Beyond the Pack’s Law: My stepsister or nobody else

Hayley’s POV

I didn’t realize how hungry I was until my eyes locked on the apple. I took it from her and sank my teeth into it.

They wrapped their arms around me.

“You’ll get through this; we’re right here with you.”

“Give it back!”

“No.”

Mona and Mina playfully fought over a book they both wanted to read. I just sat there laughing hysterically at their theatrics and trying to eat my lunch in peace.

Eventually, Mona caved in and surrendered, which left Mina looking like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland.

My eyes wandered around the cafeteria, which was buzzing with life and chatter. That perfect atmosphere, the cafeteria, was noisy as heck, no doubt, but it would be creepy if it were silent. Cafeterias were meant to be noisy, in my opinion.

“Did you see that new movie that just came out?” Mina tossed some fries into her mouth as she talked.

“What movie?” Mona and I asked

Mina was the one who always kept up with the trendy stuff among us; whether it was fashion, music, or celebrity gossip, Mina was on it.

“The one about people with superpowers in South London.” She said it in a story-telling tone, and we both moved closer so we could get the full gist.

Mina had her story-telling face on, and I was already wrapped up in what she was about to say when, like a wave of death, the cafeteria went still and quiet.

The only voice I heard was Mina’s before she too eventually stopped talking when she realized everyone else had gone silent.

We turned our heads to the cafeteria entrance. Anytime something like this happened when everyone went silent, it was usually because something was happening at the entrance, or maybe someone died. I’m just kidding about the last part.

Our eyes landed on the door, and to my utmost surprise, there she was at the door, holding her tray with a nonchalant look on her face.

I hadn’t seen her in a really long time; actually, I hadn’t seen her since the day after Aiden more or less disappeared into thin air, but then there she was, all flesh and bone being the attraction of half the school, Alessa.

It wasn’t even her absence that made everyone so intrigued by her coming back. When she got the news of Aiden’s departure, compared to me, she took it horribly worse.

I wasn’t there, but I heard she flung a student across the hallway for gossiping and spreading conspiracy theories as to what happened with Aiden.

“Are you all done staring?”

The way her cold-hearted voice echoed through the cafeteria sent goosebumps through me. I wasn’t on bad terms with her after she basically tried to save my life, but I hadn’t been chit-chatting with her either. We were more like frenemies now.

Everyone seemed to have gotten the satisfaction of looking at her and then reverted back to what they were doing.

Well, everyone except Mina, Mona, and me. Our eyes followed her as she walked between tables and chose to sit at a vacant table about two tables away from ours.

“Damn, she looks…” Mina started

“Depressing.” Mona finished

They were right; even though I would have chosen mean rather than depressing, she just looked drained.

“Should we go talk to her?” I suggested, and they looked at me in disbelief.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“What are we? The school’s guidance and counseling department.” Mina teased and shook her head.

“She has a point; personally, I think she looks kind of scary right now, and I’m sure she’s going to be alright.”

“Come on, you guys; remember how she tries to save my life.”

“And stupidly, you nearly got both of you killed instead?” Mona added sarcastically

I rolled my eyes. There was no getting through to these guys, but I had a feeling they didn’t want me talking to her because they didn’t want me thinking about Aiden anymore.

The last three weeks hadn’t been easy, especially for Mina and Mona; they were the ones who had to put so much energy and effort into cheering me up, and when they finally succeeded, they wouldn’t let me near anything that brought bad, sad memories.

Aiden hadn’t texted or called, so that helped their cause. Dad said it was due to issues he was having settling down, and that was his fault for rushing the flight plans.

I had heard Aiden on the phone with his dad one time, but I figured it would be better to just steer clear, and frankly, from what I could tell, he never asked to speak with me either.

I was starting to get my life back together, and I didn’t want to further complicate things. I still loved him, yes, but I had to be on my best behavior so he could come back, or at least that was the deal I made with our parents.

I looked at Alessa one more time; she looked lonely; maybe that’s how Aiden felt in Australia with no friends and no family; then I looked away.

Mina went back to telling us about her South London movie while I half listened and half had my mind on Alessa.

The bell rang, and we all walked to class together, hand in hand, like we always did. Coincidentally, we passed by Alessa, and my eyes met hers.

She didn’t look away when she saw me looking; she just kept looking until we went out of sight.

Was something wrong with her? I thought to myself. I made a mental note to catch up with her after school, and that’s exactly what I did.

“Alessa! Alessa!!” I called out after spotting her on the school field, sitting on the bleachers.

She looked at me plainly.

