The (not so) Good Girls Bad Boys: The Good, The Bad and The Abandoned

31- Two Entire Years...

Declan's POV

For a moment my heart stopped beating. My lungs forgot how to function. The only thing that seemed to be working was my brain, which was racing with hundreds of thoughts. Yet among the sea of whispering thoughts rolling over my mind, just one seemed to be written across my brain in big, bold letters. The thought replayed in my mind again and again like a broken record that was slowly driving me crazy.

This isn't real. This isn't real. This. Is. Not. Real. It... it can't be real.

I only realized I had fistfuls of hair clenched in the fists resting on my head when I felt the aching pain on my scalp. I didn't care. If anything I welcomed the pain. It reminded me that this was all real and that I'm not having some crazy dream...

My face paled at the confession and I tried to force down the growing lump in my throat.

This really was real.

For a moment, I was simply stunned, my eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar. Than everything came back and my eyes narrowed, lips flattening into a straight, hard line. I suddenly felt like hitting something, anything, as the growing anger filled me.

How didn't we see this?! Bennett, Jordan, Naomi and I had come up with dozens of scenarios. Tons of guesses and theories of what she could have possibly been hiding. Abuse? A bad home life? Maybe her mom was stuck in a bad relationship? So many normal guesses. Because Alexa was a normal person. There were so many different possibilities. So many things that should have been the case instead of... of this. This was unreal. It was unbelievable. Never in a million years would we have ever guessed that this was the thing she was hiding from us. This... this doesn't happen to people like Alexa. She seemed so normal... maybe a little sad... a little secretive... but I never imagined she could be hiding something like this.

I looked up at her worried expression and noticed her lips moving but I didn't hear a word she was saying. I could think straight. I could barely grab hold of my own thoughts let alone the things going on around me. I mean... How did she hide it so well? How can anyone keep a secret like this all alone?

My breath caught in my throat as my eyes darted to Alexa's colorless, grey ones.

Alone?

I blinked repetitively and looked around me for any sign of another person, my worried eyes flickering between the warehouse to the gate to Alexa.

Don't tell me she is alone. PLEASE tell me she has SOMEONE.

She has to be here with her family, right? They- they must have gotten evicted or- or something, right? And they came here for a place to stay... they're all inside, just waiting for her to come back... or maybe... maybe...

I was so off in my own world that I didn't register the blur of brown in my peripheral vision until I heard the sudden scream coming from Alexa. My hands immediately clenched into fists as my eyes snapped towards her, already crouching in a fighting stance. I was ready to throw fists before I suddenly heard laughter and realized that it was just her dog that had surprised her. I relaxed slightly and watched as the dog happily licked her face while Alexa did her best to protect her cheeks from being coated in slime.

"King!" She squealed through the laughter, "get down!"

The dog - Er, King - whimpered and let out happy yelps as his tail wagged furiously from side to side while attacking his owner with adoration. Alexa gently pushed the dog off and managed to get up without tipping over again.

King didn't attempt to tackle her again and instead began to sniff her. At first, his tail wagged furiously and he whined with joy, but as he continued to sniff her, his excited mood began to dim. I noticed him back up a step, his ears drooping flat against his head, and his tail retreating between his legs.