The Alpha Academy [Lost Mates Book 1]

Our past

"If you expose her," Mael whispered, "That'll bring trouble not only to her but mom and dad too."

"You're fine if you're replaced!?" My feelings were hurt. "How can a person be replaced with another person? Every person is unique."

"Eli," He let out a tattered breath, "The doctors said the chances of me actually making it are less than seven percent."

"But still!" I insisted, "It's not zero!" I was determined, "I will expose her in front of everyone!"

"But what if something bad happens to her?"

"But why are you worried about her!?"

"Because she's my sister."

!!!

"....Oh..." I looked down, "Right..."

"Dad said we looked alike." He stared at the ceiling.

"A lot of siblings look alike as kids. It changes after puberty..."

"Don't be sad Eli."

"I'm not sad."

"Then, What is it?" He turned his head to look at me again. The room was eerily silent, it had a weird vibe to it, especially because of the heart monitor that beeped after regular intervals.

"I'm getting a bad feeling." I shrugged, "That's all."

"Eli," He extended his hand that had a drip attached to it toward me, "It hurts a lot." His hand was shaking and I saw how bony it was. A chill ran down my spine and my eyes stung seeing him like that.

I ran over and grabbed his hand with both of mine, "You'll be fine Mael!" I smiled at him but at the same time, I couldn't control my tears. They fell down my eyes without any regard and I couldn't stop them. Especially not when the feeling of looming doom wasn't subsiding.

Seeing me emotional like that, a soft smile spread across his face, "My sister will only be replacing me till I'm healthy again." A tear slipped down his cheek too but he maintained a better smile than me.

"Right!" I shook his hand

"Yea," He slipped his hand away from mine which I found odd. The feeling of his hand slipping away gave me a sense of dread, "You won't be able to come here for a while. So I advise you to stay put for a while."

"What!?" I frowned, "Why!?"

"Just listen to me,"

"No!"

"Eli,"

"Give me a reason!"

"It's important for my health." He smiled, "Just a few days."

I frowned, "Fine,"

After that day even when I tried to go to his room, I couldn't. The window was always locked and the curtains were always drawn. But a few weeks later, I suddenly had the urge to try once more.

So like usual, during club time, I ran to his house, climbed the trees, balanced myself off the branch, and opened his window.

This time, it opened.

There was a sense of victory and joy blooming inside of me but it was short-lived. As I stepped inside the room, all my joy turned into fear.

The room was empty.

There was nothing there, yet I was sure I was in the right place. The walls were the same, the room size was the same, the dimensions of the place were the same and so was the wallpaper. But the bed, the machines, the awful smell of medicine, and the drugs were all gone.

And there was no sign of Mael.

Just as I was looking around the room, the door opened and a maid entered the room.

"Oh my!!" She yelled, "Who are you!!?' Her voice startled me but clearly, she had no idea who I was so I wanted to make a run for it, yet she immediately came over and grabbed my arm, "Boy! Where did you come from!?"

"What is it?" And right the next second Mr. Mike Alma made his entrance, "What are you yelling about?"

"Master, there's a boy in the room."

Shit!! Shit!!

I tried to struggle and run away but Mr. Alma recognized me immediately.

"Eli?" He frowned and I froze, "What are you doing here?" He came over and the maid let me go. I had my head down, facing the floor. I was too ashamed to face the head of the house, especially because I got caught trespassing.

But Mr. Alma was cool about it, "Are you here to meet Mael?'

I perked up and raised my head to nod at him, "Yes!"

He let out a soft chuckle, "You can't today, he's with the doctor. He's still going through treatment but you'll meet him soon."

"Really!?" I was excited. He wasn't on the bed. That meant he was recovering!

A breath of relief left my lips and a new hope kindled in.

"Yes," He extended his hand toward me, "But I'll be informing your parents of this."

Oh shit...

That is when I was finally caught by my parents and my lie about joining a club was exposed.

I never told anyone that I would regularly go visit Mael, I told everyone that the time Mr. Alma caught me was the only time I did. I didn't want to get in any more trouble than usual and my parents didn't want to be ashamed of me for lying. So they never told anyone I was lying about my extracurricular activities and forced me to join one.

I never got to go see Mael after that.

But two years later, the Mael who made a public appearance wasn't the one I knew. When I looked at the replacement that was introduced at the party, my heart shattered.

I was old enough to understand that my friend had left me for good.

Somehow he was gone and no one knew where. There was never a mention of Mr. Alma's daughters, there was just a son.

But this one was an imposter.