Chapter 1

ChapterOne

Goodbyes are tough, they always have been.

At least for me, it’s just the uncertainty of it that makes my heart ache. Clare’s rambling about how I should take care of myself as she haphazardly shoves a blue top inside her suitcase. She pushes down on it so it closes. I sigh, knowing damn well she wouldn’t be able to do it alone, and gently shove her aside.

"Clare, I can take care of myself well enough without you too," she rolls her eyes at me, plopping down on the bed with exhaustion.

"Elaine," she scolds softly. "You know what I meant; everybody can get lonely. I’m happy to be going on the trip but I wish you had more friends to spend time with, while I’m not here."

"I do have other friends," I gasp, crossing my arms defensively, but she just laughs softly.

"Remember, I told you I was going to Washington?" I try to smile as I lie straight through my teeth and lean against the packed suitcase under her scrutinizing gaze.

There was no way I was going back to that town or place; the memories were going to be too much for me to bear. So, the safest and best place to spend my summer vacations was at Aunt Aundra’s place, in a town called Millerville. Once again, goodbyes are tough but they’re tougher when you’re lying to people you love.

"That’s right, I have tons of friends there. You don’t have to worry about that since I’m going to be busy reuniting with everybody, you know?"

"If you insist."

Clare stands at the door with a knowing smile and jumps up to hug me tightly.

"Woah, Woah," I laugh and return the embrace happily. The thing about Clare is that she’s always too reluctant to leave me alone.

Her boyfriend, Matthew had planned out a whole tour for the next month with Clare to celebrate their first-year anniversary. I was more than happy that she was going, it could be a great milestone in their relationship. Tossing me one last smile, she rolled her luggage out of the corridor and an hour later, I followed with mine once my cab had arrived.

Reaching Millerville was almost as easy as it was staying with Aunt Audra. She was a beautiful and strong woman, full of confidence. Her headstrong personality hit me like a wave for the first two days but I slowly eased into it, finding the comfort of an older person warm and blissful.

My childhood wasn’t a typical one, to say the least, I had witnessed the death of three important people in my life. The word death itself sent me reeling into a huge fit of despair of self-loathe every time someone brought it up. Mom and Dad were both followed by Granny a few years later; it was quite the trauma, but I was glad Granny was there for me while I was getting through my teenage years.

She had passed away last year, old age and illness getting the best of her, but I saw it coming, so it wasn’t as big of a blow as my parents’. Well, that’s a story for another day. Right now, standing in the middle of Aunt Audra’s white and black-themed kitchen, I chewed on a piece of butter toast.

Overall, the past two days were spent by me being holed up in the guest room Aunt had assigned to me. The college had exhausted me in the last week with so many assignments. They might as well have asked us to stay back. For the few minutes I came out, I noticed that there were always a lot of guests visiting Audra even till late in the evening.

The first few made me think they were friends, but gradually I noticed all her ’meetings’ were behind closed doors of the attic with voices hushed so much it came to the point I couldn’t even figure out if the person behind was a man or a woman. My curious mind kept telling me to take a peek or something. I knew it was morally wrong to sneak up on someone’s personal affairs like that.

"Oh, what’s wrong sweetie?" Aunt Audra’s concerned voice snaps me out of my trance and I tilt my head curiously before spotting her at the stairs with a man at least ten years older behind her. I made a sound of confusion at the back of my throat before realizing what she meant.

"Nothing, I was just a little hungry," I confess, honestly smiling as I wiped the breadcrumbs off the corners of my lips. "You were busy, so I thought I could help myself to something."

"I’m sorry, I’ve been unusually ever since you’ve arrived. I’ll make it up to you tomorrow, yeah?" She grins widely and the man behind also smiles a little. He looks like he’s in his mid-forties, balding and wise wrinkles on his face. I smile back at both of them.

"That’s okay, I too have been a little tired so we can catch up whenever you’re available."

Aunt Audra looks grateful for my statement, and then she goes all the way down the stairs to bid the older man farewell. They laugh at something he said once they’re at the door, then she shuts the door on his back.

"So, butter toast? I can whip up something else if you want?" She raises a brow, ginger hair falling perfectly to frame her face. She has the same blue eyes as me, except they’re slightly smaller and sharper than mine.

"Nuh-uh, I’m good for now," I announce, patting over my belly before moving to set the plate down inside the sink.

