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.

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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.

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.