JUSTINIt's been two days since Astrid was found unconscious. And has been in a coma for two full days. Throughout this time, I hadn't left her side and I couldn't lie to myself anymore at this point, I hated her enough to care that she hadn't woken up.And for what seemed like the hundredth time in two days, my mother came into the room, annoyed about the fact that I was staying with who she considered to be an enemy of the pack.“That's it, Justin. You're leaving here and going home right away.” She said as she walked in and I sighed. She glanced briefly at Astrid whose condition remained unchanged despite the fact that the doctor assured us that she was fine. She was truly taking her time to wake up.“I'm not leaving, mom.” I said, barely looking at her, fixing my gaze on Astrid. This was the first time I was seeing her face not in some form of pain or fear.“You need to rest, Justin. You've been here for two whole days. Go home.” She tried to use her authoritative tone but I shook
ASTRIDMy entire body hurt. I felt pain all over and moving any part of my body felt like an Herculean task. I opened my eyes, shutting them back almost immediately when my irises were pierced by the sudden bright light.It took a little adjusting to but I was finally able to properly open my eyes only to see Justin sleeping by my bed. What’s he doing here?I wondered if the throbbing in my head made me see things because this couldn't be possible. I frowned, trying to clear my vision but it became obvious that it was reality and I wasn't dreaming him up.How long have I been here?Most importantly, what was Justin doing here?I found my bag by the bed stand and I knew the journal had to be somewhere close. I didn't want him to get to it first so I gently got up from the bed, prepared to search for it and hide it before he read through the content.“Looking for this?” I froze. I didn't hear him wake up and when I turned to face him, he was holding up the journal. My face must be paler
ASTRID “I don't want you ask you again, you wretched cunt. What are you doing with my daughter's dairy?” I wished at that moment that I hadn't woken up from my coma. Or at least, the memory of how the diary came to be with me should have been wiped alongside the attack. I wished more than anything that my parents weren't here to witness this because I was embarrassing them. Luck definitely wasn't on my side. I couldn't say anything, my throat choked up. The words were at the tip of my tongue but I just couldn't get them out. And even if I could talk, I didn't know what to say to her. Any excuse I tried to give wouldn't have been plausible. She was going to take the diary away regardless. Thank goddess I read through it all.My head swung painfully to the side with enough force that sent me crashing back into the pillows. Even though I was seated, my mother-in-law managed to gather enough momentum to slap me so hard I saw stars. The force nearly had my back breaking the wall behind
JUSTIN I chuckled to myself, amused by her audacity. For the first time since I met her, she finally summoned up the courage to defend herself when it came to me. Truthfully, it pissed me off that she talked back at me. I could feel the anger churning in my veins, looking for an outlet but amidst everything, I was also extremely impressed. This was the side of her I wanted to know and not the scared one that cowered at the slightest raise of voice. That was cute. I frowned at that thought. It seemed like I had confused myself by feeling too many emotions at once. Why the hell would I think she or anything she does was cute? I reminded myself of the fact that she had actually killed my mate and my anger came back, this time with the guilt of thinking a murderer had done something cute. I should hate her and not think of her as cute. But what if she's telling the truth? What if she didn't kill them? What if Kris had actually been helping her? Why would she have killed her then?I
ASTRIDI hated myself for the fact that they had found out. I knew they wouldn't understand and they proved exactly that. Other than Kris and myself, no one knew what was going on with me and I had intended to keep it that way and now that other people knew, they were bound to think of me as a freak. It wouldn't take a long time before they start associating my condition with what happened to Kris and Audrey. This would only give them more warfare to use against me. I could already imagine what they would be thinking right now. It's no wonder she killed the girls. She wanted what they had and what she could never get. She was jealous of everything they were and she could never be. And the bitter truth was that I actually was but at Audrey. She had what would have been my life. And I resented her for it, just not enough to want her dead or actually do it myself.My eyes stung with unshed tears. It felt like everyone now knew my secret and the world was bearing down on me. There was t
JUSTINFor the second time in my life, I prayed hard. My entire body was focused on just one thing, desperate for her not to get a scratch on her body.Don't take her from me too. This feeling, tightness in my chest, sweat forming, palms sweaty and heart racing was far worse than the time I lost Audrey which meant Astrid had to be in an even bigger danger. Don't make me lose her. I prayed again, repeating it over and over like a chant as I searched for her everywhere. I felt crazed. I was going mad with worry. Where could she be? Was she in danger?Knowing I couldn't find her like this, and by myself wherever she was, I knew I needed help. I reached out to Jonah immediately as I paced around the hospital hallway. “Whatever, you're doing, drop it and watch for Astrid. She's gone.” I was thankful that his mind wasn't blocked when I reached out because he responded with just as much urgency as my tone had.“What do you mean gone?” He asked, confused. This was the first time I showed a
JUSTINI stood by the door, not saying a word. Her words got to me. Two years ago when she had killed them. Two years ago when she had taken them away from me. Two years ago when she became a murderer. For a long time during those two years, I hated my father for giving her such a short sentence. I would have made sure she had rotted in jail for what she had done. She would have died along with them but now she was claiming I hadn't believed her. Without turning to face her, I whispered. “Two years ago, you ruined my life, Astrid.” The words had to be my undoing and I was instantly transported back to that very day. FLASHBACK I stared at her picture one last time, feeling butterflies forming in my stomach and for the nervousness to kick in. It was one year already and I couldn’t be happier. My relationship with Audrey was nowhere near perfect but she was it for me. This was definitely the kind of surprise she would love on our anniversary.I checked my watch, pleased that everyth
ASTRIDSomeday, they would all believe me. When the truth finally came out and they realized I had been telling the truth all along, they would believe me. I would love to see the expressions on their faces as I informed them I would be leaving, never to return.Each and every one of them would know just how much they hurt me and this time, the hate would be reflected in me and not in them. It would finally be their turn to be hated by me. For now, however, I needed to uncover the truth. I sat in my hospital bed with the diary open across my lap. I had tried reading through to see if there are places I had missed that might hold any information that could be useful. The door opened and I raised my head, thinking it had to be the doctor or one of the nurses but Jonah walked in instead. Why is he here? Is he here to hurt me?“Oh, you're awake.” He stated and I nodded twice, sitting up just in case a need for flight arose. He might have saved me but that didn't mean he couldn't hurt m