It All Started with a Lie

Chapter 12

The attempt to escape from pain,
is what creates more pain.
~ Gabor Maté

Chapter 12
His POV
"How much mac and cheese is enough for 43 men?" Chadwick, otherwise known as Wick because Chadwick only got him an estranged look from women and bullied by men, asks, grabbing a few boxes from the store's shelf.

"A few cases probably." I help him load them into the cart. As a freshman, I got stuck with the house shopping for the week. I don't even live in the place but Wick was assigned to find a companion to help him push a second cart and he chose me. I would much rather spend my time at the gym, but everything comes with a price I suppose.

When we've grabbed what we feel is enough mac and cheese, and then one more for safe measure, we move onto the next aisle. I make idle small talk with Wick as we continue. We move from topic to topic, soccer, Kappa Theta Pi, the Roman Empire, whatever comes to his mind, until we've filled half of the second cart. The only thing that is left is candy. Wick grows a giddy smile like a child at the news that he will get to peruse his favorite section. I follow mindlessly, counting down the minutes till this task is over and I can go to the gym and home to my family. My entire body was begging to be moving, my leg bouncing up and down on the cart, my thumb tapping repeatedly against the handlebar. I needed to be moving, and Wick spent too long trying to find the best deals so we were in the same spot for minutes on end. I'd even begun to pace up and down the isles while I waited for him.

As we make it down to the candy aisle, and he begins examining all the different options, the coupons, the sales, I take a walk back and forth from the chocolate to the spearmint gum. He mumbles something to me about me needing a fix. I did need one, but not the kind he was thinking of, never that kind. I am not like my father. "Nah, just need to be moving." I assure him as I rest my hands behind my head, stretching my back as I walk.

"Said like a true junkie." He jokes but I'm not laughing. Comedic timing has never been his strong suit.

I grumble something in response to him as a loud voice rings through the aisle, "Claudia!"

I know the voice instantly, better than I knew my own. I peaked my head around the corner, trying to find the source. My sister, standing dead center of the holiday section, dressed like she just got out of bed in her night clothes and slippers, spun around in a small circle, searching for something, someone. "Bea?" I call out.

Her smile brightens as her eyes land on me. "Klaus!" She runs over to me, linking arms with me as she meets me. "What are you doing here?" She instinctively hands me her basket, which is loaded with snacks, books—so many books—and Gatorade. The basket is so heavy that I understand why she was struggling with it. Bea's only workouts consist of seeing how many books she can carry through the bookstore—current record: twenty-seven—and the occasional run with her boyfriend which usually ends in her complaining that he must hate her to put her through such torture.

"Claudia and I are getting snacks for movie night."

The mention of her name causes my smile to falter for just a moment and I pray Beatrice hasn't seen it. Beatrice and Sonny are the two most important things in my entire world, it's my job to protect them, I would never do anything to hurt them, at least I wouldn't, before. But when it comes to Alexandria, I can't help myself. There is just something about her, she drives me crazy. I'd spent that entire night at the party trying to avoid her, because I was afraid of what I might do if I didn't. And then I see her about to let some guy, who clearly has never done a body shot before, take one off her. I couldn't stop myself, I tried so damn hard to ignore it but the thought of his tongue on her, his lips on her, it pissed me off and I nearly killed him at the thought. I was taking the shot from him before I'd even realized I'd moved across the room.