Owned By Her Triplet Bullies
(Bk 2) Chapter 66

Lexi's

POV

I walked out of the room feeling upset. I knew Rachel belittled me on purpose to get a reaction out of me but that wasn't going to happen. I was used to being pushed to that extent and I learned to exercise control. I decided to head to the back of the hotel since I'd seen the entire front view. I had a feeling it would be nice and I was right.

Immediately I stepped out, I was met with a serene and beautiful environment. It looked so peaceful and quiet that I could hear the birds chirping happily and the wind fluttering my hair. I took in a deep breath and sat on one of the swings. There was nobody in sight so I brought out a pack of cigarettes from my pocket and took out one. I brought out a lighter from the other side of my pocket and lit it. The smoke immediately filled me up.

I wasn't much of a smoker but whenever I felt too distressed that I didn't know which other way to let out the stress, I would smoke to blow off some steam.

"You smoke?" Mason asked in surprise. I sighed, taking out the cigarette from my lips and crushing it under my heels.

"I thought I was alone," I mumbled.

"So you smoke when you are alone. Do your parents know this?" he inquired.

"Why did you follow me out here? I clearly told everyone that nobody should follow me out. Didn't you hear me?" I asked with a frown.

"Do you know how bad smoking is for your health? There are several complications. You could fall severely ill from a lung disease," he said, taking a seat on the other swing beside me.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes professor. Do you have any more lectures to give me on smoking?"

"Enough with the sarcastic replies. When did you start smoking and why?" he asked curiously.

"You are making it sound like a big deal. People smoke everyday. Why am I any different?" I inquired.

"Nice try, trying to evade my question. Now answer me," he insisted.

I sighed. "I started two years ago but I don't smoke often. I only do it when I'm stressed and my parents know nothing of this. If you breathe out a word of this to them, I won't forgive you," I warned.

"Did Rachel's question stress you out? I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Why do you keep apologizing for Rachel's mistakes? Do you like her so much that you want nobody to be mad at her?" I asked irately, feeling a pang of jealousy in the pit of my stomach.

"What? No, of course not. How does apologizing have anything to do with having feelings for Rachel?" he asked in disbelief.

"You tell me," I replied curtly trying to light another cigarette but he took it out of my hands so fast that I barely noticed until he took it.

"Mason, no. Give it back," I whined.

"I'm not giving it back. You have to quit. It's bad for you," he replied.

"You think I'm just going to quit because you said so? If you've been through half of the s**t I went through, I doubt you will stop at just smoking or drinking. I bet you will deal in drugs too," I retorted defensively. The words were out of my mouth before I realized what I just said. That was stupid of me I admit. I tend to say stupid things when I am angry. He confided in me about his problems but instead I...

"I don't know what came over me or why I said that..."

"I don't have feelings for Rachel Lexi. I'm sure you know who I have feelings for," he replied, cutting me off. My anger and guilt all melted down like butter.

"How are you not angry? You've never been mad at me no matter what I say. Don't you ever get angry?" I asked curiously.

"I do get angry but not just on you. I would never direct my anger towards you," he muttered sincerely. He was the kindest and most sincere boy I had ever met. I figured since I knew most of his secrets, it was only fair I filled him in on most of mine. I felt like I could trust him on this.

"I didn't feel upset because Rachel tried to belittle me and my parents' status. I've come to terms that I can never be up to your elite standards. What got me upset was the fact that although my parents have done a lot for me and loved me more than a parent ever could, I still wasn't related to them by blood no matter how hard I pretended I was. I hated that fact and Rachel reminded me of that," I admitted.

"I don't understand. You are not related by blood..."

"Your first guess when you saw my parents for the first time was right. I'm sure you noticed we didn't bear any resemblance, everyone always does. That's because I was adopted," I deadpanned. He looked really shocked. "How? What about your real parents?" he asked.

"My birth mother is dead and for the rest of my family, I don't want to talk about them. My adoptive parents hit me with their car by accident while they were coming to this pack. They took me to the hospital and took me to their home as part of their family because they didn't have children of their own. They've been so kind to me. I could only dream of this happiness from my other family," I explained with a smile as I remembered the night of that incident. Some people may see it as a sad story but I was happy I got run over by their car that day.

"But, I feel like I've been constantly failing them, causing them pain. They've been so kind to me but I..," I sucked in a sharp breath when I felt warm big hands engulf my own.

"You are not failing them. They are happy and proud of you. I could tell when I visited. It was very obvious from the way they behaved towards you. I could see the love and affection in their eyes for you," he assured me.

"Really?" I inquired.

"Really," he replied.

"My childhood wasn't filled with sunshine and unicorns so it's a bit hard to tell," I admitted. His thumb rubbed my hand as he stared at me. I couldn't tell if he knew what he was doing or he didn't. Whatever it was, I liked it and I didn't want him to stop. "You would be able to tell soon," he replied confidently.

"How?" I asked.

"All you have to do is constantly look into my eyes. They have the answer you seek," he replied.

"You are not serious," I said, bursting into laughter. I mean, that was so cheesy. But he didn't join me in laughing and his lips didn't twitch in amusement to show he was joking.

"Are you serious? You weren't joking?" I asked in surprise.

"Why would I joke about something like that?" he asked.

"But..have you forgotten we are friends? You can't say things like that to your friends. Didn't you have any previous female friends that weren't just a fling?" I asked curiously. I was silently hoping he mentioned Rachel but he never did.

"But we are mates too. I can say that to my mate," he replied stubbornly.

"We haven't even accepted each other yet," I pointed out the obvious.

"I have," he replied.

"And I haven't. So literally, we are not mates yet," I replied, removing my hand from his. I wasn't scared of being mated to him. That was far from the truth. I've realized the kind of person he is and I wanted nothing more than to be with him but the constant fear of him leaving me when I least expect it wouldn't let me.

"You are acting detached again. The next thing you are going to do now is run away instead of confiding in me and telling me the truth. Why can't you just tell me? Don't you trust me?" he asked.

"It's not that..."

"You both were out here. I was looking for you all over," we heard Mady's voice. I pleaded with Mason, gesturing for him to move away before Mady suspects anything. He sighed, keeping the cigarettes in his pocket before moving away. "Lexi, ignore whatever Rachel said. She has always been like that and we are used to her," she said standing behind me and placing her hands on my shoulder.

"I'm not upset. I came for some fresh air," I replied, forcing a smile. She hummed in response, lightly brushing my hair.

"Change of plans guys. Uncle Xander had some work so he won't be around tonight but I have something else planned out. Well, not me alone but students from the other pack as well. I signed us up," she informed us excitedly. "You sound excited. Why do I have a feeling I won't like this?" he muttered and Mady laughed. I wondered what they were talking about.