I didn't feel ready at all as I brushed my hair. I didn't want to go but I knew I had to. Ben wanted me to, so I knew I had to.
"L-Leah, can you h-help me, please?" I said when I saw her passing from in front of my room.
"Oh, sure," she walked backwards and into my room. She came towards me and took the brush from me.
We stayed there in silence with an occasional wince from me and just were lost in our own thoughts.
"There, all done," she said before patting my head and exiting the room. She usually acted older than she was but sometimes acted even younger than a ten year old.
I looked at myself in the mirror and was quite impressed with Leah. She was good at this.
I grabbed my phone which I had bought with almost my own money. Means, aunt Karen paid half of the price.
I wouldn't have bought it yet, I would've waited for until I had saved up enough money but all three of them insisted that I should get it now.
Anyway, we were all on our way to meet Ben's mate; Madelyn Edwin, on a hot Sunday morning.
Ben, who didn't want to watch a movie with us because he had an 'assignment' to do, was more excited than us.
I focused on the birds chirping outside to bring my breathing back to normal. Once I had done that, I left the room in my most casual clothing which I had bought with my own money.
Actually, most of the clothing that I owned was bought by myself, with my own money. This thought always made me giddy. My own money. Hehe.
"Let's go!" Ben said with his hands in the air and he made his way to the front door.
Me and Leah looked at each other and rolled our eyes at the same time. We followed after Ben and saw Ben unlocking the car.
"Here, Leah," he gave the keys to Leah who got into the driver's seat while Ben sat in the backseat so I got into the passenger's side.
My heart thumped against my chest as Leah backed up the car and onto the dirt road.
The town was a walking distance from the house but Leah didn't want to walk today so we are taking the car.
The first time I went to town in the car, I was curious as to how a car could enter into the town anyway but, I got it.
There was a special road made just for cars and it took us straight to a diner located on the outskirts of the town.
You couldn't really drive inside with a car, it just took you as close to the inner side of town as possible with a car.
I slid down my window and admired the beauty of the woods as the wind whipped past me.
"So, Ben, tell us more about Madelyn," Leah said as she glanced back at him and all the emotions were sucked out of me, leaving only pain behind.
I looked into the rearview mirror to see his cheeks turning pink and I felt slightly better. He was happy and that's what mattered.
'Keep telling yourself that,' Liz said at the worst possible moment and I felt worse, the hole in my chest increasing.
"She has blond hair and, and these beautiful light blue eyes. She likes strawberry smoothie and also loves vanilla cake. And, and she smells like, like, um, rose," he stopped to gather his thoughts.
Leah looked at me and I looked at her, forcing the sides of my lips to tilt. She grinned at me and we continued to listen to Ben rant.
I let out an in audible sigh and continued to listen. I wanted to be a good cousin.
***
We reached the park we were supposed to meet up at and started to walk around, trying to spot Madelyn.
After walking around for a while, we sat at a wooden bench by the big fountain.
The fountain's paint chipped at places and the water in the fountain was greenish. I made a face at the fountain which made me miss the girl approaching us.
She looked to be about Ben's age and had a wide smile on her face as she skipped up to us, waving like a little kid.
When she finally made it to us, she gave Ben a kiss on the cheek and they both blushed, looking away from each other.
My hands clenched into fists and I tried not to regret my decision. I tried not to think, 'what would it be like if I was with my mate? If I had stayed with him?' and focused on keeping the smile on my face as my hands clenched and unclenched.
Leah nudged me and I gulped before looking at her with one corner of my mouth lifted up in a smirk.
"Let's go!" Leah suddenly said, breaking them out of whatever spell they were under.
Madelyn looked at us both and then at Ben who smiled reassuringly at her. He turned to us and pointed to the both of us one by one.
"This is my sister; Leah. Leah, this is my mate; Madelyn," he said before smiling at his mate and then turning to me.
"And this is my cousin; Isabelle. Isabelle, this is Madelyn," he finished and we shook hands with Madelyn who smiled at us beautifully.
She was beautiful.
We all went into the diner and took a seat at one corner of the almost empty place.