She hums, lingering a little more at the counter in an awkward stance before turning away on her heel. Once she’s out of sight, I sigh and bite my lip in contemplation.

It wasn’t unexpected how our relationship was awkward. The two of us barely had any interaction when my parents were alive and even when Granny used to take care of me, Aunt Audra couldn’t visit that often. Washington was too far, obviously.

Still, I was grateful she was letting me stay over. Aunt Audra had always been somewhat mysterious and enigmatic. She never married, didn’t adopt children, either. It was what the social construct demanded of her. To me, it was pretty cool how she chose to do what she wanted instead of what she was supposed to.

Even though I wasn’t as radical as her with my beliefs, and most of my displayed behavior was anti-social, anybody could tell we were related. Her strength reflected brightly like my mother’s and so it was passed onto me too. Aunt Audra’s arched spine full of confidence and strategic mind was like a trademark between her and me; both two sides of the same coin.

So similar and yet so different.

It was afternoon time; the sun was peeking in through the blinds and despite the fan having been switched on, there was a little heat to the room and I was slightly sweating, too when I noticed loud footsteps stop in front of my room. Then they abruptly faded out in the direction of Audra’s meeting room.

I figured it must be another one of her friends or acquaintances but a few more minutes passed by and the philosophy assignment in front of me was starting to grow more boring than ever before. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to look once. I could play it off just in case I got caught, right?

Determination made my brows furrow and I quickly dropped the pencil onto the laptop before jumping out of bed. I sneaked out of the guest room quietly enough to not let the door squeak and avoid any sort of noise. There were rumblings of short laughter. A little softer conversation was heard once I had pressed my ear to the door.

No matter how much I held my breath and tried to stick my ear closer, I just couldn’t understand anything except the words ’Alpha’ and ’Pack’ which were pretty weird to hear out of books and folktales. It only heightened my curiosity. Was Aunt Audra some sort of writer?

Placing both palms on the door for support, I pressed my ear hard against it. The gruff laughter of who I assumed to be a young man greets me, slightly louder now. It still wasn’t enough, so I leaned in further and the next thing I knew, I was on my knees on the floor. The door was flung open by a tall guy just about my age who cocked his brow as he looked down at me.

I gulped as my eyes did a one-over of his persona that seemed more like a giant from my angle, his eyes were red and glistening with mischief. It was only when he smiled that I felt my blood ring loudly in my ears.

Oh.

Whoever this was, his delicate features and bright smile dazzled my mind for a long minute.

"Hey," he says, blonde hair fluffing to the side when he tilts his head. "What were you doing?"

I squeak out an embarrassing sound, far too intimidated by his amber eyes that made me squirm. "S-Sorry," I mutter and he extends a hand to pull me up from my position on the floor. I keep mum and hold onto his palm to stand upright.

His cheek lifts on one side, clearly smirking. I could hear Aunt Audra’s keyboard typing behind us. My mind only concentrated on how close he was to me. His fingers were nimbly warm against my rather cold arm and a sort of peachy scent hung low in the air. Was that his perfume?

"Elaine?" Aunt Audra calls. "What’s up, sweetheart? Do you need anything?"

"Don’t worry Audra, I think I got this covered." The guy standing before me winks and my breath hitches in my chest causing me to stand awkwardly against him, wide eyes blinking up at him. My whole world has paused as if to say: ’Behold, look at this beautiful man who is currently looking at you like you’re the most stupid person ever’.

"So, have you recovered enough to come up with an answer?" he asked.

It was almost like the boy had brought me out of his own damn trance when he spoke, soft and sultry. I gasped, trudging a step away. When we were no longer touching, I could think better and the peachy scent was a little lighter, not head-spinning like before.

I part my lips, wanting to bite back with some witty remark. In all honesty, I had nothing to reply with. So, I did what an extremely brave person would do. I turned on my heel and sprinted to the guest room, almost tripping myself over, but managed to save it and locked the door behind. My chest heaved up and down rapidly, blood still pumping in my ears as I rested my back against the door.

Now that the door of the attic was open, the loud roars of laughter that the guy let out in sync with Aunt Audra’s chuckles rang in my ears like a reminder of my embarrassment. They echoed back into the attic causing my body to heat up. Wow, I was already a huge embarrassment.

And the vacation had just started.