Amira's Secret

Chapter 17 |Unedited|

It's Leo's birthday weekend and I'm feeling nothing but dread. I'm excited to celebrate Leo's birthday with him for the first time, but the idea of being in an isolated place with a group of people that despise me isn't something I look forward to. I'm praying that things go well, I would hate to ruin what should be a fun weekend for Leo.

"Are you ready? " Leo asks, he's waiting for me at the door of our bedroom.  

"Yes, just let me tell Salina that we're leaving." I sneak into the bedroom of my younger sister, gently waking her and giving her a hug before leaving. It felt strange, this is the first time I'll be traveling without her by my side, we've never been separated before. 

Leo senses my worry and provides comforting words "Don't worry. I asked Imad to stay in the pack house while we're gone. He'll be keeping an eye on her, Bliss will be watching her as well.

"Thank You." I feel much more relieved. It was sweet of him to keep my sister in mind before our trip. 

We arrive outside to find the men helping pack luggage into the storage unit of what looks like a party bus. "We're  taking a bus?" I ask Leo. 

"Yes, I forgot to tell you. We always take a bus there. Road trips are good for bonding." He says loading our bags into the bus. 

I see Cora walking out of the pack house, noticeably overdressed for a bus ride. Her friends trail behind her, laughing amongst themselves. "How long is the drive?" I ask Leo a bit jittery 

"About 6 hours" 

"Oh, I see" my voice cracks. This weekend was already starting off rough. I start helping him with the other bags in order to buy time. I plan to be the last person to enter the bus.  

Leo stops packing our baggage into the vehicle to confront me, he's gotten really good at sensing when something is off. 

"Are you okay with riding there with everyone else? If not, I can book us a flight. I don't mind." I listen to the laughter and chatter coming out of the bus, everyone inside is enjoying each others company. They may not be my friends, but they are Leo's, and again, I want him to enjoy his birthday weekend. 

I nod "Yes, it's fine."  

He stares at me knowingly "It really won't bother me if we fly there instead." 

I resist the tempting offer "I'll be fine, thank you though" He nods and leads us into the vehicle. The bus immediately starts as Leo and I are the last to board. 

As we're seated, a glass of alcohol is immediately offered to me by an attendant on the bus. I decline the drink. 

"Get her something non-alcoholic please" Leo tells the attendant. "Thank you." I tell him 

"Is there a reason you don't drink? Not judging, just curious." He takes a sip of his beverage. 

 "I actually do drink, just not often, or excessively." The attendant comes back, offering me a can of soda and some water, I thank her before we get distracted by the sound of Cora asking for our attention, she's holding a bucket. 

"We're going to play our first game!" She says and shakes the bucket in her hand, mixing up its contents. We're then instructed to break into groups of three for the game. Leo and Cora won't be playing the game, so they sit aside and chat while the rest of us form small groups in this constraining bus. 

"We have 25 questions about Leo in this bucket. The team that is first to answer the questions first and or correctly, gets a point. The team that has the most points wins, and will receive a little prize. Leo here, will let us know whether your answers are correct or not. Is everyone ready?"