The Alpha's Little Nerd

Thirty Five

~Devina's POV~

With my bags packed, I was now sitting in the back of Sydney's black SUV watching my surroundings blur as we sped down the highway.

"So Devina, what do you like to do?" She chirped, her tone as happy as a kid getting a new puppy. I glared at her through the windshield mirror and she nodded. "Sorry."

A few hours passed before we finally came to a stop outside of a tall office building.

"My birthday is in a couple of months, this really isn't necessary," I spoke as we walked up to the building.

"It's the law." Was her short reply. My mind kept traveling back to one question. About my mom.

"And when did my mother go to jail?" She looked at me through her eyelashes and sighed.

"A couple months ago. A young man brought her in. Told the police what she did. Usually, she wouldn't be convicted right there but when they questioned her she confessed. She must have really felt bad for what she did to you." Sydney opened the door and held it open for me. I played with the hem of my shirt as I thought. Zane was most definitely the one who brought her in, but how he convinced her to confess was still a mind-boggling question I had. Zane. A stray tear escaped my cheek and landed on my thigh. I want him out of my mind. "Ready?" She softly asked, receiving a curt nod in response.

"You must be Davina." An older lady spoke, the scent of breath mints rolling out of her mouth alongside with her words.

"Devina." I corrected her.

"Well, Devina, you'll be staying with me for awhile." I rolled my eyes and looked around. If Zane was here, he would never let me go with this stranger. We wouldn't even be in this situation if he was here. The thing that kills me the most is that I know where Zane is. He's with her. Doing god knows what. Part of me wants to go back, ask him why he would do something like that. But the other part of me knows better than to go asking a question I already know the answer to. He never really loved me. And as I stand here, it takes all that I have not to curl up into a little ball and push that realization away but I'm stronger than that. So I stand up a little straighter and look the lady in the eyes.

"I'm ready if you are." She nodded and shook hands with Sidney.

"I'll be checking in on you every week. On Saturdays. Bye sweetheart!" I waved goodbye and followed the woman outside.

"My name is Gwendolyn. You can call me Gwen. That's spelled with a G." She spoke as she walked us back to her white Lexis. What else would Gwen be spelled with?

"My name's Devina. You can call me Devina. That's spelled with a D." Gwen stopped walking and turned around grinning.

"I like you." She nodded her head in approval -like I needed it- and opened the drivers' side door. I got in the car too and put my seatbelt on. "I live in LA so it'll be a little drive, but we can get to know each other on the way." These familiar words made me freeze. "How old are you anyway?" I took another deep breath, filling my lungs with air and looked out the window.

"I'll be eighteen in six months. I don't need to be here." Gwen laughed but kept driving.

"Living with your boyfriend won't get you anywhere."

"For the second time, he isn't my boyfriend! My boyfriend chose another girl. Right in front of me, so I left him and was living with his older brother. Who's not my boyfriend!" Technically, I never broke up with Zane but when you start making out with your ex, it's kind of implied that there's nothing left between you.

"Young love." She dreamily sighed making me roll my eyes.

"Just because I'm not as old as you doesn't mean I don't know what love is. Our generation isn't as dumb as you guys think we are. I know what love is. I had it. I held it in my hands before it was ripped away." Gwen looked back over at me and a familiar twinkle in her eyes told me that the same thing has happened to her.

"I had a husband. We loved each other. We were married for almost twenty years."

"What happened?" I couldn't stop myself from asking, I guess I'm a pretty curious person.

"He was hit. By a drunk driver."

"So was my best friend." It's an amazing feeling to relate to someone on such a high level. They may not fully understand you and you may not fully understand them, but you try your best because you know what they've gone through. You know how it feels.

"You're so young and yet you've felt and experienced so many things. Too many." She finally spoke making me looked up and meet her soft grey eyes.

"You can't change the past," I whispered back.

"But you can change how it shapes your future."