Empathy

13- Leaving

The rest of dinner was spent in an overwhelming silence that was broken only when Dylan came to pick up Alexis. She looked relieved to be leaving, but gave me a sympathetic smile as she did so.

After dinner, everyone went their own way. I watched as Aiden did the dishes left over from dinner. I offered to help, but there wasn’t much I could do. He was simply washing the dish and putting it in the dishwasher.

“I’m sorry about dinner,” he suddenly said. “It would have gone ten times smoother if Shelby hadn’t been here.”

“Yeah, it sucks that you guys have to let her stay here.” I agreed.

Aiden smiled and nodded as he loaded the last of the dishes into the dishwasher. He dried his hands before turning to face me. “Do you want to watch a movie or something?”

“Sure, a movie sounds great,” I replied, ready to relax after everything that had happened today. It was certainly more exciting than most days.

He hesitantly took my hand and showed me to the living room where he put in an old black and white movie that I’d never heard of before. Then he sat next to me on the couch, his arm casually slung over the back of the sofa, his hand resting on my shoulder.

I moved closer to Aiden, my movements slow and uncertain. I rested my head on his shoulder and smiled when he pulled me even closer, dropping his arm from the sofa to my shoulders. It was a great feeling.

I grinned up at him and he smiled back at me. “I’m glad you’re okay with all of this. Most humans would freak out without giving me a chance to explain everything.”

“I’m glad I did.” I murmured shyly. He leaned down and kissed my cheek so softly it felt like a butterfly had landed on my cheek for a minute.

“Me too,” he replied. And then I snuggled into him and we watched the old movie that made absolutely no sense at all.

I was being shaken awake.

I peeled open my eyes and saw that I was still on the couch, leaning against Aiden. But he wasn’t the one that was shaking me; he was fast asleep. Shelby was the one that had waken me up. I blinked up at her. “Can I help you?” She was dressed in a bright pink nightgown, but her face was stony.

“I need to talk to you,” she whispered. Her eyes flickered to Aiden. “And I don’t want to wake him up, so come on.” She walked out of the room, to the kitchen, blindly trusting that I would follow her. Even though it was against my better judgment, I slid out of Aiden’s arms and followed her. I was dying to know what she wanted.

I met her in the kitchen and she nodded at the back door. “We should talk outside,” she suggested quietly.

“No, we can talk here,” I replied at the same volume. I wasn’t stupid enough to go outside alone with a werewolf girl that hated me. She sighed, but didn’t protest.

“Okay. Why are you doing this?”

I peered at her curiously. “What are you talking about?”

“Why do you insist on being with Aiden even though it will just hurt everyone?” She asked. Her voice wasn’t harsh like I expected it to be, instead it was a murmur.

“What do you mean it will hurt everyone?”

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “The pack cannot have a human as their Alpha Female. You will make us weak. Not to mention, you’ll constantly need Aiden’s protection which means he won’t have as much time to help with pack problems.”

I swallowed, gulping down bitterness. “I can learn how to help and I’m not completely defenseless.” I retorted. Not even a moment later, she grabbed my arm and flipped me over so my back hit the ground roughly. Her fingers dug into my arm and I was sure to develop bruises there as well as on my back.

If she could pin me so easily, I could only imagine how much pain Milo could put me through. He would surely find a way to kidnap me. And then Aiden would be hurt trying to save me. He would always be trying to save me. And that would always put him at risk… Could I really do that to him?

Then she let go of me, standing up straight. She raised her eyebrows. “Oh; really? It doesn’t seem that way to me.”

“That’s not fair. I’ll train for hours every day if that’s what it takes- I want to date Aiden.” I snapped, standing back up.

“You will never be as strong as a werewolf. That will hurt our pack which will hurt Aiden. The best thing you can do is to leave us alone,” Shelby stated roughly. “It’s your own selfishness that’s keeping you here.”

I bit down on my lip, hard. “Aiden would’ve told me if I was only going to bring you guys down. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt your pack.”

“No, he wouldn’t. He’s infatuated with you. He’s being stupid, but underneath, he does know that it would bring us down.” Her voice didn’t quiver and it was obvious she was being honest. She really believed I would be hurting them all.

“Why should I listen to you anyways? You just want Aiden for yourself.” I was terrified she might be onto something.

Shelby sighed. “Because I love my pack and I know I would make a much better Luna than you. I know how to handle myself and keep the people in this pack safe. You know nothing.” I couldn’t come up with a reply which proved her point. Then she walked out, leaving me alone in the dark kitchen.

I leaned against the counter, thinking over what she’d said. She was right. I couldn’t help this pack; I would only bring them down. I couldn’t do that. So I found a piece of paper and a pen and scribbled down a note.

I’m sorry Aiden- I just can’t do this. You deserve better. Please don’t ask me why. Please just leave me alone. Seeing you would only make this harder. I’m so sorry. I hope you can get over me and move on. Love, Samara

I read over my note and then scribbled out the love and replaced it with sincerely. Then I placed it on the table next to Aiden. He was still fast asleep, looking completely beautiful. I bit down on my lip to stop from crying. I couldn’t be with the only person who really cared about me.

I hesitated for a few minutes, watching him sleep. I felt somewhat like a stalker, but I couldn’t help it. He was so perfect and wonderful and everything I could never be. How could he have said he wanted to be with me when he knew we couldn’t be together? As much as I hated to admit it, Shelby was right. He needed someone strong to help him run the pack. It hurt to think about him with any other girl, but I would get over it.

I placed a small kiss on his forehead, unable to resist. He mumbled in his sleep and I worried I had woken him. Part of me hoped he was awake so he could convince me I was being stupid. But he stayed asleep and I knew I had to leave.

I snuck up to Alexis’ room and grabbed my backpack, noticing that everyone in this house were deep sleepers. I left the house and immediately encountered a problem; I didn’t have any way of getting home.

I pulled out my phone and saw that it was eleven thirty; the last bus came at eleven. That meant I would be walking. I sighed and started in the right direction, knowing it was about a two mile walk to my house. Wasn’t this the perfect way to end the night?

I reached my home after an hour of walking, jumping at every small sound. I kept thinking it would be Milo and his group. But I made it home safe and sound. I locked the door behind me and lay down on the couch, exhausted. I didn’t want to go up to my room, memories of what happened earlier played through my mind.

Would Milo decide to come after me again or would he realize I had left Aiden? Would that be enough to convince him not to come after me? Maybe he would go after Shelby and she would manage to kill him. Oh god, Aiden and Shelby might start dating. The idea made me want to puke.

I thought of Aiden and hoped he wouldn’t be too upset that I had left. Maybe he would understand. He couldn’t care so much about me anyways. We were just mates, how much could that one little word entail?

And yet I still fell asleep crying.