Chapter 1008 - 1008 Chapter 193- Epilogue 4 (VOLUME 5)
1008 Chapter 193- Epilogue 4 (VOLUME 5)
Back to School Part 3
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Rika
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I rode to school alone. Well, mostly alone. I had Lucas with me. I would have had two guards, as was the normal for Reagan and I at the moment, but Westin was gone. He had left the other day and went to live in another country. And I couldn’t help but feel responsible for it.
I knew that it wasn’t my fault. Yes, I told him that I never wanted to see him again and that I didn’t want to listen to him, but I never thought that he would take me seriously. I mean, even if he supposedly left because of his mate, as was the rumor, he still hadn’t told me goodbye. He hadn’t told me whether he was coming back or not. And he hadn’t even explained why he was leaving and not being my guard anymore.
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I didn’t like this. Not that I cared one way or the other about Westin right now, but I didn’t like that things were changing so much. There was a lot that had happened to me and Reagan since school had started. Well, more to me than to Reagan. But it has been really overwhelming for me.
And as I thought about that, I knew who else had been overwhelmed and who had experienced many of the same things that I had. Only for her, it was much, much worse. Because for Lyssa, she hadn’t just been lied to by the man that she was crushing on. She had been lied to by her mate. And that meant that she would never be able to find true love or happiness ever again. She was going to be lost without a mate. She might have a future with someone that she could fall in love with, but I knew that she would be lonely inside without that mate of hers nearby. Especially now after she had known him and he left her. That was just so heartbreaking.
And what was making this so much worse, was that I had been so mean to Lyssa. I had tried to make things about me that day. I hadn’t comforted her. I hadn’t been in the right state of mind to comfort her. And, because of that, she hadn’t talked to me in days. And even Alexa was ignoring me.
.....
I knew that I had fucked up so bad that they might never speak to me again. And I didn’t want that. I knew that I needed to make this right again. I knew that I needed to make sure that we were still friends and that they knew that I missed them so much.
The first thing that I did when I got out of the black chauffeur’s car that Lucas drove me in, was search for my friends. I wanted to make sure that I found them before they headed off to class. I wanted to talk to them, and we needed privacy for it.
I ran frantically toward the center of the central gathering place, the one that we usually claimed as our own next to the fountain. And, sure enough, my prayers and hopes were answered. Lyssa and Alexa were there, waiting for class to start.
I didn’t want to scare them off, or to make them run away from me, so I just hurried toward them as silently as I could. I knew that they would hear my pounding heart though, because I was scared, nervous, and running all out at the same time.
They looked up when I was almost to them, and I saw the disappointment in Lyssa’s eyes. She didn’t want to see me. She started to get to her feet, but I called out to her in a panic.
“No, don’t leave. Please. I want to talk to you.” I put every ounce of emotion that I had in those words and saw them hesitate. I could tell that Alexa was debating what to do, but she didn’t say anything to her sister. She was going to let Lyssa make up her own mind. “Please.” I begged them, almost sobbing as I skidded to a halt in front of the half standing Lyssa.
“Fine.” She went to sit back down but I put a hand on her shoulder.
“Let’s talk somewhere private. I don’t want people to hear what I have to say.” I was trying to let them know that I wasn’t going to be a bitch or anything, but they didn’t seem like they believed me. I really had hurt Lyssa’s feelings, and I might not be able to win her friendship back. This was starting to hurt me deep in my heart.
Lyssa, Alexa and I all went to a spot that we knew of behind the sciences building. There was a path that went into the woods for the explorations that the students made sometimes, and there was this little bench that was sitting just outside of the trees. That was where we went to sit because it was away from the crowd, and we would be able to tell in advance if other people were approaching us. There was no mingling of other scents and sounds that got in the way.
“Alright Rika, we’re here.” Alexa crossed her arms after sitting her bag down and sitting on the left side of the bench. Lyssa mimicked her but didn’t say anything at all. “Tell us what you need.”
“I want to apologize. I know that I was out of line. I know that I was being a bitch. I know that I made you feel like I didn’t care about you, Lyssa, but I do. And I am so sorry that I said that it would be better not to meet Warrick. And, well, I know now that I needed to meet Clovio as well. I needed him to be my wakeup call. I needed him to show me how stupid and immature that I was being. Thank you, Lyssa, thank you for telling me that I was being so stupid.”
“W..well, I don’t think that I called you stupid.” I saw that she was giving just the tiniest smirk when she said that. “I think that I called you immature.”
“Same thing right now. I was so stupid. And I am so sorry. I have missed you, Lyssa. It’s only been a little bit, but I miss you and Alexa so much.”
“We missed you too.” Alexa smiled and I saw a tear threatening to stream down her cheek. “You’re our best friend, Rika.”
“I..I am sorry that I snapped at you, Rika. I was being mean that day.”
“No. I deserved it. Even Talia yelled at me for the way that I was acting after that. And I know now that I was completely wrong. I mean, my attitude has even cost me a guard.” I laughed without any humor when I said that and they just looked at me. I knew that they wanted an explanation.
“I yelled at Westin that day as well. I told him that I never wanted to see him again, and he took me at my word. Then again, the rumor mill is saying that he left because of his mate, so I can’t take all the credit, but he didn’t even tell me goodbye because I was such a bitch to him. I need to grow up, I know that now. And I promise you both, and even Westin, that I will be better eventually. If he ever comes back to the city in the future, I will apologize to him, but in the meantime, I just want to become a better person.”
I wiped the tears from my eyes as I spoke, and I saw that both Lyssa and Alexa were doing the same thing. They were crying with me, just like we used to do when we were upset about something. We were always there for each other.
“Well, Rika, I am sure he would accept your apology if you gave him one. I know it might take some time, but don’t ever forget about it. And when you see him again, tell him what you need to say.”
“I will, Lyssa, I promise.” I said these words as I threw my arms around her and hugged her tightly. She returned the hug, nearly crushing me in the intensity.
“Oh, you two.” Alexa almost wailed as she added herself to the hug. “I love you both so much.”
I didn’t think that this would be as easy as it was, but I was glad that they both accepted my apology so quickly. I loved these girls like sisters, and I didn’t want to be without them. I wanted to share the experiences of college and adulthood with them. And now that I was able to get over myself and see things for the truth, I was sure that I wouldn’t have an issue doing just that.
I enjoyed that day in class with my friends. I was just happy to be back in class, but it was so much better because I had all of my friends there with me. And I was happy that the others, even my annoying brother, were happy to see us back on good terms. Our entire group was happy to be back and enjoying life without some threat of death or dismemberment looming over our heads. We were free just to be ourselves. Happy, healthy, and having fun, just like how teenagers our age were supposed to be living their lives.