CHAPTER 40
Mila ruined our moment. My perfect moment with Gelo. The blue lights from the corner of the room faded in, the audio from the television turned to be our background noise, and our skin kept our sanity. We lost it just when Mila entered, ruining the perfect moment.
I don’t hate her before. In fact, I treated her like an ally. When she moved to Gelo’s house, she started ruining every moment that I have with Gelo. This wasn’t his actual home. She should not enter rooms without hesitation and open doors as if she wanted to catch us from doing something. I crossed my arms and spun my eyes.
“What are you two doing?” She questioned us with her looks. Crazy thoughts must be piling up inside her mind.
“We’re not doing something. We’re watching movies and you broke the moment.” I know that can be offensive, but there are other words that I could use to make it feel like an attack. I thought she’s gonna react to what I said. She kept her face, not affected by my words.
“I’m sorry for ruining your moment. Can I join?”
Gelo gazed at me. Those deep blue eyes were asking if we could let Mila stay. This isn’t my room so I’m not going to decide. But if it’s on me, I won’t let her stay and ruin more of our moments. This is the first time I am dating someone so why would I let her ruin it.
Maybe I was thinking too much. Mila must be more than thirty-five years old and she’s not interested in younger men like Gelo. She felt like a mother who would dare to ruin her moment with her boyfriend. Boyfriend? Is Gelo my boyfriend?
I should stop thinking thoughts right now.
“It’s up to you,” Angelo answered. A smart neutral tactic. He doesn’t care that Mila’s joining us. At the same time, I hate that he didn’t throw Mila away. He could’ve done that, but he is not raised to be rude. Sometimes, I hate kindness.
“I thought couples prefer watching romantic movies when they’re together. I’ve seen Gelo watching a lot of scary movies before. I didn’t know he’s doing it with you, Cath?”
Is she teasing me? There’s nothing to be teased of, but it felt like she was attacking me with everything she was saying.
“We’re not a couple. We’re just hanging out.” Hanging out is the safest word to use instead of dating. I’ve read that in books. I hope it sounded good in person as well.
Mila only smirked at me. We watched the television and she didn’t even flinch. Instead of focusing my attention on the movie we were watching, I focused it on Mila. She looked like a statue who stared at the television screen, not having any idea that it was a horror movie and she was expected to scream and be frightened. But it looks like she can’t feel anymore after all of those experiences she encountered. Truly, experiences are the best teachers.
We stayed like that until the movie was over. They felt like a family. I thought Mila was going to tease me the whole moment we were watching the movie, but she did not. Maybe what I believed was all wrong. That Mila wasn’t going to tease the hell out of me. She’s my partner and we even had a plan of finding out the truth about our parents.
At the ending credits, Angelo turned to me to pinch my cheeks. “I feel like I needed to pee. Can you wait here to watch another movie or do you wanna eat something downstairs?”
I smiled. “I’m fine here.” I don’t actually know what’s with Gelo’s bed that’s making it feel comforting. Was it the smell, the cotton, or the sheets? And maybe because of his presence. He stays here for at least six hours every night.
Gelo left the room. I almost thought I was alone when Mils surprised me with her face. What’s with suddenly showing up? Why did she have to surprise me?
“Are you really that in love with him, huh?” She frowned at me. I can picture her as a mom in books who doesn’t let her daughter date. It’s my first time dating and now, someone’s stopping me.
“Do you have a problem with that?” I asked in a thin voice. She’s still older than me. She even tried to protect me from those wolves.
“You forgot about our deal. Our mission is to find out the truth about our parents. The way those wolves slashed their skin and let out blood from their veins. The way they screeched out of pain, and scream for help. Don’t you forget about that?”
The vivid pictures of Mom and Dad played inside my mind. How those wolves turned them into a pile of shit. How injustice that no one had ever found out about them. That thought itself makes me ignite into a rage. Because the truth was unknown and justice didn’t exist.
I calmed my composure and looked directly into her eye. “I want to move on and accept what fate had given us.”
Her jaw dropped with what I said. A few days were enough to suffice me on this deliberation. I thought of the danger it can cause to my family. Mila and Gelo almost died because of that decision. I can’t let it happen to my precious brothers.
College is near. I will be busy studying for it. I knew people sacrifice hours of sleep and fun just to study and pass university, but I’m not that type of person. The reason why I finished my schoolwork earlier was to read books during the night. They were my escape. If I couldn’t read, I can’t escape this world.
My decision was final. I should’ve followed Nana’s advice at first to not let myself get involved in this mess. To not seek justice because it will harm us more.
“You thought you can escape from what you’ve started?” She grinned her teeth, the way the villain does. “Everyone in this town already knows your strength and power. The alpha…” She leaned close to me and whispered. “Is after the three of us.”