Breeding in the Academy: Searching for Freedom (All 14)

Chapter 20

A/N: finally updated! It's a nice longer chapter than usual, and the feelings you are going to feel will include sadness, anger, and happiness. I think that you'll love this chapter. I hope you like everything!! 

I sighed, thinking of that time. It was a hard time for both of us, and it was also confusing at that time. "Do you remember that day?"

He smiled sadly. "how could I not remember? They literally had to pry us apart."

I smirked at the commotion we caused that day. We were twins and had a deeper connection to each other than our relationship with our workaholic mother. When we were three, we had to move to separate rooms, but we would constantly find a way to sleep in the same bed. On the night before our fifth birthday, I had managed to sneak into his room without alarming the workers in our home. When morning came, Milo's rooms burst open with a force that scared both of us. Academy workers had flooded into the room and tried to pry Milo away from me as they dodged thrown objects. They didn't succeed until they had four people loosen my grip on Milo. That was the last time I saw Milo until a few days ago. "What a day it was."

He nodded. "It was. Now please tell me."

"After we were separate, life became different. Colder. Mother would usually spend the day with us on our birthday but she didn't show up. I thought it was because she was sad that you were taken. Days went by, and our mother was still the same as in she wasn't there. I barely saw her. Suddenly, the maid said that my mother wanted me to clean. It was a few chores which wasn't bad. That went on for a year. On my sixth birthday, I expected that Mother would celebrate my birthday but she wasn't there. I didn't do my chores because it was my birthday. It wasn't until it was almost midnight when she came home. She was surprised then became mad at me. She started to yell at me. When she learned that I didn't clean, she grabbed the vase near the wall and threw it at me. It hit me in the face and shattered. The pieces cut into my skin." I looked at him in the mirror and smiled. "My face looks better than back then. Most of the scars were small and faded."

I saw Milo's eyes fill with tears. "Hey," I spoke softly. When his brown eyes met mine, I smiled. "I'm fine. I was able to join the Phoenix, and because of them, I was able to find you."

He nodded as he took in my words. "How were you able to escape her?"

I kept my eyes ahead on the road. I didn't want to speak but the more I waited, the more it seemed to be worse. "A year after she threw the vase, the car I was in was in an accident. I decided that that was the best time for me to disappear. I lived on the streets for a few months until I stumbled onto an injured Phoenix agent who took me in."

It was silent in the car. It felt sad and depressing. Wanting to change the mood, I spoke. "Kota told me that the Prime usually have a memento. What's yours?"

He smiled as he reached into his shirt and took something out on a silver chain. "Do you remember the present you gave me the night before our fifth birthday?"

I frowned, thinking back onto that night. When I remembered, a chuckle escaped me. "I didn't have any money to buy you a gift because I spent it all on candy so I went into our garden and grabbed some flowers." I laughed. "You gave me flowers too because you spent your money on books."

He shrugged. "It was interesting. Anyway, apparently we fell asleep with the bouquet in bed. When I was in the facility, I discovered a tiny flower in my hair. I had it set in resin and made into a necklace."

After he spoke, he brought his pendent into the light. In the middle of were three little flowers. I smiled. "Lilac?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it makes sense, too."

I glanced at him. "What do you mean?"

"Lilac is part of a collection of flowers that mean family." He yawned.

I smiled. "Go to sleep. We still have a few hours until we're there."

He nodded before resting his head against the headrest. Within a few moments, he was fast asleep. I took a breath, trying to clear my mind from our recent conversation. I checked on the cars behind us. Axel was behind me, following at a safe distance. Brandon was behind Axel and seemed to be fine. Behind them was a black suv driven by Raven. He must have gotten bored and started to drive on the uneven terrain, making the car bounce up and down.

I turned the radio on, and my classical music cd started. Classical music had faded out in the past few hundred years. It was no longer popular, making the places to find classical music CDs rare. I don't know how much time had passed when my phone rang. Glancing at the clock, I noticed that two hours had flown by. Answering it, I heard Axel's voice.

"Sang, we need to stop." He spoke.

I answered softly, not to wake the others. "Why?"

He chuckled. "Raven called, saying that he doesn't know why the guys in the car with him are sick."

I smiled and chuckled. "There is a creek up ahead. We can stop there. I think they've been tortured long enough."

Axel made a noise in a agreement before hanging up. As I started to slow the car down, Mr. Blackbourne woke up. "Are we stopping?"

I nodded as I saw the gleam of water in the distance. An uneasy feeling settled, making me wary. "Yeah, some of us need a break."

His eyebrows went up in surprise. "You like to listen to classical music?"

I noticed that the cd was playing a violin and piano medley. "Yes. I love the sound the instruments make."

"Me, too. I fell in love with the violin because of my mother's playing." He said softly.

"Kota told me that your memento is a violin your mother gave you."

He nodded his head. "It's the last thing I have of her's. When you came to rescue us, I had to leave it behind because it was too much to carry. Luke decided that I was dumb and left to get it."

"Ahh," I sounded. "So that was why Luke and North were not in the room but in the hallway. It must be nice to have a friend to do something like that."

His lips turned up minuscule. "I'm glad to have a family like them. I can see the same in how the Toma team treats you."

I smiled sadly. "Family? Not possible. Friends, definitely. The Toma team and I could never be a family."

His grey eyes stared at me, studying me. "Why not?"

I stopped the car a few yards away from the creek's edge. I looked over at Corey who was still sleeping. "I guess you can say that I've closed myself off from love. My past and my future are dangerous, and I don't want to see the men I love hurt."

"Men?" His eyes widened as he took in the words. He looked over at Corey. "You love them, don't you?"

I looked straight into his gray eyes. "I don't love."

His lips turned into a smirk, and he leaned forward. His hand came up to cup my left cheek. His fingers touched the scar softly, and I was mesmerized at his eyes which weren't filled in disgust. "You can deny it as much as you want, but you do. I just hope that there is enough space for us."

"Us?" I swallowed. My heart pumping in my chest.

His gray eyes twinkled like the stars above. "You know what I mean. Scars don't make you ugly. They show that you survive the bad times. Once you think that you've survived the bad times, Sang, know that you have us. Don't forget that you have the toma team and us. All of us."