(Lila's P.O.V)
I wasn't anxious.
Not at all.
Nor was I curious about what Rebecca had to say to Derek. It didn't concern me after all.
So then why did I feel this uneasy?
As soon as the bell rang, I was out of my seat and headed to my locker, hoping to catch a glimpse of the two people on my mind.
What were the chances Rebecca would confess to Derek now of all times?
That would make things so much more complicated because see, I don't want to see that asshole with other girls.
There, I said it.
I'm not laying claim or being jealous.
It's a simple feeling that comes over when you don't want someone you like to be with another person who likes them.
Romantically.
I groaned as I processed my own messed up thoughts, being jostled by the crowd as I finally reached my locker.
The pale yellow walls stared back at me, steel lockers banging around us and chatter filling the hallway.
Exchanging my books, I tried keeping my mind off of Rebecca and Derek.
Is there any chance he'll accept her confession?
The prospect left a sour taste in my mouth and I frowned, hating that I was thinking about Derek and worrying about his feelings when I still hadn't sorted mine out.
I turned around, looking to see if I could catch Rebecca. She was nowhere in sight though and the warning bell for the last period rang.
Uneasiness coiled in my stomach but I took my phone out and replied to Cam's messages.
Cam: Is Veronica really fine?
Me: How many more times will you ask? I'll say the same thing: No. From your standards. Of course she's having it hard. Why don't you just text her yourself?
Cam: I'm a scared cat when it comes to her :)
I snickered.
Me: Plz don't be.
Me: Btw, new update about my neighbour - he dated Tatiana Gambino
Cam: The fuck??
Me: Yep. And I think I may have feelings for him.
Cam: ......
Cam: Again. WHAT!?!?
Cam: I thought you hated him though? Plus with this connection, you're still willing to like, what, confess or date?
Me: Well, I still do think he's annoying. Very annoying but...he has his merits. And no, I'm not dating or confessing.
Me: Derek is just...a nuisance.
I huffed and ran a hand through my pony, releasing a heavy breath as we texted back and forth and I walked over near Rebecca's locker.
Totally subtle, Lila.
Cam: Did you say Derek? What's the full name??
Me: Why?
Cam: Is he a Greyson?
Me: Um. Yes...
Cam: No way, you're getting cozy with my cousin of all people?!
The surprising information in his statement made me almost drop my phone but I only stumbled and managed to regain my balance quickly.
"Oof!" I knocked into someone and stumbled, hardly managing to catch myself.
This, my dear friends, is why you should walk while looking at the ground and not your phone.
"Sorry–"
I swallowed my apology as I saw Rebecca to be the one I crashed into. Quickly pocketing my phone and realizing that her bag and its contents were now on the floor, I hurried to help her out.
We both bent down and I noted her eyes looked a little red, her nose pinkish.
She must have cried.
The implications of the observation somehow made relief sweep me into its cold embrace.
"Sorry about that."
Hazel eyes met mine for a brief moment and she smiled, "No worries. I'll get it myself, thanks."
The hallway was now cleared and mostly silent, almost everyone having filed away to their respective classes. Feeling the sun on my face and wishing I was wearing less clothes than my slim fit blue jeans and a red-checkered shirt, I turned so the sunlight wouldn't hit me directly in the eyes.
Despite her words, I still helped gather the wayward pages, books, pens and—
What?
The envelopes held in my hand bore a very, very familiar seal.
I stared at it, perplexed and my brows dipped as I saw it back to front only to come to to conclusion that yes it was indeed the same kind of letter I received.
Was she by chance the one who delivered the letters to me?
It isn't like it never occurred to me to try finding out the middleman but it was useless and too much work that would bear no results.
But now suspicion dug its claws inside of me and I gave in to its incessant call.
The feel of the envelope, the cover, the paper, the color, the seal. It was all exactly the same.
I knew because I had the impressions glaringly seared into my mind, into my memory.
Except Rebecca Atkinson was the mentioned receiver.
In beautiful cursive, her name was etched into the left corner of the back of the letter.
I contemplated for a moment whether to open it or not considering it may be ethically wrong to invade the blonde's privacy by taking such a step. But Rebecca helped me make that decision.
"Are you done—"
As soon as she looked up from the ground and her eyes fell upon the letter in my hand, they widened and panic made her face lose color.
"Why do you have that?" She stepped forward desperately to grab it from me but with my mind made up, I dodged her and her heels made her loose balance.
In the meantime, I tore open the envelope quickly and unfolded the letter.
"Can you please not–"
I tuned Rebecca out as she winced, probably having twisted her ankle as she stared up at me with kernels of fear and guilt in her eyes.
The contents of the letter were hauntingly similar.
Stay from Derek, don't be such a slut, Rebecca.
I won't warn you thrice.
Derek is mine and mine alone.
