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

Aiden’s POV

“Australia?”

That was my immediate response when dad told me about the trip. I was stunned and hoping maybe I hadn’t heard him properly; it hadn’t made any sense to me back then.

I was so close to barging out the door, getting in my car, and going to pick Hayley up from school. What we would do after that, I had no idea, but all I could think about at that moment was how crazy our parents had become and that we needed to get as far as possible.

I guess dad knew me well enough and had sensed it, because his next approach was to sit me down and give a lengthy, convincing explanation.

And as much as I wanted to resist, when he was done talking, I was more or less won over to his side of reasoning.

In the blink of an eye, I was at an airport, and next thing I knew, I was on a plane to Australia. It probably didn’t happen as fast as my brain processed it, but I was so lost in thought from the conversation that my body was practically moving on autopilot.

“You’re going to be okay; remember what we talked about.” Dad had said this before giving me one last hug at the airport.

And just like that, my fate was sealed. I couldn’t stop thinking of how Hayley would take the news. I hoped she wouldn’t blame herself for my having to leave. I didn’t want to burden her with guilt, and I planned to call her.

But then, here I was, basically three weeks later, and I hadn’t been able to reach out or hear her voice. My phone had been lost in some scanning process when I landed, and I would have been stranded if not for the bodyguard my dad assigned to me, who happened to have his number.

I asked to speak with Hayley a couple times, but he told me it was better if I didn’t.

“She seems like she’s doing so much better now, son. Don’t drag her down a rabbit hole.”

I agreed with logic and decided to give her more space; frankly, I wasn’t sure if she would still want to talk to me.

“Mr. Jayden, do I have your attention?” The gray-haired man in the suit asked me, and I snapped out of my trail of thoughts.

“Yes, I am. Please go on.” I said I ran my hand through my hair.

Stay focused, I told myself.

I had been bombarded with so many things these days that it was almost overwhelming.

I stared absentmindedly at the white-haired man. I had already forgotten his name in such a short time, and now all I knew about him was the white-haired guy in a suit.

I chuckled inside. I wasn’t laughing at him; I was laughing at my own unfocused self.

He was in front of me talking and explaining, probably thinking he was making the progress of a lifetime, but little did he know I hadn’t heard a word he said since we started this meeting.

This was an absolute waste of time.

I signaled for Frank, the bodyguard, to come closer, and he did.

“Please, can we do this some other time?” I whispered into his ear, and he went to relay the message to the white-haired guy who was only a few steps away from me.

I would have told him myself, but I didn’t want to have to suffer the awkwardness of not knowing the name to address him with.

When the hotel room was finally cleared, I got into the shower and changed into less formal clothes.

Normally, I tried to avoid going outside since I didn’t really know anyone here, but today felt different; I needed to get my mind off home.

I made my way to a nearby bar that I had passed by a couple times.

I opened the front door and walked in. The smell of beer and cigarettes filled my nostrils. The place was a bit more crowded than I imagined, but maybe that was a good thing.

I was trying to get drunk without being noticed, so the more people to hide in the midst of, the better.

I sat at the bar and ordered a few drinks. I was halfway through them when I noticed a table of girls glancing at me.

They giggled and turned away when they realized I had spotted them, but after a few seconds, one of them turned again for another glass.NôvelDrama.Org owns this text.

Our eyes met, and she blushed and turned back to whisper something to her friends.

They looked young-almost too young to be drinking in the first place-but they were probably 18, or they were minors, which would explain the childish behavior.

I went back to focusing on the drinks in front of me. It was probably just something wrong with the way I dressed that cut that caught that attention.

I looked down at what I was wearing-joggers and a sweatshirt. There wasn’t anything special. I totally ignored that side of the bar and kept gulping down drinks.

The problem was that each gulp seemed to worsen the problem rather than help. The more I felt drunk, the more I saw Hayley’s face in almost anyone who shared even the slightest resemblance with her.

I could almost hear her giggling.

Wait what?

I heard the giggle closer this time.

I looked around confused. Was I already drunk?

I found the source of the giggling; one of the girls from the table before sat beside me and was staring at me, giggling like a drunk horse.

“Hi.” She said it and smiled.

It might have been the alcohol, but she sounded just like Hayley.

“I’m…” I didn’t let her finish; I knew it wouldn’t end well.

I paid for the drinks and walked out of the bar without letting her get through the first sentence.

I pulled out my phone as I walked through the alley and dialed Hayley’s number. I couldn’t take this anymore.