For those who didn't understand, the book will not be started until this one is finished.
[Unedited]
"But she wasn't around, and that's the thing when someone dies, you feel like instead of going in to every fight with backup, you are going into every fight alone." – Mitch Albom
The thick spines of thousands of leaves cracked against the pressure of her foot, their shrivelled skin crying out as it broke apart, becoming one with the forest floor. Every time Celia's numb body moved, they cried in pain; warning everything she was near. She should be more careful, but Celia just couldn't find a reason to care for the noise. In fact, she couldn't hear a thing other than the screaming of blood pumping through her veins and the eerie high pitched screech that seemed to ring constantly in her ears.
Before long her legs became too weak to hold her weight. Without a second thought they gave up and dragged her body down to the earth. The forest floor screamed with angst as she crashed upon it, breaking lost limbs from the trees above into impossibly smaller pieces.
She was alone. Left by herself in a state of shock and pure agony. His words, torturous as they were, left her alone with the sway of trees and thick undergrowth. Although the moment had passed the memory stayed, gripping at her heart and tearing it to pieces. Whoever said words would never hurt obviously wasn't told anything. Words were the most painful, unlike sticks and stones you could never heal from certain words – especially when spoken by certain people.
Her breath came out in quivers, short and sharp intakes of air in attempt to stop herself from crying. The ground was hard against her skin. Small stones nipped at her exposed thighs in attempt to pierce the skin while sticks sat at odd angles, forcing the pressure of her weight to bare on one spot.
...I don't like you....
And the battle was lost. Her head felt light as a lump formed in her throat. Before long the scattering of individual leaves turned into a blur of browns and reds as her vision clouded over. A small whimper left her throat as the moisture from her eyes kissed her cheeks and fell to the ground. Her control was gone. Everything was gone except the tightening pain in her chest and the growing sting behind her eyes as they released all the despair she tried so hard to keep hidden behind walls.
She didn't know how long she had been lying in the middle of the bush, letting her walls be drowned out until tears no longer came. Droplets of sweat that emerged from her pores had been kindly guided by the small hairs that graced her body. Some made it to the dense floor while others found refuge in the small folds of her elbows and knees, and the thick cotton of her shit. Celia found herself completely soaked in sweat from the heat that had been trapped by the thick undergrowth and trees above. She felt utterly disgusting, her hair sticking to her neck, the dirt that clung to her body for dear life as she sat up. The way her eyes felt, as if they had been stung by bees. And the heaviness of her heart. It dragged her down to the point she felt she may never be able to move again.
She sat still for another period of time, staring at the ground as a numbness swept over her. The tears had long gone, but they left a stained memory. One that would never come out. She felt completely hollow as the words bounced around in her head. The harshness of his face flashed behind her eyes. The way he looked down on her with utter disgust before shaking off her hand and leaving without a second glance. The way she stood there for what seemed like hours, staring blindly at the place he had been standing, praying he would come back and say he didn't mean it, that it was something said in the spare of the moment.
But it wasn't. Celia knew that. It wasn't something that he said because he was in a hurry, or because he was scared of what could've happened. No. He just didn't like her.
Air rushed into her lungs as the words stabbed at her soul. Dainty fingers clenched, gripping at the dried up leaves and crushing them in sweaty hands. They were weak, easily broken and torn apart. Just like herself.
"Why am I so weak?" She asked aloud, throwing away the fragments of dirt and leaves and sticks and anything she could get her hands upon. Throwing them at a thin tree she awaited the soft crash of objects clashing together. The debris in her hands floated down, narrowly missing the short trunk.
"Arghhhh!" She screamed out loud. Jumping to her feet Celia stormed over to the young tree and forcefully shoved her boot into its thin trunk, snapping it in half. It screeched in agony as its body was forced in half. Splinters grappled for the top half in attempt to keep itself together. But it was no use. The damage was done and Celia watched as the branches swayed in the air, trying desperately to grab something as it went crashing to the ground. Bright green leaves danced around the trunk, splattering against the dried up floor. Their vibrant colour shone brightly against the gloomy floor, reminding Celia of the clearing where her pack mates had been slaughtered.
Shivering she turned away, her gaze watching the direction of the clearing as her feet took a tentative step towards it. She had been alone for long enough. Now it was time to face the reality of the world and lock away the nightmares that swarmed in her mind. She could not be controlled by them. Not yet anyway.
She felt like a zombie as her legs slowly dragged along the forest floor, kicking up the soil as she made her way to the clearing. She wasn't watching where she was going and every few minutes her feet got caught up in upturned roots, or her body smashed into a branch. As she got closer she could hear the soft voices of people talking lowly to one another. Asking questions like what's going to happen to us? When are we leaving? What about the dead?
Celia didn't hear any answers. Instead she focused on the way the trees swayed in the soft wind, the way the bush became tamer as she came closer to the clearing until she could see people buzzing around with objects in their arms. Others sat on the floor while others shouted orders. The whole place was havoc.
Stepping forward a sharp branch kissed Celia's cheek, the action causing blood to bubble to the surface, waiting for gravity to drag it down her soft skin. Celia didn't feel a thing as she kept trekked into the clearing. Around her, faces blurred past in a hurry, but none of them were familiar.
Numbly stumbling around, Celia look for a familiar face within the havoc. She couldn't be kept alone with her mind for much longer.