With love,
Ana
</3
Much shorter than mine and also more precise. But the familiarity I could sense in the letter was what perturbed me and why anxiousness bloomed in my chest.
Still, I looked down at Rebecca who looked resigned to her fate, rubbing her ankle and frowning hopelessly.
"Were you being threatened as well?"
My question was met with avoidance and silence.
I sighed and bent down, "Rebecca." With my stern voice, I made her face me. "What is this letter?"
She mumbled a reply, "A warning to stay away from Derek. I'm sure you could read that."
"I'm sorry?"
A deep husky voice carried over to the two of us and I stilled.
Muttering an expletive under my breath, I stood up straight and Rebecca seemed to share my opinions.
Our eyes connected and I moved to quickly tuck away the letter into my pocket.
However, Derek was faster and before I could thrust it inside my pocket, it was snatched away.
"Give it back, Derek–"
"You've been both getting threat letters?" His incredulous tone switched to a dangerous low one and a shiver crawled up my spine.
Choosing to play dumb, I shrugged.
It was too late to cry over spilt milk now. I wanted to grill Rebecca more but I doubted I could do that anymore.
"You've been getting such letters for how long?" The question was directed at Rebecca as his sharp jaw clenched and eyes skimmed over the written lines.
He glanced down at Rebecca and extended a hand to help her stand up.
I felt like an invader and it hurt because I'd been getting much worse letters for a much longer time but all Derek did was focus on Rebecca.
So, yes he may not know any of these things and that may totally justify his actions but see, she liked him and I didn't like the strange way Derek was staring at the blonde.
As if he was piecing together something inside his head or just becoming more confused. Could be either.
Uncomfortable, I folded my arms over my chest and that was the exact moment Derek's pretty copper eyes fell on me.
I wanted to rip his hand away for touching Rebecca.
Fuck, what's wrong with me? Am I actually feeling territorial and jealous? No!
As he let go of Rebecca and she caught her bearings, he broke eye contact to look over her once more.
"You okay?"
She nodded silently, stealing a glance at me and momentarily a wince took over her features.
Okay, so I may or may not have given her a snarling look.
Clutching the letter in his hand and almost crumbling it as his eyes heated up and teeth ground, he looked angry to say the least.
I released an impatient breath and dark whiskey shaded eyes, the copper overshadowed, locked onto mine.
Then his eyes dipped to my breasts, highlighted by my posture–cuz I'm petty like that–and then he cleared his throat as if he'd just committed a crime by staring at them.
Wasn't he always unashamedly checking girls and their 'assets' out? So why couldn't he see mine as well, huh?
"What's this I'm hearing about threats now?" He gave us both a sharp look and I smoothed my expression into blankness.
Rebecca, on the other hand, looked like a deer caught in headlights.
I narrowed my eyes at her.
"Since this explicitly mentioned me, shouldn't I have been informed as well?" Derek's shapely jaw clenched, thick brows furrowed.
It was unusual seeing him this way because he was always giving with his smiles. Sure, he was serious a times, intense even. Estranged rarely. But I hadn't seen him angry.
He looked angry.
But not at us.
The observation pleased some twisted part inside of me.
Taking a deep breath, he rolled his shoulders. "You have a similar letter?"
His question for me was laced with darkness.
"No." A curt answer.
"Don't lie to me, Kitkat."
I shrugged unapologetically, not providing him with anything concrete. However, it seemed he'd already made up his mind.
He turned towards Rebecca who had kept silent throughout, a fine tremor in her hands.
"I'm sorry for this and I'll handle it. Please don't worry."
His promising words were tight and assertive as if he had real influence to somehow subdue one of Cosa Nostra's sub-bosses and his sister.
"And just to be clear, I'm not Ana's." Derek firmly stated as he locked eyes with me, his tattoos flexing as his muscles bunched and tightened.
I met his stare head on and something passed between us like flames licking through and burning the misunderstandings he believed might have been caused.
"Okay, great." A little shakily, Rebecca smiledat us both. "Thanks but you really don't have to do much–"
"No, I do. This concerns me."
Rebecca sucked in a sharp breath and then glanced at me, guilt swimming in her eyes and suspicion made my insides shrivel up.
While Rebecca Atkinson wasn't the easiest person to read, she wasn't exactly an expert at keeping her emotions under check. She was confident but she was human like us and apparently, emotions could make her waver.
Especially since I have a feeling she got rejected by Derek if the slight awkwardness between them was anything to go by.
But then copper eyes glinted in the sunlight and turned towards me.
"Is this why you interrogated me about Ana the other day? Why you were so pissed?"
Derek wasn't an idiot by a long shot and I wasn't surprised that he'd arrived at that conclusion.
I was glad for the cover up excuse actually but for that I'd have to accept I got a letter and I wasn't very keen on doing that.
But before I could respond or any of us could really get into it, a teacher rounded the corner and came upon us.