“Why are you panting?” She asked

“Oh, I was running,” I said in between gasps. I lied to Mina and Mona that I had to submit an assignment and they could go ahead or wait if they wanted to, but I really just spent about five minutes running around school looking for Alessa.

“What was chasing you?”

I looked at her confused expression. This girl did not know how to take a joke.

“Nothing was chasing me; I just wanted to talk to you real quick. May I?”

She nodded, and I sat close to her.

“Where have you been the last three weeks?” That was the thing I was most curious about; I was desperately hoping it had nothing to do with Aunt Jada or some other dubious character.

Speaking of Jada, she and her entire organization had gone completely under the radar after we stole their plans. I asked Dad how the investigation was going a few times, but he just said it was under control.

“I had stuff to do.” Her expression didn’t look as harsh as it did in the cafeteria; maybe it was just my delusion, or maybe Alessa was actually being nicer to me.

“What kind of stuff?” I didn’t mean to pry, but I was curious.

Her brows creased with a slight frown.

“Everyone was just wondering where you were and all; that’s why I’m asking.” I quickly said that before she got defensive.

“Everyone?” She said it with a light, sarcastic laugh.

Okay, so not really everyone, but I was.

“Okay, I was wondering.”

“It’s kind of personal stuff I had to sort through. If you’re thinking I did something crazy, like plot some evil plan with Jada, I didn’t. I’m pretty sure she’ll kill me if she ever sees me again.” There was a genuine smile on her face now, whether she liked it or not. Alessa was beautiful when she smiled.

I could see what Aiden might have fallen for once upon a time.

“Is that all you’re here for?” She asked

“Pretty much, you looked a bit troubled during lunch, so I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Is that concern I hear in your voice, Hayley?” She teased

“No.” I threw my hands in the air and laughed.

“To think that some weeks ago I would have done anything to get rid of you.”

“Ouch.”

“I’m pretty sure it went both ways.”

“Guilty as charged.”

We just sat there in silence for a while, feeling the gentle breeze kiss our faces and birds chirping nearby.

“Do you think he’s okay?” She asked out of nowhere.

“Who?” I asked.

“Aiden.”

“Oh…” I fought back the thoughts that threatened to break through my mental walls and turn me back into an emotional mess.

“Yeah, he’s okay; he calls home once in a while. He’s fine.” It wasn’t exactly a lie; it was just the painted truth that I had been telling myself.

“Good to know, I’m going to head home now. If you talk to Aiden anytime soon, could you tell him I said hi and he should text me?” She asked casually.

“If I do talk to him, I will.” I smiled even though I knew it probably wasn’t going to happen.

“This was nice, this little chat with you.”

“Maybe we should do it more often.” I said, trying to be nice and friendly, I knew being alone sucked. I had always had Mina and Mona, so I wasn’t ever alone, but I was pretty sure it was a horrible feeling.

“Yeah, maybe I’ll call you sometime.”

At least now I knew it wasn’t just me he wasn’t in contact with; it was everyone. Somehow, that brought some comfort.

We went our different ways, and I hurried back to meet up with Mona and Lisa.

“Babe, what took you so long?” They poked me when I met up with them.

“Sorry, something came up.”

They didn’t push further, and we all went back to my place to relax, which is a regular thing now.

“I made some snacks for you girls.” My mom chimed as we walked through the front door.

“Thanks ma’am.” Mona and Mina replied with squeaky voices.

I didn’t say a word; I didn’t even look at her. We hadn’t talked much after Aiden left. Deep down, I held her responsible, even though Aiden’s dad was the one who came up with the idea.

She had tried to reach out to me a couple times, but I only talked to her when dad was around or if she needed me to do something.

It had become a robotic mother-daughter relationship; I just couldn’t bring myself to look at the joy on her face, even after she brought me so much pain.

“You’re going to have to forgive her eventually.” Mina said once we got into my room, she had been trying to get me and my mom on good terms, but she failed every time.

“Give her time, Mina, if it were you. I’m sure you’d probably set the house on fire as revenge.” Mona’s response made us all burst into laughter. Mina was that exact kind of dramatic.

We settled in and unwinded from the day’s stress. Mina was on her phone as usual, while Mona and I had our noses buried in books. My mom baked some cookies and brought them upstairs for us.

“Thank you.” We chimed in unison and stuffed our faces.

From the corner of my eye, I could see her staring at me, but I ignored it.

My phone buzzed on the bed; it was a voicemail from an unregistered number. Was Alessa really calling right now? That was fast. I put the cookie down, crossed my legs on the bed, and watched while they stuffed their faces and put the phone in my ear.

“Hey, it’s me.” The voicemail began, and my heart skipped a beat. It was Aiden’s voice.