CHAPTER 181: MEL, BECCA AND LIARA

Andria’s POV

"Well," I replied, glancing between Becca and Mel, "they have an issue, right? But they put it on themselves, except Tristan, of course, who had been absent. He is the only one who has the right to be very pissed at this moment."

Becca frowned, her brows knitting together. "Wait... what are you even talking about?"

Mel leaned forward, confusion painted across her face. "Hold up. The only person we saw on stage was Damon. Damon was the one who kissed you. Tristan wasn’t even there. And Aven..." she hesitated, searching my eyes, "Aven just brought you inside the hall. Was that enough reason to include him?"

Their stares burned into me, waiting, curious, expectant. There it was, the question under the question.

I forced a small smile, brushing my hair off my face. "You are overthinking it," I said lightly. "It’s really not that deep."

Becca exchanged a look with Mel, then looked back at me with a raised brow. "You are hiding something."

"No, I’m not hiding anything I should tell you."

"You are," Mel pressed. "You have that look on your face, the one you make when you’ve seen a ghost but are pretending it’s a shadow."

I gave them a look, twisting my lips to the side a little. "You two should really audition for the Drama Club," I muttered, standing up from the couch.

Mel reached out and caught my wrist. "No, don’t you dare leave. Not until you tell us what’s going on."

I looked down at her hand, then at her face, and she was half-serious, half-playing, but I knew she wasn’t going to let go until I said something convincing.

So I went with something true enough to be believable.

"Look," I sighed, sitting back down. "Aven bringing me into the hall was enough reason for Damon to be pissed. You saw how impulsive he gets when emotions are involved. That’s all that happened. Damon acted stupid, and Aven happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Becca tilted her head, eyes narrowing slightly. "So you’re saying Damon kissed you because Aven brought you in?"

"Yes," I said flatly.

It sounded ridiculous out loud, but it was enough to make them exchange confused looks and, thank the Goddess, they dropped it.

"Well," Mel muttered, sinking back into the couch, "Damon really needs a leash for his temper."

"Tell me about it," Becca added, rolling her eyes. I knew they were being sarcastic; they didn’t really buy what I said, but they didn’t want to push any further.

And just like that, I had managed to steer the conversation off the ledge.

I reached for the remote. "Anyway," I said, clicking play, "if you two keep interrogating me, we will miss the best part of this horror movie."

Becca groaned but laughed, curling up with her blanket again. "Fine. But I’m holding you to that explanation later."

"Of course you are," I said, smiling faintly.

Ten minutes later, the movie’s eerie soundtrack filled the apartment. Screams, shadows, creaking floors. But none of us were really watching; our eyes were half on the screen, half asleep.

By the time the time was ten minutes back, Mel’s head had dropped to the side of the couch, and Becca’s blanket had half-slid to the floor.

I smiled quietly to myself, muted the TV, and stood. My body ached from the night’s chaos, and my mind was a little bit heavy with thoughts.

I retired to my room, shutting the door softly behind me and leaned against it, exhaling. My room was silent like the air outside tonight. I took off my clothes bit by bit, stretching myself out of exhaustion.

I headed towards the shower. It was when the shower hit my head that I realized that I hadn’t told Becca and Mel about Liara and Jackson’s detention.

They would find out soon enough. Everyone in Ashwood always did. And it would sound worse if they heard it from someone else, when I was present at the time of the happening.

I sighed and rubbed my temples.

Tomorrow. I would tell them tomorrow. Just not tonight, everyone was already asleep.

I let my body sink into bed, and within minutes, I drifted off.

The soft ray of sunshine seeped into the room, waking me up from my sleep.

It was Saturday, the weekend before the Sports Festival. Many wolves would rather rest this morning and step out in the evening for the final practice.

I had my bath, dressed in my training joggers and hoodie, and tied my hair up into a loose ponytail. The air outside felt somehow cold.

When I stepped out of my room, I found Becca and Mel already on the couch, chirping like morning birds. Becca was scrolling through her phone, and Mel was sipping from a mug that smelled suspiciously like hot chocolate.

"Good Morning," I greeted.

They both looked up. "You are up early; we didn’t expect that, especially after you came back late last night," Mel said.

"I wanted to go for a run before the field gets crowded."

Becca smiled faintly, then put down her phone. "Aria, wait. Before you go... what really happened yesterday? What made you come back home that late?"

Ah. Right. That. I should tell them right away, since they already initiated the conversation.

I walked closer and sat on the arm of the couch. "There is a lot to unpack," I said carefully. "But you both deserve to know."

Their faces straightened instantly, alert and curious.

I hesitated a little, and Becca looked like she was already losing patience.

"Tell us already, Ari," Becca said, stamping her feet on the floor twice.

I took a breath and began.

"After I left the field, Sir Kaelric and I went to find Liara..."

"Hold on, was Liara missing? I just thought she just didn’t want to come for the sports practice," Mel interrupted.

I looked at her and nodded. "I have had my feelings about Liara’s sudden change, so I had to find a solution. I was curious to find out if her mate bond with Jackson was real, so I went to search for her.

It happened that Sir Kaelric was also looking for her. We couldn’t find her in her apartment or at Jackson’s...