"Why are you loitering around here? Do none of you have classes?" His glare made us all shuffle.
Derek smiled sheepishly, the anger only covered up for the time time as he turned his charm on. "Sorry, Sir. We'll go now."
"You better. SATs are coming up and you're all seniors, how dare you waste your time..."
His words trailed off as we scattered away. I went down the hallway to the washroom and Derek was caught up up the teacher while Rebecca hurried away on the other end
But one secret was now out of the bag.
And I had to sift through the information of Derek being Cameron's cousin.
The cousin I'd heard a few stories about and the one who had moved moved Ladenhill.
Come to think of it, Cam called him Erek to piss him off and now that I knew, I could piece everything together.
I smacked myself internally at not having unearthed this little unexpected connection. Then again I really wasn't associating the two together with how different they were. But if I were to consider all the off-hand comments from Cam about Derek, it was not that far a stretch of imagination.
I just worried why this sense of foreboding was hitting me hard regarding Derek's approach.
It almost felt....almost felt like.....
Like he knew something about this ordeal that I didn't.
About Rebecca and the letters.
And I hated it.
•♤•
(Derek's P.O.V)
I shut the door behind me, running an agitated hand through my hair and out of habit, trying to find and touch the lighter I kept on me always.
It wasn't there and that made the jitters a little worse.
To think Rebecca was getting such explicit threats from Ana was not just a shock but made me feel guilty as hell.
Was it even the only one?
Although it may not explain why she'd delivered a letter to Lila, there were high chances that it was something she'd been forced to do.
Or maybe Rebecca had found letters addressed to Lila and just gotten them to the right person.
There were so many possibilities.
"Derek, you're home." My mother's voice floated into the living room. where I sat on the couch and I froze.
Looking at her, I swallowed thickly.
Ally Greyson was a beautiful woman, still as charming and successful as she'd been. A great model who kept in shape, no wrinkles to give away her age.
But it was her actions that'd driven me down the dark path and led me to making a few wrong choices, to self-destruct. I fucked up so badly that it ended with me in this state, still unable to run from my past.
My friends were getting threats now and although I said I'd handle it, I was powerless except for my words.
"Mom." A frigid tone that was sarcastic.
I don't remember the last time I addressed her while she acted as if everything was alright.
Mom sucked in a sharp breath. "Derek, we never talked it out–"
I wasn't expecting her to say that but I wasn't about to let her finish either.
"We don't need to." I grit my teeth as I stared into familiar brown eyes. "There's nothing you can say to explain your infidelity, Mom."
A pained look crossed her face. "It was a mistake–"
"–You repeated God-knows-how-many-times. Yes, I'm aware." I cooly cut her off. Aware of how I was inflicting pain on my own mother but it cut deep, her cheating.
She wanted to talk it out with me after three years of tiptoing around it? Fine then.
I chuckled humorlessly, "Or maybe you should've done a better job so I wouldn't find out. I mean, fucking your photographer in your room in your very house was reckless."
Crude words meant to hurt her.
My mom's eyes filled up and my heart clenched but I continued.
Then I clicked my tongue sarcastically.
"Wait, you did make sure the house was empty." I made a fake apologetic face. "Sorry I got sick, you couldn't be reached and I ended up witnessing your actions."
My Mom was speechless as she shook her head and I waited. Unbridled anger coursed coursed my veins and pain sliced through my chest. It felt like pressure was building up in my chest and pressing, pressing, pressing until I was breathless.
I grit my teeth and clenched my fists.
Still, I waited like a boy of eight, hoping his mother would coddle him and tell him it was all his imagination, that there was actually an explanation.
That didn't happen in reality.
That what I'd witnessed was a figment of my twisted overactive imagination and not the truth.
It was hoping for too much but....
Hope is a dangerous thing and hard to let go of.
The pressure of always keeping this secret and weighing the pros and cons of ever talking about it out loud was suffocating.
At her silence I scoffed.
"Right, that's what I thought. Let's not talk about this ever again." I spit out the next word with venom dripping from it. "Mom."
"What?"
A whispered word that came a moment before a picture frame from the shelf was knocked over accidently.
The glass cracked and amidst the defeaning silence that passed over us, that one word in a familiar voice pulsed theough the air.
It couldn't be.....
My eyes flew towards the sound, my head whipping around as I spotted Desiree at the entrance to the living room.
"Desi..." My Mom's voice broke and my eyes widened.
Fuck. Fuck no.
•♤•
A/N
Okay. What do you guys think of this chapter?? Another few secrets are out of the bag but there are many more to come!
Are you excited to see where Derek and Lila's journey will take us? How will Derek deal with something that he'd kept from his family? Do you think it'll blow up? What do you think would be best for them?
And how about the letter revelation? What stance do you have on Rebecca now?
Thanks for the support! Do vote, comment and share, I really appreciate it! Thank you!
Till next time then!
~Skyler