacon, a cinnamon roll, and a small bowl of fruit. "Just in time." He said with a smile as he set the plate down at the table and motioned for me to sit down.

I sat down where he wanted me to, and he opted to take a seat on the other side of the table, directly in front of me.

I stared at him for a minute, unsure, but he seemed content as he typed something out on his phone.

I hesitantly took my fork and stabbed at a grape, chewing it slowly.

I repeated the process of nervously watching Uncle Stefano while I picked out all the grapes in the bowl of fruit, waiting for him to say something.

When I was content that nothing was going to happen, I begrudgingly took a little nibble off the edge of one of the strips of bacon on my plate.

Have I mentioned how much food is on this plate? I don't think it's humanly possible to consume this large of an amount of food in one sitting.

"Are you just playing with your food, or are you seriously not hungry?" The sudden question had my head popping up in surprise to find that Uncle Stefano had placed his phone face down on the table, and seemed to be analysing me instead.

"I'm just not hungry." I answered softly, setting the piece of bacon I had been playing with down as I forewent the pretence of eating.

"From what I hear you've not eaten in a while." He said, not in a condescending tone, but more like he was just stating a fact. "How about this, you eat half of your eggs, so that we get some protein in you, and I'll let you off until lunch. Sound good?"

I nodded, taking a determined breath as I set off to finish half of this massive pile of eggs.

"Talk a little more, why don't you?" Uncle Stefano jokes, taking note of how I hadn't really said anything to him this morning other than when I apologised.

"Sorry. I'm still waking up I guess." I said, genuinely sorry this time as I realised how rude I had been.

"It's okay little lady. I get that this must be hard for you. I mean, you've not been here since you were what, four? I don't expect you to remember me, or be happy with this situation." He said, making me freeze as I was reminded about why I was here in the first place.

"Yeah, I suppose you'd be right about that." I said before I shoved another spoonful of eggs in my mouth, though I didn't actually taste them, and it felt like I was trying to swallow sandpaper.

We fell into a bit of an awkward silence before the kitchen door was slowly opened, and a shy head peaked around the corner.

"Ahh, Justin. Come on in, it's okay."

The boy opened the door the rest of the way and I was shocked to see a boy who seemed to be around my age.

Except, he definitely didn't look it.