Clentine:
After I finished speaking with Miss Rue, I decided to return to my dorm room. But as I turned away, sothing caught my attention, and it unsettled .
Usually, whenever one of us was called out or had to go sowhere, the others would pick up their dishes. It had beco a small ritual of ours.
But this was the first ti my dishes were left behind.
I wasn’t the kind of person who expected others to clean up after her, yet the fact that this happened bothered deeply. I had a bad feeling about it.
I picked up my dishes, took them to the kitchen, washed them, and then headed back.
As I walked through the passage toward my dorm room, I could already hear chatter and laughter from inside.
When I reached the half-open door, I saw Oriana standing in the middle of the room, acting on a scene as she told so silly story that made everyone laugh.
She used big gestures and lively expressions. They all seed to be enjoying themselves.
"And then I was trying to hide from my father after I did it. But I got caught, and everyone was like, ’She’s the trouble! She’s the trouble!’" Oriana exclaid, laughing as she told the story.
The others laughed with her loudly. At that mont, I realized they were having too much fun for it to be fake. And I also understood that maybe I wasn’t needed there anymore.
Instead of walking back inside and possibly ruining their mood with my arrival, I walked away down the passage.
The weather was cold and windy. I went all the way to the ground where we used to hold our group etings and sat on the grass.
Honestly, I wasn’t feeling confident in myself anymore or in my squad. I couldn’t say they had let down, but I should have known better.
All n were the sa. It had been that way for years. n always had too many mates, and they enjoyed tasting them all.
I might have been fine if it had only been about mates. The problem was that she wasn’t their mate. And of course, they didn’t understand what equality ant.
There I was, trying too hard to be understanding of everyone, until I began struggling with my own feelings.
"And sothing tells you took it to heart," a voice said.
I turned slightly, raising an eyebrow at him. I should have known Ian would be nearby, since he wasn’t in the room.
"I’m not bothered by you or whatever you did," I replied sharply.
"Really? So then what exactly is bothering you? Is it that your other mates are also entertaining her?" he asked, stepping in front of and dropping down onto the grass, leaning back on his hands.
"I’m not bothered by anyone. I just needed so ti to be with myself," I replied harshly, since he wouldn’t take the hint and leave alone.
"Ah, okay. My bad then," he said quietly.
I had no idea why he was so interested in my miserable life.
"You know, I wouldn’t do it if you marked back," he suddenly said.
That snapped out of my thoughts. I turned my head toward him, questioning his state of mind.
"You seriously think that after you hurt with your behavior, then slept with your ex, forcefully marked , and later slept with Oriana in my own bed, you think after all that, I would desperately ask you to be with ? And that I should be the one to mark you?"
I tried to understand what he was thinking at that mont. He was clearly trying to make it seem like I should be the one chasing after him, as if I needed to earn his love.
The thought made shake my head in disbelief. It was absurd.
"Well, you don’t have to make it so difficult," he said.
"All I’m saying is, you don’t have much going on in your life anyway. Your mates have already turned their attention to Oriana. It’s only a matter of ti before she replaces you. They’ll chase after her, then soone else, and again after that. So your best option is to make ands with , apologize for the damage you caused, mark , and be happy. Have soone who will protect you."
The more he spoke, the more confused I beca.
Had he always been this way? So arrogant—so sure that he was the only one who could save ? I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
"What’s so funny?" he asked in a stern tone.
"Ian, you lost your chance when you cheated on . And trust , I’d rather stay single than be with soone like you," I said firmly and started to stand up.
But then I heard sothing that made turn to look at Ian. He straightened his back and stared at .
"Are you sure she told you the truth? We’ve been digging for days, and we still haven’t found anything. We sent them north, and they returned already and we still haven’t found anything."
I recognized the voice, it was Mr. Rick. He sounded frantic, probably talking about Bodhi’s diary.
"She told he hid the diary sowhere around here," Miss Rue replied.
I started walking toward the bushes where the voice was coming from. When I hid behind them, I could hear the rest of their conversation. It seed they had just arrived.
"Well, then we should keep digging. We need to find this diary before Clentine gets her hands on it. Trust , once she does, we’ll never see it again. And you better believe she’ll turn it into a huge scene," Mr. Rick continued, speaking about in a way that made realize how little they thought of .
It was deaning.
"Don’t worry. I know she didn’t lie to . I have her trust," Miss Rue said.
As soon as she spoke, I closed my eyes and lowered my head, feeling awful.
"You know what? It’s tis like these when I can’t stop myself from being mischievous," I heard Ian whisper behind , crouching down and watching the ringleaders just as I was.
Before I could understand what he ant, I felt his hands on my back and then a shove toward the ringleaders.
The next thing I knew, I tumbled out of the bushes and landed face-down at their feet.
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