by M. H. Soars
After a while, they left. As I felt my world tumbling down, I lay down in bed, curled in a fetal position, and cried like my soul had been ripped out of my body. I cried until my tears ran dry. After the first wave of despair dissipated, I had to run to the bathroom to empty the contents of my stomach. I was so sick that I heaved until there was nothing left. I crumbled to the tile floor and rested my head against the cold, porcelain edge of the toilet bowl.
Betrayal was one of the worst feelings a human being could possibly experience. It gnawed at your insides, it twisted your heart until you thought it would be better if someone just ripped it out — then you wouldn’t feel the pain of it bleeding inside of you. Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see were those pictures, like they were branded behind my eyelids. And every time I saw those images, my stomach heaved. The worst part was that I felt disgusted at myself for having trusted someone so blindly.
I wanted to stay inside my misery bubble for all eternity, but when I heard Sam knocking on the bathroom door saying that Ethan was there to see me, pure anger replaced misery. In a voice so cold and leveled that I surprised even myself, I told Sam that I would take a shower first and meet Ethan downstairs. I had no idea why Ethan had come to see me, and I didn’t have the audacity to presume to understand his motives anymore. The Ethan I thought I knew didn’t exist.
What does one wear to face a cheating boyfriend? I thought to myself. I choose an all-black ensemble to reflect my mood. As I stared at my reflection, I realized that it wouldn’t do; such an outfit would only show the power that Ethan — a boy without honor or scruples — still had over me. So I tried my best to cover the dark circles and the sickly color of my complexion with a lot of makeup. Sam would be so proud. My disproportionally large green eyes were completely red and I hoped a few eye drops would do the trick.
Focusing on my appearance helped me rein in my nerves a bit, but when I saw Ethan face-to-face, all of the pain resurfaced with a vengeance. I had to steady myself against the door frame of the game room, where he was with all my cousins, chilling out like nothing was the matter.
Seeing me by the door, his face broke into a happy grin. He got up from the couch. I couldn’t move as I watched him walk toward me, but when he leaned down to kiss me, I recoiled.
“Baby, what’s wrong?” he asked. If I hadn’t seen those condemning pictures with my own eyes, I would have believed he cared.
I couldn’t have been more heartbroken if he had come to confess that he'd gotten back together with Chloe. That would still hurt like a mother, but I would at least be comforted by the thought that I hadn’t misjudged his character so much. But watching him keep up the pretense that he was my devoted boyfriend only hours after he had been making out with another girl? That was just too much to swallow. It brought all my anger back.
I slapped his face hard. The loud 'crack' when skin met skin reverberated through the room. Collective gasps resonated around me, but I was too involved in my own anger to care.
Ethan, covering the sore spot on his face with his hand, took a few steps back, trying to make sense of the situation. His stunned look did nothing to dissuade my fury.
“You have some nerve!” I screamed at him. Mercifully, my cousins were too surprised to interfere.
“What are you talking about, Alexia?” Ethan replied, still in shock.
I gave him a derisive laugh. “What am I talking about, Ethan? Really? You're going to keep pretending that a few hours ago you didn’t have your tongue shoved down Chloe’s throat?”
“What? Where did you hear that load of crap?”
“Nobody told me anything. I saw the damned pictures of your betrayal with my own eyes.”
“What pictures?” Ethan waited for my answer, but I just watched him, my face flustered and my breathing erratic, waiting for him to finally come clean. Instead he advanced on me and grabbed me by my arms, anger distorting his face. “Answer me. What pictures?”
“Don’t touch me!” I shoved him away as hard as I could. Sensing that things were getting completely out of hand, Sean and Zach moved to either side of Ethan to restrain him.
“I don’t owe you any explanation. Not anymore. We’re through. I never want to see you again.”
“Alexia, please!” Ethan tried to get near me again, but Sean and Zach didn’t let him. “I swear I don’t know what you're talking about. You gotta believe me.”