The lights were dim and the lights outside the diner flickered. Why did they even turn them on at this time of the day?
Anyway, we all ordered and Ben and Maddy, as she told us to call her, kept talking among themselves. I felt it was a bit rude but understood.
We ordered and after 20 minutes our food arrived. I took a bite of my sandwich and almost spit it out. I turned to look at Leah to my right and saw that she was making a face at her sandwich.
She turned to me and I scrunched up my face. She nodded and we looked across from us to see that both of them hadn't even touched their food.
"Let's just go, they won't notice," Leah said and stood up. I did the same and we went to the front counter.
"They will pay," Leah told the lady at the register who was chewing on her gum and she nodded.
We left the diner and went into town to eat at some other restaurant.
***
"I can't believe it! You guys just left us there and ate at 'Boogeyman' all by yourselves!" Ben yelled at us while we just lazed around on the couch.
Leah sniffled as she didn't make a move to answer his question and same was the case with me.
"Just shut up, Ben, and let me sleep," Leah said, her voice barely being heard and Ben stomped his feet and left.
"B-Baby," I said and Leah laughed before we fell silent. I liked and didn't like the silence. It was calming, but it reminded me of my room back at the packhouse.
"Isabelle?" Leah spoke up, her arm covering her eyes. Her tattoo that she had gotten a year back being clearly visible.
"Hmm?" I said and scratched my side.
"How old are you?" She asked. It was a harmless question but an ominous feeling overtook me. I've had this feeling before and I didn't like it.
"19, w-why?" I said as I sat up a bit to get a better look at her and she removed her hand from her face.
"Didn't you find your mate yet?" My stomach dropped and beads of sweat formed on my forehead. I looked down and wringed my hands together, tightly.
"I-I d-did," I said and looked up at her with tears in my eyes. She saw that and jumped up, trying to calm me down.
Let's just say, she was the worst at that.
"W-What's wrong, Isabelle? I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up but I was just so curious and this means that you have found him, yes?" she rambled on and we heard a tap on the door.
We both looked over to see aunt Karen with a small smile and wearing blue, nurse clothes.
"O-Oh, y-you're b-back," I said, wiping my eyes to make sure the tears hadn't escaped and looked at her again.
"Yes," she said as she came over and took a seat beside me. This was the time. I had to tell them the truth and just hope they would stay with me.
"L-Let me e-explain," I said and looked down before starting again.
Leah said that I didn't need to but she was wrong and not to mention, she looked quite curious. I had to do it.
So, I did. I told them everything. From my life at the packhouse to finding my mate and then finally coming here.
By the end of it, I was a crying mess while aunt Karen tried to calm me down. Leah tried before but made it worse so now she was sitting beside me, patting me gently.
They were truly the best family I could ever ask for. I loved them.
When I finally calmed down, aunt Karen started speaking.
"Darling, I know that you don't want to go to your mate in fear of being held captured again, but I think that you really should go to him," she said and I felt myself getting tense.
She wasn't serious, was she? She looked more than serious with a small, sad smile and I looked away.
"Mates can't and don't hurt each other. Just like you didn't want to see him hurt when you left. You need to trust him and if anything feels off, you know who to call," I was thankful for her words but I didn't want to leave.
"Oh, and once you get to him, tell him to let you come visit us! I am sure he would agree! You saw how Ben was with Maddy, right?" Leah was right.
Maybe my mate would be as nice to me as Ben was to Maddy. I really hope so.
"F-Fine, I'll g-go," I agreed. Much to my surprise as well. And maybe this way, Liz will talk to me again.
'I definitely will!' She sounded enthusiastic. I knew how happy this made her. I felt warmth in my chest at the fact that I was going to my mate.
I didn't care how hard it might be, I just wanted to find my mate and be happy.
I didn't know how I could be happier than this, but I think I will.
'Now we're even,' I said and smirked at her. She just rolled her eyes.
It felt good to have her back.
I smiled at my aunt and Leah as they told me how to navigate my way through the woods.
This was gonna be hard but I felt ready.