Promised To The Alpha Twins
Chapter 21

By the time I left the bathroom, Jennifer approached.

“The twins have already left,” she said, “Was it one of them who did that to you?”

“No, not at all.”

“Because I hate men who hit women.”

“Yes, me too, but I assure you it wasn’t any of them.”

“Alright. Look, they left this for you.”

Jennifer handed me a note. I waited for her to walk away before reading it.

“Don’t hide from us.”

I sighed.

What I wanted most at that moment was exactly what they were asking me not to do.

I was tired of this whole twins situation, their games, and the consequences it brought. I wasn’t going to get involved in that jealous fight, especially not against a woman like Chloe, who seemed willing to do anything to be with Ethan. Although Amelia didn’t seem as daring, sometimes henchmen can surprise you, and I only needed to know that Chloe was a psychopath who could kill me. I wasn’t going to risk my life for this.

I tucked the note into my pants and waited for the shift to end.

Aly was silent, but I could almost hear the noise in her mind as she looked at me while driving towards my house. It was uncomfortable, but that was preferable to her interrogation.

She didn’t hold back for long.

“I saw the twins pass by the restaurant. They were looking for you.”

“I’m tired of them. Even tired of you mentioning them.”

I feared I had been rude, but I was. Aly didn’t seem to notice or overlooked it.

“I thought you liked them.”

“That was never the case. Maybe for a day or two, but I realized that to them, I’m just the new girl who arrived in town. Soon, they’ll be the ones tired of me, so I’d rather be the first.”

Aly remained silent for a few seconds, as if she was processing my words or reconsidering what she was about to say.

“Is this change of yours related to what happened yesterday? At the party?”

I should have imagined it. She was trying to get me to talk about what had happened by beating around the bush.

“We’ll talk in a week,” I said just as Aly was about to park.

“That’s what I hope, Sussan, that you keep your word,” Aly said when I opened the door to get out.

I said goodbye, assuring him that it would be that way, and perhaps I would keep my promise, but only when there was a distance of no less than three hundred miles between the twins and me.

As I entered the house, the first thing I saw was Lia, who was waiting for me. I couldn’t believe it.

“You again, seriously? You’re really making an effort this time,” I said with the most ironic tone I could muster.

“You worry me, Sussy. We need to talk about what’s happening to you.”

Now it was “Sussy.” She had never called me that before.

“No, forget it. You had many years to come close and worry about me. Where does this come from now? Now you want to act like the caring mother concerned about her daughter?”

“Look, I know I messed up, I’m aware of that, but it doesn’t mean…”

“Ah!” I interrupted, quite upset with what she was trying to do. “You realized that you messed it all up, now you acknowledge it. How great that you figured it out for yourself. What do you want then? A reward for that? Tell me, do I owe you something now that you’ve discovered it?”

Lia pursed her lips, and I took advantage of that moment of silence to escape to my room, which I reached in two steps. I closed the door and instantly regretted it because I hadn’t eaten anything, and my stomach was growling. But it was either endure hunger or Lia’s new reconciliatory attitude, now pretending to be a good mother, but only because there was money involved, and that was perhaps what hurt me the most.

Before going to bed, I had decided that I wouldn’t go to school the next day. I didn’t care much about missing it anymore. I was going to take that exam to get my high school diploma, and a few days’ absence wouldn’t make a difference. But I couldn’t bear the idea of having to see the twins, the hundreds of gazes that would judge me based on the appearance of my face, and perhaps what I wanted to avoid the most, Chloe’s satisfied expression when she saw me bruised and humiliated, keeping silent and determined to make me give up.

Screw them all.

The only one that hurt me was Aly because it was clear she was a true friend, honest and genuinely concerned about me. Although sometimes she seemed to act as if she were the twins’ employee and had to advocate for them, I couldn’t be unfair to her. She was truly worried about what had happened to me at the party, and it was evident that she had been distressed about me the previous night.

I woke up when the day was already somewhat advanced. I had slept without interruptions, not even a disturbing dream. That was what I needed most now, to sleep, to detach myself for a few hours from this chaotic reality. Without seeking any enemies, I had found them in abundance, and now I even feared for my life.

When had everything gone so wrong, in such a way?

I was supposed to have arrived in that town wanting to go unnoticed, not messing with anyone and hoping no one would mess with me. Putting up with Lia and her boyfriend, avoiding them for a few months until I turned eighteen and could leave wherever I wanted. But no, it wasn’t like that at all. Now I had to change my plans because some brat had it in her head that I wanted her boyfriend when it was obvious that the twins were just playing with me, with the new girl they hadn’t been with yet. But as soon as they satisfied their desires, they would forget about me and set their sights on someone else. I was convinced of that.

I got up, and the first thing I did was go to the kitchen, even though Dub was around, lurking in the house. But now that my life was at risk, I didn’t fear him as much. I managed to enter the kitchen and check the refrigerator, where they had left some dessert and leftovers from the previous day’s lunch. I was very hungry, and I didn’t give a damn if Dub was saving them for later. I ate them along with the dessert.

With a full stomach, I decided to go out for a walk, heading towards the forest, which for some strange reason, I felt drawn to.

The sensation I had experienced that night when I fled and ran through the woods was returning, and it grew stronger as I thought about going back. Even though that night I was fleeing from something horrifying that was about to happen to me, running like that, guided by an instinct I couldn’t decipher, was also liberating, and now I wanted to experience it again.

I went out through the back door and managed to exchange a glance with Dub, who looked surprised, as if he hadn’t realized I had been in the house all that time. Better that way, I thought before my feet took me into the shelter of the trees, hiding my shadow.

I wandered, knowing that I didn’t need to orient myself when I was in the forest. It was strange because a few weeks ago, I would have sworn that not only would I never venture alone into a place where even following the sun at its peak could be difficult, but I would also have needed the GPS on my phone to guide me. Now I just had to let myself be guided by that instinct that had nestled in me since that horrible party night.

I don’t know how long I walked, but I know it wasn’t long, and drawn to a fallen trunk, dead for a long time, I sat down to wait.

What was I waiting for? What could I be waiting for in the forest, at that time and in that place?

I don’t know, but I followed the impulse, and I knew I had to do it.

Wait.

I waited, and after a few minutes, I heard branches breaking behind me.