I didn’t want to hear his lies anymore, so I left the game room and walked smack into my uncle. He steadied me before he asked what was going on. I was about to answer when I noticed that he wasn’t alone. The menacing stranger I had caught in the house whispering secrets with my uncle at the beginning of the summer was standing a few feet away from us. He frowned at me, and his gaze swept past my head, focusing on the commotion behind me.
I heard Ethan plead for me to listen to him once more, but I refused to acknowledge his presence. I heard Sean telling Ethan to cool down as he took him outside.
“Was that Ethan?” Gary asked.
I closed my eyes briefly as I tried to compose myself again. When I reopened them, I caught the stranger with the intense purple eyes staring at me like I was a puzzle to be figured out. Without answering my uncle, I left the room.
CHAPTER 24
Samantha
Soon after Sean escorted a distraught Ethan out, Alexia disappeared into her room again. I’d never seen Alexia lose her temper like that with anyone. I needed to know what had caused her to react in such a way. I knocked on her door for several minutes. All I could hear was Alexia’s heartbreaking sobs. I was about to take her door down when I finally heard the turn of a key. I took a deep breath, preparing myself mentally for the scene I was about to witness. When I entered, I found her room in almost utter darkness. All the shades were shut, and the only light was coming from the partially open bathroom door. I heard the faucet being turned off, followed by Alexia going back to her room. She didn’t look my way, but made a beeline to her bed.
I sat on the edge of the mattress and patted her head like she was a little kid. After some time, she finally told me the whole thing.
I wished I could have seen those pictures myself, for I was sure someone had set Ethan up. My first thought was that Melanie had something to do with it, but there was no way of knowing for sure until I asked her. She had lied to Ethan about Alexia wanting to make him jealous at Julian’s party, so it wasn’t farfetched to suspect her.
My heart was aching for Alexia. The devastation on her face was almost too much to bear. I knew she was in love with Ethan, but I had no idea it went that deep. I always thought she would never feel this way toward anybody besides her soul mate. So what did all that mean? I wished that we had missed something and that Ethan was the one. But that was impossible.
Alexia fell asleep soon afterwards. I left her room quietly and went straight to Gary’s office, where everyone was assembled, waiting for me. I gave a brief summary of the facts. It disgusted me how Gary beamed at the news and congratulated us for successfully removing Ethan from the picture. He showed zero concern for Alexia’s suffering. He assumed we were behind the entire scheme, and we had no choice but to let him believe that. At least Durgin didn’t gloat, too. He remained stoic, like a Greek statue. He was such a difficult person to read, though. It was impossible to know where he stood on the matter.
After the meeting was over, Gary and Durgin left for Arcadia and we could finally talk freely. We relocated to the game room. Matthew didn’t waste any time. He whirled on his sister, asking bluntly, “Melanie, are you responsible for this mess?”
Melanie, who was behind the bar getting a soda, banged her glass hard against the wood counter and glared at Matthew.
“No. I had nothing to do with it!” When Matthew gave her an incredulous look, she continued. “I said that I was done trying to separate them, didn’t I? Unlike all of you, I read the whole Prophecy, and I know that Henry cannot possibly be one of the Promised. There is just no way.”
Matthew relented and took a seat on the couch next to me. He rested his elbows on his knees and rubbed his face. “Could it be possible that Ethan did hook up with Chloe?”
Sean shook his head. “No way, man! After what Chloe did to him, he would never mess with her again. Besides, it’s just not his style. Even if he liked someone else, he would never cheat on Alexia. He would break up with her first.”
“I agree with Sean. Besides, did you see how Ethan reacted to Alexia’s accusations? He had no clue what she was talking about,” Mia added.
“If the Council wanted Ethan out of the way so badly, could one of their operatives get to him?” Zach asked.
“But why would Gary assume it was us?” I replied. “Unless it’s someone working without his knowledge.”
“There’s only one operative who fits that description that we know could get close enough to Ethan to compel him,” Matthew replied.
