The Alpha is my Mate ✏️ (REWRITING)

Chapter 18

After telling Justin last night, I didn't see him after he went into the woods. He was gone for a couple of hours, and Madison had to be the one to tell me Cameron had found him. She heard from Cameron and Tyler that he went into a rage and lost track of the time, which made me feel guilty. I didn't try to find him last night or talk to him when he got home because I was trying to give him space. I didn't even see him this morning in the kitchen. This morning with everyone was so awkward, and I left for school earlier than usual.
Right now, I'm sitting in class, struggling to pay attention to anything happening. Staring at the whiteboard, I rest my hand on the blank paper that is supposed to be filled with notes. I flick my eyes between the clock and the teacher, biting my lips as I think.
I slowly raise my hand, trying to get my teacher's attention. "What, Alison?" Ms. Vickers asks, looking at my raised hand.
"May I use the bathroom?" I ask, feeling my heart beating fast.
She turns her head towards the clock and sighs, "We have a couple minutes left of class. You can wait until the bell rings." As soon as she finishes saying this, she returns to the board. I sigh, starting to tap my foot. I continue to watch the clock, and it feels like the time is going as slow as molasses. Once we have about two minutes left of class, I hear the collective shuffling of students moving and putting their books in their backpacks. After hearing a few zippers close, Ms.Vickers announces, "Wait for the bell. Class is not done yet."
The sounds stop until the bell rings a minute later, and everyone stands up. I throw the bag strap over my shoulder and slide out of the desk. As I walk to the door, someone rushes through, squeezing me to the side of the door before I enter the hallway.
I take a left, rushing past people until I open the bathroom door and lock myself in a stall. Removing my backpack, I hug it to my chest as I sit on the toilet seat, waiting for the bell to ring. A few minutes pass, and I hear girls coming and going, some stopping at the mirror to chat before the bathroom remains mostly empty.
Checking my phone, I see the bell is about to ring again, and then I hear the bathroom door open again. The sound of keys jingle, and I quickly pick my feet up. I think a teacher just walked in. My position is uncomfortable, with my legs pressed against my backpack, and I do not have enough room on the seat, so I have to hold my legs in the air. Once the teacher or staff member is done, I hear her wash her hands and exit the bathroom as soon as the bell rings.
I wait a few minutes after the bell rings and slowly stand up, unlocking the stall and pressing my ear against the door. I don't hear a sound in the hallway, so I slowly open the door to peek into it.
Once I see the coast is clear and there's no one in sight, I toss my bag over my shoulder and slip into the hallway. I quickly walk to the doors, passing full classrooms, and then I hear talking ricocheting down the hall. I quietly open the bulky doors until I'm outside and run towards the school's woods. I needed to get out of there.
Walking deeper into the woods, I slip my phone out of my pocket and find Justin's contact. I press the phone to my ear and listen to the ringing, hoping he'll answer. "Come on, Justin, pick up," I mutter, looking back and walking until I'm nowhere in sight. The ringing stops and brings me to his voicemail. Sighing, I end the call and sit next to a tree. No matter our arguments, he is still my brother, and I will love him no matter what.
There are two hours left of the day, so I can either wait it out and go back at the end of the day to get my textbooks and homework or go back in an hour for the last period. I don't want to go to my last class because it's science, so I decided to ditch the last two hours.
Opening my bag, I pull out the first piece of homework, which is math. Math is one of my best subjects, so the worksheet should be easy. I don't understand why we must learn about the first ten numbers of pi or equations with pi because I won't use them in everyday life. Hell, I don't even know which profession actually uses pi.
Once I finished the math worksheet, I checked the time and realized I had more than an hour left, so I pulled out my book and English worksheet. I flipped to my marked page and began reading the following two chapters, filling out the worksheet.
As soon as I finish the chapters, I fill out the last few questions before shutting the sheets and shoving them in my bag. I have about 10 minutes left before the final bell, so I fiddle on my phone.
When there are a few minutes left, I gather my things and walk toward the school. Once I'm out of the woods and stride up the steps, I peek through the mini window in the door, and when I don't see anyone, I pull open the doors and make my way to my locker.
The bell rings as I open my locker, and a flood of students comes out of different classrooms. As I shove books and folders in my bag, I look down the hall and see Madison and Lexi walking out of a classroom. Lexi is so pretty, with long platinum hair and bright blue eyes.
Shutting my lockers, I put my bag over my shoulders and made eye contact with Madison. She smiled at me and started walking in my direction. Lexi looked straight ahead, and as they approached me, she said, "Hey, Allison!"
I smile at her and reply, "Hey, Lexi." Lexi is the super bubbly, popular girl that everyone knows. She always has a big smile on her face and is always trying to cheer people up. I turn to Madison and ask, "Hey, Mads, have you heard from Justin today?"
