I don’t trust them. My brother’s friends can be quite vile and cruel when they’re bored. They’ve locked me out a few times, for example...
I stop a few steps after the door, within a safe distance from them.
“Hey, where’s your brother? We’ve been looking for him all day!”
I frown. What, so they were just waiting for Alec? I shake my head. “I don’t know... He came to Robert’s Pub with Marcus, but they left together before I did. I really don’t know where he went...”
“Tsk. This dumbass is evading us!” Growls Bill.
“He can’t keep it up for long, anyway. Even Peter’s looking for him. Bet that idiot was actually stupid enough to borrow some money from the Beta, too.”
“Alec borrowed money from you and Peter?” I ask, nervous.
Bill slams his glass on the table, making me jump.
“Hell yeah, he did! And we’ve had enough of it! That idiot brother of yours owes half of the pack and smokes it away!”
Not good... Alec doesn’t win any money on his own! All he has is my salary and the inheritance from our parents. Why is my brother going around borrowing money? There is no way he can pay them back! Rory keeps complaining, but he’s obviously drunk and gabbling. I can leave the room without either of them noticing.
Back to my familiar basement, I’m exhausted. Why is Alec so... reckless? He won’t get a decent job; he just pushes all his chores on me and beats me up when he’s upset.
What was that talk with Marcus for, anyway? Is he trying to borrow some money again?
That night I lay on my old couch with an uneasy feeling...
The next day, my brother isn’t in the dining hall for breakfast. And I am not the only one concerned about his absence: Peter comes to me to ask about his whereabouts, but I’m just as clueless as he is.
Borrowing money from the Beta and his friends, what was he thinking? Peter could have Vincent banish him from the pack for this kind of thing; our clan is not easy on troublemakers...
I try not to think about it too much and just focus on my chores for the day. But after cleaning the breakfast dishes, doing the laundries, and cleaning the first and second floors, I keep wondering where he could be. No one has seen him all day, I heard Vincent and Rory complain about it.
I wish I knew where Alec was, too! A lot of people stared at me suspiciously as they came for dinner time, and I realize he might have borrowed money from more people. Wait, he wouldn’t have run away, right? My hand freeze on my sponge. Could he? No, it’s just been a day; maybe he’s...
“Nora, come here.”
“Alec!”
My brother is here! He’s in the kitchen, fidgeting and looking at me with a weird look. I approach him cautiously. He looks sober, but his bloodshot eyes... Suddenly, he hands me what he’s been holding in his hands. Isn’t that one of our mother’s dresses? I recognize the beautiful embroidery and the lace on the back. I didn’t even know he had it!
“I found this. Just put it on.”
Is this supposed to be a... present? He’s frowning and won’t look at it. I am not sure about what to do. Isn’t this dress too thin and too big? Why would I put on such a pretty and daring dress here and now?
“Just put this damn thing on, I said!”
He violently slaps me, making me step back. I don’t answer and flee down to the basement to obey. I don’t want to get hit a second time.
I get dressed in front of the mirror, but my reflection is... unsettling. This dress is pure white, it doesn’t look too good on my pallid and bruised skin. And it’s mother’s...
“How long do you need to put on a damn dress!”
Alec comes down without warning and looks at me, visibly pissed. Seeing that I’m done, he runs up to me and grabs me by the arm without a word. I try resisting, but he’s way stronger. He takes me out of the house and starts walking toward the city.
“Wait, Alec, stop! I can’t go out looking like this! What are you doing? Stop!”
He stops, and I get a new slap, a second, a third, one after another.
“Will you shut the hell up! I don’t fucking care! Just shut up and walk!”
