The Deception

Chapter 7

*Josh POV*

Two years prior, I found myself standing in a familiar hotel room. Silence fell between me and Brooke mere moments after Aaron left the room. Thoughts were flooding my mind after what Aaron said.

Am I really taking away her choice? I thought.

Looking at Brooke across from me, I couldn't help but think that maybe I should give her the choice to leave. But, the words just wouldn't leave my mouth. As I struggled to find the words to say, Brooke broke the silence first.

"I know what you're thinking, but I don't regret anything," she said.

Shocked, I responded, "I didn't say anything-"

"You didn't have to. I know you're worried about Aaron because you think he might be right."

She paused for a beat. Taking my silence as confirmation, she continued.

"Truthfully, I had already resigned myself to the thought of being alone. I never thought that I would find my mate."

"How come?" I said.

"My dad... well the whole pack really, is unable to leave. If we even think about leaving, Gavin will immediately label us a traitor and send people after us to kill us. So you understand why I settled with Aaron." She said with a sad smile.

"Don't get me wrong, he never hurt me and he was always kind and loving. And I do worry about him, what with how controlling and obsessive his dad is. But Aaron is desperate because he knows he'll always be alone."

"Well, a desperate man is a dangerous one, Brooke," I said.

"You might be right. I can't help but feel sorry for him... but regardless of how he might feel, I want to give us a chance. I want to be with you."

She walked closer and put her hands on both sides of my face.

"So, don't worry about me, okay?"

My eyes slowly fluttered open. The room was faintly becoming brighter as the sun began to rise. I figured I had a few more minutes of sleep because alarm hadn't gone off yet. I stared at the ceiling, my mind still full of thoughts. I heard a soft ding from my phone so I reached over for it. Squinting my eyes at the sudden brightness, I saw that it was a text from Selena.

"Don't worry about me today. I'm heading to school early."

My heart kind of sank as I drafted a reply.

"That's okay. Thank you for letting me know! See you at school?"

I waited for a few moments to see if she would respond but after a few moments, I gave up on that idea put my phone face down on the bed.

Well, I might as well get up then, I thought as I rolled out of bed.

***

Making my way towards the cafeteria, I made sure to bring some of my note cards just in case I had a bit of time to look over a few formulas for the upcoming math test. I hadn't seen much of Selena today as she went straight from class to class without stopping to talk to anyone. I couldn't help but feel like she was avoiding me, but I also wasn't sure since most students were doing the same because of the exams.

As I made my way through the line, I decided to sit at one of the empty tables. I felt that it might be best if I didn't pressure Selena by sitting near her. As I was about to start eating though, I heard a loud sigh and someone plop down into a chair across the table.

"That last test was awful! I could barely concentrate!" I looked up to see Colt with his face on the table.

"Well, look at the bright side, it's almost over?" I said.

"Easy for you to say... I just know I'm going to get an earful." Colt sighed.

"What's that about an earful?" Colt's brother Levi said as he joined the table next to him.

Colt shot up changing his whole demeanor.

"Nothing, everything is great!" Colt said.

"Right," Levi said, looking at Colt suspiciously.

"Hey, I feel like I did better than I normally would have!"

"I would hope so" Allison said as she sat between me and Colt. "Otherwise, all that studying would have been for nothing!"

"Thank you again for helping my brother, Allison. I try to help him, but we seem to have different ways of learning that make it difficult sometimes."

"For sure! Helping others study actually helps me to remember information too," she said.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you do, Josh?" Levi asked.

"Pretty good, I think," I said. "Thanks to the teachers, I was able to catch up on the information I missed during those first few days of school."

"That's good," Levi nodded and started eating his salad.

Just as I was about to respond, I heard a chair scrape across the floor. I watched as Selena made her way out of the lunch room.

"Does she seem a bit off to you?" Levi asked me.

"Well, she has seemed a bit tired lately, but I've just assumed that she's been staying up late studying," I said absentmindedly.

Colt laughed to break the tension, "I'm sure she's fine, right? I mean, this is Selena we're talking about."

"True, but you can't deny that it's a bit out of character for her," Levi said.

I looked over just in time to catch Colt shoot Levi a look, but he quickly changed his expression.

"You worry too much. Everyone gets tired every now and then!" Colt said with a forced smile.

Deciding to follow after her, I stood up and quickly pushed my chair in.

"Hey where are you going?" Colt asked.

"Sorry, I just want to make sure she's okay," I said.

Without waiting for his response, I made my way out of the cafeteria. Walking down the hall, I saw Selena not far ahead of me. Not long after, I noticed her stumble, but catch herself by putting a hand on one of the nearby lockers. I jogged up quickly beside her.

"Selena, are you okay?" I asked.

She continued walking without acknowledging me.

"Selena, what's wrong?" I asked as I reached out for her shoulder. Before I could even touch her, she moved lightning fast, slapping my hand away and turning to face me.

"Don't worry about me, okay? I'm fine!" She said.

She only made eye contact with me for a brief second, but I swear her eyes were a different color. They almost looked... blue?

She turned away and began walking forward again.

"Selena, what-"

I quickly grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face me, But when I looked into her eyes they were green as usual.

"Josh, please let me go. You're hurting me."

"Oh sorry," I said, letting her go, "I'm just... worried about you."

"Well, don't be. I just... need a minute..." as she trailed off, she made her way into the bathroom.

Are my eyes playing tricks on me? I thought.

Nevertheless, her words continued to echo in my head.

'Don't worry about me, okay?'