She shakes her head and asks, "Is he still not talking to you?" I shake my head slightly and press my lips together. "He'll probably be home after we get out of here, so you can try and talk to him then." She states, trying to be optimistic.
Sighing, I reply, "Yeah, I know." Lexi goes a different way to her locker, and I follow Madison so she can grab her books. "This crap sucks," I say absentmindedly. She nods and stuffs a few things in her bag. I lean against the locker and look around the hall. My gaze stops on Mason, and I feel my heart skip. He's in a deep conversation with one of his friends, and I decide to look away.
"You ready to go?" Madison asks, slamming her locker shut.
I peek at Mason again before saying, "Yeah, let's go." I am very attracted to Mason. There's something about Mason that makes me not want to take my eyes off him. It's hard for me to admit any feelings I have for him. A part of me wanted him to see me looking at him, and then he'd come up and talk to me. The feelings I have for him confuse the hell out of me. One day, I want to not talk to him at all, and I want to hate him. Another day, I want nothing more than for him to kiss me.
I'm barricading my emotions, and I'm trying to protect myself. I don't want to get hurt. I also think I'm putting my family first and letting their emotions get in the way of my feelings. Deep down, I want him, or else I wouldn't have agreed to move in with him.
Madison and I walk out of the doors, and I spot a car resembling Justin's but brush it off. "Where'd you park?" I point to my car, and we start walking down the steps in that direction. Students are stopped on the sides of the stairs and flooding the parking lot, with some cars pulling away. As we get closer to my car, I look back at the car and spot the sticker that is way too familiar, making me stop in my tracks.
"Justin?" I mutter, staring at it. I see Madison stop out of my peripheral, and I automatically start walking in that direction. The door to the car opened, and my gut feeling was right. Justin steps out of the car, and I start walking faster. What the hell is he doing here?
He starts walking away from his car, which worries me even more. There is no reason for him to be here. I watch his body tense up before he yells, "Hey Mason!"
My heart palpitates, and at this point, I'm sprinting. This can't be good. "Justin!" I yell, and I'm unsure if he heard me. "Fuck." I mutter as I try and get closer to him. I spot Mason, and my heart stops again. I watch as he moves his hands, saying something to Justin.
Justin closes the gap with Mason, and now they're face to face. I'm close to them, and now I can hear their conversation. "What the hell do you want, man?" Mason asks. I can tell Justin is furious, and as I close the cap between us, Justin doesn't say anything before punching Mason.
I gasp, coming to a stop next to them, and announce, "What the fuck Justin?" Mason stumbles back from the punch and is clutching the side of his face.
"You're going to pay for this, you dick." Mason spits.
"That's what you get for everything you've done." Justin seethes before saying, "You're lucky I didn't do worse." I scoff at him, and he looks at me before turning away.
"Justin," I demand, but he continues to walk away. I walk so I'm in front of him, bringing him to a stop. "Why the hell did you come to cause a fight at my school?"
He stares coldly at me before calmly saying, "That was going to happen one way or another." As he finishes his sentence, he brushes past me.
"You need to get your attitude problem fixed," I announce, pissed, as he keeps walking away. He doesn't answer and gets in his car to start driving away. I scoff and turn back towards Mason. "Are you okay?" I ask him, examining his red jaw. He only nods, his eyes fixated on Justin's car. I can tell he's pissed, and I can't blame him. He walks away without saying a word, and I sigh before returning to my car. Justin's actions brought a group of people surrounding us, and I pushed my way through them, annoyed.
~
As Madison and I get home, we grab our bags and enter the pack house. I don't want to see Justin. Sometimes, the stuff he does is alarming because he's leading a whole pack and can act like a teenager.
"Do you want to come to my room and be with me while I pack?" I ask, turning towards Madison. She gives me a sad smile and nods.
Once we get to my room, I set my backpack down and pull out a duffel bag, starting to go through my drawers. After today, I decided to move in with Mason immediately because there is no reason to prolong it. My family will never accept it, and if I stay for a few extra days, I'm worried Justin will do something else to stop it from happening.
"I can't believe you're leaving," Madison says, handing me clothes to pack in my duffel bag.
I sigh, "I know. I'm upset about it, but maybe this will be good. And Justin acting out today really sealed the deal for me." I grab a few things from my desk, shoving them in my bag. Sighing, without turning towards her, I say, "I won't lie, I'm nervous about this because this is such a big change. Though I'm sleeping here tonight, and tomorrow after school is when it's officially happening. So, we'll hang out tonight, Mads."
Glancing over at her, I can't help but see how sad she looks. I stop packing and wrap my arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. "I'm going to miss you so much." She mutters, and the emotions are coating her voice.
"I'm going to miss you too." I pull away and smile at her. "It's not like we'll never see each other again. You're my best friend. We'll hang out again, Mads." She smiles at my statement, and a single tear runs down her cheek. I pull her into another hug before saying, "I love you."
Without pulling away, she mutters, "I love you too."