Melanie completed his thought: “Lucas.”
Matthew
I had never loathed high school as much as I did today. The entire place was roaring with wild rumors and gossip about Alexia and Ethan’s breakup. No one even talked about the murder at Julian’s party anymore, which just proved how messed up the human race really was. I was glad that Alexia felt too ill to attend class today, because I didn’t think she’d be able to handle the stares and the talking that was going on behind her back.
She also missed a confrontation first thing in the morning with Ethan, who had planted himself in front of the school’s entrance, waiting for a chance to talk to her. When he realized Alexia wasn't at school, he begged us to intercede for him. He didn't even understand why she broke up with him in the first place.
Sean and Zach took it upon themselves to explain what had happened, which proved to be an enormous mistake. Incensed, Ethan went to confront Chloe immediately, believing that she was behind those fake pictures.
Chloe denied faking anything and said — from the top of her lungs, for anyone who cared to hear — that Ethan had indeed come on to her and cheated on Alexia. That claim promptly led to Ethan calling her a bunch of names that landed him in a weeklong suspension. That was a blessing in disguise. Ethan needed time to cool off, and Alexia could do with a week of not having to see him at school.
Glad that school was finally over for the day, I walked to where I had parked my car, trying to get into a better state of mind. I had arrived late that morning, and the few spots still available were next to the athletic building, which was detached from the main school. LJM Prep’s grounds were extensive but at least they were beautifully landscaped, so walking the fifteen minutes distance wasn’t so bad. Most of the students had already gone home, and the walkway to the parking lot was relatively empty. But as I was about to round a corner, I heard raised voices. One of them I recognized as my sister’s.
“Do you even care about how your devious schemes hurt innocent people?" I heard Melanie ask angrily.
“What devious schemes, woman? You’re crazy!” Lucas shouted. That made me pause in my tracks.
Damn, Melanie. She had promised to leave Lucas alone. What was she doing confronting him now? I walked closer but managed to stay hidden behind a tree. Maybe I could learn more about Lucas by observing the discussion surreptitiously.
Melanie walked toward Lucas, getting close enough to invade his personal space. The fact that she was a great deal shorter than him didn’t faze her one bit, even when she had to look up so she could glare at him.
“Don’t play dumb with me. I know that you did something to Ethan yesterday.”
Lucas narrowed his eyes at Melanie. His jaw ticked. “What do you think I did, exactly?”
“I don’t know, but whatever your orders were, your execution was sloppy, to say the least.”
Lucas smiled cynically. “You think you could have done better?”
“I wouldn’t have done it, period.”
“Oh.” Lucas seemed taken aback by Melanie’s remark. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and seemed to be evaluating her. I couldn’t be sure, because he moved and I no longer had a complete view of his face. “You shouldn’t say stuff like that out loud. You never know who could be eavesdropping.”
I stiffened. Was he aware that I was spying on them? There was no way to know for sure, since he didn’t openly acknowledge my presence.
She waved her hand dismissively. “I’m not worried about that. You and I know that you and your associates can’t touch me.”
Lucas snorted. “Is that so? You’re so full of yourself, aren’t you? I see that your arrogance hasn’t changed much in the past seven years.”
“What do you mean by that?” Melanie’s eyebrows shot up. She started to stalk Lucas again, reminding me of the black panther she could turn into at will.
“Nothing,” Lucas replied stiffly, like he had revealed too much.
Melanie’s face brightened with insight. “Bullshit! You know what happened to us seven years ago. You were there!”
Could it be possible? Had Lucas been involved in whatever happened to us back then, when we had gone to Arcadia and returned with a week’s worth of memories erased?
Lucas started to walk away, but Melanie grabbed his arm and turned him around. “You have to tell me. I have the right to know.”
Lucas pulled his arm from Melanie’s grasp. “I have nothing to tell you. Just leave me alone, and stay out of my way.”
