Chapter 18
***LARISSA***
6 YEARS AGO.
"What I'm interested in though is what pack you're from and why you ran away from your pack," the General asked with a spark of amusement and curiosity in his eyes.
I nearly choked on the water I was drinking and I dropped the cup on the table. It didn't balance well so I tried to hold it, but it fell over the table before I could catch it.
The glass shattered to the floor with the water spilling on the white marble tiles.
"Oh God, I'm so sorry," I said and pulled my chair back, bending so I could try and clean up the mess.
"No, leave it, the maids will clean up after," he said as I picked up the glass pieces. Dropping them back, I winced in pain as one of the glass pieces cut my hand.
It was a small cut and I didn't want to draw any attention to it so I wiped my palm against my dress and sat up. Good thing the dress was about the same shade as blood.
"So what was the reason? I'd like to know why you ran from your pack," he said, refusing to let go of his curiosity.
"You look like you'd have been the darling of Pack," he added and I didn't know if I was supposed to be flushed or scared.
I gulped as I decided to let him know the reason. He couldn't possibly hate me for it.
"My father was accused of being a traitor in the Vulcan Ridge pack so when he ran away, they made me pay for his crimes," I said, trying not to give away too much, but enough to satisfy his curiosity.
He was about to say something but he looked at something behind me and I looked over my shoulder to see someone at the door.
The General stood up and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
"Go to your room? I'll call for you later," he said and I noticed the change in his countenance.
I stood up and as I walked to the door, I caught the eye of the man standing there. He was staring at me like I was some kind of plague and it was obvious he didn't take a liking to him.
I don't expect any Rogue to.
***
PRESENTLY.
I pulled over in the garage and looked left as I noticed Jack's car parked in the Garage.
It was the first time in almost two weeks that he would come home early like he used to. Since he didn't have to pick up the kids from school anymore, he just stayed there in his office till he had nothing else to do.
I walked up to the front porch and opened the door of the apartment. I walked in and saw him sitting in front of the television with a bowl of popcorn in his hand.
"Hi babe," I said as I closed the door.
He looked over his shoulder and said, "Hi" to me before looking back at the television. Okay, I know he still hadn't gotten over everything, but he was being extra cold to me today.
"Jack-"
"Did you receive the mail from the kid's school?" He asked, interrupting me.
I shook my head and took out my phone from my bed. I opened the G-mail app and saw the email the school sent to me.
"Diana got into a fight with a kid in her school and the kid was really injured," Jack said as I read through the email.
"I went there this morning after I got the mail and I saw the kid," he stated and I sighed as I went to drop my bag on the couch.
"You went to the school? You should have called me," I said and took off my earrings, dropping them on the table.
"I didn't think you'd be bothered. You just put them there less than two weeks ago, didn't you?" He said and I scoffed.
"Jack not again, I thought we've been over this already," I said, throwing my hands up in the air to show my frustration.
He paused the movie he was watching and stood up.
"No! You've been over it!" He retorted, pointing frantically at me.
"You made the decision out of the blue because God knows what and that decision was entirely up to you!"
"I never agreed to cart them to a boarding school! You did! And I didn't even have a say!" He continued.
"Because they are my kids!" I yelled back at him.
"My kids, not yours!"
I breathed in deeply to regain my breath and I saw the look of shock and disbelief on his face. He mouthed a "wow" and scoffed as he looked around. I shouldn't have said that.
"Jack, I-" I tried to apologize and move closer to him, but he raised his hand to stop me.
"Don't."
"They are not my kids but you willingly let me, a stranger, bring them into my home and take care of them when you were still a homeless nobody," he said, emphasizing each word and I felt my anger return.
"Oh please, don't you bring all of that up," I clapped back at him.
"You know what? I can't do this tonight," I said and grabbed my handbag before walking out of my apartment. As I got outside, I leaned on the wall and sighed.
I said too much. He has taken care of them so much for so many years like they were his own, he didn't deserve to hear those words come out of my mouth.
The both of us needed to cool off and be away from each other for a while now so I decided to go to a hotel for today.
I reached into my handbag to get my car keys and I walked to the garage. I was about to put my key in the car when something suddenly hit me on the back of my head.
My bag and the keys immediately dropped to the ground. My vision went blurry and I tried to blink back the darkness clouding my eyes as I turned around so I could see who my attacker was.
The last thing I heard before drifting off into the darkness was, "Carry her into the car."