Page 57 of A Second Chance for the Beta

nineteen

Message From The Past

*CHARLIE*

AfterbringingAustenandLevi to the infirmary, Dante also made sure I got checked up. I have a few bruises, but nothing serious. Gisela leaves us to go home, and the twins say their goodbyes, promising to see us all later before heading off to meet with their brother.

After an hour or two, Dante and I return to our place.

“And now?” I ask Dante. “Are you not going to yell at me?”

He sighs. “I think you know very well where you went wrong,” he says. “But I think we should discuss this as a family, the three of us.”

“You are not mad?”

“No, just very worried,” he says. “Charlie, there is a potential hitman after you.”

“I know,” I say quietly.

“Okay,” he says. “Let’s talk about it later.”

I retreat into my room for now, grabbing my notebook and doing some homework. I’m pretty good with math and numbers in general, but I suck at remembering stuff. There is a test for my history class coming soon, and I don’t want to leave Ella and Dante hanging.

Once I am done, I go through my pictures again. I have quite a lot of new ones with Austen and Gisela, Ty, but also with Ella and Dante, Luna Annie and Alpha Liam, Dave… I really have a whole new family here. I swallow down the lump in my throat and click on the video that shows my mom. She twirls around and laughs.

While I keep watching, a drop of red falls down onto my screen. I wipe it away with a frown, only to realize another drop follows. What? I touch my nose, realizing that warm liquid seems to pour out of it.

My nose is bleeding. Why? I put my notebook aside and grab a few tissues, trying to stop the bleeding. Maybe because I got hurt today, or maybe it’s just all been a bit too much for me. I toss another glance at my notebook, noticing that I stopped the video right at the part where Mom is looking towards the camera, smiling.

Fuck. I close the notebook, stand up, and head to the toilet to flush the tissues. I’m not bleeding anymore anyway. Then I grab my sweater and climb out of my window. Once down I just run. I don’t leave the pack grounds; I wouldn’t be able to, as I can see one of the guards following me. I don’t care, though. I just want to run, run, run.

I don’t know how long I run, but my sides start to hurt, and my lungs scream for air, but I can’t stop. I don’t even know what keeps pushing me forward, an instinct maybe, but I just don’t seem to be able to pause. This is until I feel a presence approaching me and I run right into Ella’s arms. She catches me, wrapping her arms around me and preventing me from running further.

“It’s okay,” she mutters. “I’m here.” She turns her gaze and nods at someone, probably my guard. “You can leave now, Tristan. Thank you for keeping an eye on her.” Ella waits for me to catch my breath before putting her arm around my shoulder. “Let’s go home.”

I look at her, suddenly realizing I left the beta suite without saying anything. “Oh no, I didn’t even think about telling Uncle Dante I left.”

“He knows,” she reassures me. “He told me he went to look for you after you disappeared and saw you running around like a dash. He called your name and then realized you probably needed this me-time.”

“I didn’t even notice.”

“It’s okay,” she reassures me. “You made poor Tristan work for his money, but that’s what he is here for. If you need time for yourself, you can have that anytime. That’s okay.”

I let her words sink in. “But it’s not okay to sneak off school grounds.”

“Exactly,” Ella says. “Come, let’s head home. I don’t know about you but I’m hungry.”

I feel relieved instantly. I love Ella, but her cooking is a different kind of finale boss. Ella and I make it back to the beta suite and greet Dante, who is making something that looks like a lasagna, before we head to my room. I freshen up in the bathroom while Ella goes and fetches us some hot tea to drink.

Once she is back and I’m ready, we settle down. Ella sits on the small sofa chair in my room while I take the bed. It’s silent for a while. “Why did you do it?” she asks. “Sneak off school and shake off Tristan.”

“I just felt like it.”

“That’s not enough explanation for me,” she says. “And I don’t believe it. Why did you do it?”

I feel the usual wave of anxiety and anger wash over me. “You are not my mom, Ella!” I blurt out.

Before I can even regret what I said, Ella nods. “I know,” she says quietly. “I’m not trying to be any replacement for her. I’m just trying to be family to you, with all the love you deserve and should have received ever since you were born. I didn’t know Candance, but I know that even before you were born, she already tried to be the best possible mom, by protecting you. No one can take that away from her.”