“No!” Melanie shouted and moved to grab Lucas once more. He seized her arms instead. She struggled against his hold and started to shimmer, like she was about to change into something.
I had heard and seen enough. It was time to put a stop to the madness. That was when the ground started to shake. I lost my balance and fell against the tree. Melanie and Lucas also fell against each other in a tangle of limbs.
The tremor only lasted a few seconds. When it stopped Lucas leaned on his elbow and peered down at Melanie. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, then realizing the position she was in, shoved Lucas off of her and stood up abruptly. She finally noticed me when I got up from the ground. “Matt! How long have you been there?”
“Didn’t I tell you to stay away from Lucas?” I asked Melanie as soon we were in the car.
“Yes, but it couldn’t be helped,” she mumbled as she crossed her arms in front of her chest like a petulant child.
“Oh, it couldn’t be helped,” I laughed humorlessly. “It's one thing for us to be aware that Lucas is a secret operative. It's quite another to let him know that his cover is blown.”
“I’m sick and tired of cowering and bowing to the Council's wishes. They’ve kept us in the dark all this time, and they’ve sent operatives to spy on us. It was the last straw to have an operative mess with Alexia. She’s our charge, after all!” she screamed in frustration. Her hands came down balled into fists against her lap.
“And you just had to tell Lucas how you felt about that,” I replied sarcastically.
“I was angry, okay? Did you not hear the whispers and gossip today? It was awful. Lucas didn’t need to humiliate Alexia like that.”
“Assuming that Lucas is behind it.”
“Of course he is.” Melanie glanced at me angrily, like she couldn’t believe I was defending Lucas. I wasn’t, though. I just wasn’t inclined to jump to conclusions.
“You’re letting your emotions cloud your judgment. You said yourself that the execution of the plan was sloppy. The entire scheme would be beneath any operative worth his salt. Considering that there’s a high probability that Lucas belongs to Durgin’s team, I say there is zero chance Lucas would concoct something so juvenile to break Alexia and Ethan apart.”
“Since when did you start to hold Durgin to such high standards?” Melanie asked, none too happy.
“Come on, Mel. It’s no secret that Durgin is not to be messed with. And I say we shouldn’t underestimate any operative trained by him, either.”
“Well, I didn’t hear Lucas deny tha
t he did it.” Melanie said stubbornly.
“He didn’t confirm it, either. Let it drop, Mel. You’re barking up the wrong tree.”
Melanie stayed quiet for a few minutes, staring out the window, before she spoke again.
“Since you seem to know so much about Durgin, and consequently about Lucas, what’s your take on Lucas’s comment about knowing me seven years ago? Do you think he knows what happened to us?
“Maybe. I don’t think he meant to make that comment.”
Melanie banged her head lightly against the headrest of the car seat. “Too bad California’s fault lines decided to shift just then. If it weren't for the commotion that little earthquake caused, I could have gotten a straight answer out of him.”
“How? By beating him to a bloody pulp?” I asked with a grin. Not that I didn’t think my sweet sister wasn’t capable of the feat, but I seriously doubted that Lucas was an easy target — especially if he had been personally trained by Durgin.
“At first that was the idea, but I think I just found a more effective way to get information from him,” Melanie replied mysteriously.
“Care to share?” I glanced briefly at her.
She gave me a congenial smile in response. “Not yet.”
I tried to ignore Melanie’s enigmatic response for the time being. Once we approached the gates of La Maison Falafel I sighed in relief that the day was finally over.
That turned out to be a big mistake on my part. Just before dinner, Sean and Zach arrived wearing matching forbidding expressions. After they made sure that Gary was not around and Alexia was still locked in her room, they told us that Ethan had lost it during football practice and broke someone’s arm during a scuffle.
“Football? But I thought he got a week's suspension for verbally assaulting Chloe,” Sam said, surprised.
Sean smiled devilishly. “You know how it is when it comes to football. Ethan is an important member of the team, and due to his miraculous recovery, he got the starter position again.”