"You look like shit," a voice called from behind. Whipping her head around Celia squinted into the bush behind her. Four metres away Eve's head rested against a thick tree, her blonde locks glowing in the sunlight.
Walking towards her friend, Celia shrugged as she sat next to her, slumping against the same trunk. "I feel like shit."
Eve drew in a deep breath, closing her eyes against the sun. "Why?" Celia flinched as the smell of alcohol drifted from her friends mouth.
"Have you been drinking?" She asked, pulling herself up to look at her friend squarely. Eve just shrugged.
"My mate is dead and my own father has to shoot me within a week."
"Fair enough...." Celia mumbled, slumping comfortably back into position against the tree, shoulders resting against her friends. "Cassius was about to kiss me. Then he told me he didn't like me instead," she confessed, her head turning to the side.
Eve chuckled, her arm going across her body to retrieve something on the other side. "Looks like you need some too," half a bottle of vodka emerged into view. Eve held it out to Celia, waiting for her friend to accept the bottle.
"Is that yours?" Celia asked, unaware her friend had brought alcohol with her. Eve just shook her head.
"It was in some backpack. Most of the teens bring drinks so I figured it could be hard to find," She shrugged nonchalantly.
When Celia didn't take the bottle Eve shook its contents and gave her a pointed look. "I shouldn't... I'm technically an Alpha now and drowning my sorrows isn't a good leadership image," Eve rolled her eyes.
"Come on Celia! You're an Alpha because your mate who doesn't even want you is," Eve unscrewed the bottle and shoved it into Celia's hands. "Trust me, you need it."
Sighing, Celia took a swig knowing she wanted to in the first place. "Geez, way to sympathize with me. It hurts enough without you having to repeat it." She handed the bottle back.
The two girls wallowed in silence, taking the occasional drink and enjoying the silent company. "You know this is the last time we will see each other, right?" Eve asked.
Celia's mind had begun to cloud over, not in the way it had before, but in a good way. It felt as if a thick blanket was covering her thoughts. She knew they were there, she just couldn't see them. She much preferred being cut off from the world by being tipsy than upset. This way it was like she had chosen to be away from it all...
"Yep," she replied while digging a hole with a stick. Silence blanketed them again.
By the time most of the camp was packed up the two girls had successfully finished the bottle together. The sun had begun to sink, bleeding its colour across the sky as it did so, saying it's farewells as the earth began to swallow it. The clearing was now quiet, less and less people were milling about as the girls stayed hidden within the undergrowth.
"We should go soon. My father is probably ready to leave," Eve explained, but made no attempt to get up.
"I'll come with you. I don't want this to be our last time seeing each other," Celia stated.
Eve smiled softly and shook her head. "No. This is our goodbye Celia, you have to go with him."
"What? No! Didn't you hear? He doesn't even want me Eve," she begged, tearing beginning to brim at her eyes. Eve embraced her in a hug, gripping her tightly as if it were the last time they'd ever touch. Tears fell down Celia cheeks once again, the salty water stung her cut cheek as she held onto Eve for dear life.
"Eve? Evie honey, we're going now!" Alpha Lennon called from the clearing, his body turning in circles and her looked for his daughter.
"I've got to go now," she whispered in Celia's ear, slowly untangling their limbs and standing up.
"No," Celia whimpered on the floor. "Please don't leave me Eve I don't know what to do. I don't want you to die."
Eve smiled, surprisingly calm while Celia bawled like a baby, the alcohol getting to her. "It's okay," she reassured. "I have accepted it Celia. It is for the best."
"Run," Celia begged. "Please. Run until you don't have any energy left. I'll cover for you," she gripped onto her shirt.
Eve shook her head sadly, a soft smile on her lips as she looked down on her friend. "Becoming one of them isn't living Celia. I want to die. At least then I can be with Ben," she explained, a tear of her own forcing its way out.
Celia shook her head. "I don't think I can live without you," she cried.
Eve knelt down and sat on her knees. Tears flowing down her face, she brushed the hair from Celia's eyes. "You're going to have to."
Celia shook her head. There was no way she could live without her best friend. Eve was the only person who truly knew her, the person who knew all her secrets, all her fears and all her hopes and dreams. She couldn't live without her best friend.
Eve tried to sooth her friend, but failed miserably as both girl sat together with tears falling down their faces. "You will have him to take care of you, you don't need me." She tried to sound convincing.
"But he doesn't like Eve! He hates me!" She exclaimed.
"Well you will make it work," she stated. "Promise me you'll make it work."
"Why?" Celia asked.
Eve wiped the tears away and drew in a deep breath, ending her moment of weakness. "Because one of us has to have a happily ever after and it's not going to be me," Eve explained. Celia tried to do the same, nodding her head as she stared at the forest ground.
"Goodbye Celia, you're my best friend and I love you. In time he will too, please don't give up." Pulling her friend into one last hug. "Goodbye."
Eve kissed her friend before standing up and running into the clearing. Celia listened to the sound of her friends footsteps until she was too far away.
"Bye..." Celia whispered into the silence. Alone once more.
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Sorry that there's HEAPS of speech in this chapter...
But drunk Celia in front of Cassius will be fun.. or very cringe worthy haha unfortunately for her she is an emotional drunk.
ANYWAY. Thanks again for reading. Sorry my updates have been quite delayed, university is about to begin and there's heaps of things I have to do (like move out of home) so it's all been pretty hectic.
Please don't forget to comment your thoughts & vote! Xxxxxx