LEARNING TO FORGIVE YOU

8.

["We should probably head back now."]

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"Yeah." Alex nodded before abandoning her pool noodle and swam over to the stairs in the shallow end. Alicia followed behind as Alex got out and picked up her towel. Only then did she realize that Alicia's clothes were soaking wet, and she didn't have a towel.

"Here, you can have this." she said, turning around and handing the towel over to the brunette while doing everything in her power to only look at the girl's face.

"Thanks." Alicia said, smiling gratefully as she wrapped the towel around her body. As she did that, Alex walked over to her shirt, shrugging slightly as she picked it up before looking up at the younger girl. As she looked up, she noticed that Alicia was staring at her, but she wasn't looking at the bruise Chris had been staring at earlier. Instead, she was looking slightly lower, causing the light-skinned girl to slightly clear her throat.

When she cleared her throat, the younger girl's eyes immediately snapped up to Alex's eyes, a light blush starting to spread across her face. The older girl chose to ignore it and pulled the shirt over her wet body, causing it to cling slightly to her.

"You ready?" Alex asked the brunette, taking a step towards the gate.

"Mhm." Alicia hummed, nodding slightly, though her eyes avoided Alex's at all costs.

Alex nodded, and the two started making their way back to the house in silence. Alex found herself enjoying the silent company from the younger girl, it wasn't uncomfortable like usual. Alicia felt the same towards Alex. It was nice to finally get along, even if the older girl knew that it wouldn't last.

Once they arrived back at the house, Alicia went to her room while Alex went to Nick's. She searched everywhere in Nick's closet for the right underwear, since she could only find boxers. "Fuck yeah." she mumbled to herself with a proud smile when she finally found some boxer briefs. She quickly took off the soaking basketball shorts plus the briefs she had on, ditching them before puting the new briefs on. She then pulled out a pair of Nike sweatpants before looking for a shirt, settling for just a plain white t-shirt.

After getting dressed, Alex looked out of the window and saw that the sun was beginning to go down, meaning that soon she'd have to sneak off to where Ofelia would bring the soldier. She sighed softly before putting a cigarette between her lips, lighting it as she walked outside towards Travis's car. She decided that if she was on the roof when the time came to it'd be easier sneak off without anyone noticing that she was gone.

She spent the next two hours smoking and looking out on the horizon like normal, just enjoying the silence of the night. After 35 minutes, she had grown tired, so she decided to take a quick nap. She set her alarm for 21:55 and rested her head against the stone block, sleep quickly consuming her.

Surprisingly, she woke up 5 minutes earlier. Looking down at her watch, she saw that the time was 21:50, so she turned off her alarm to prevent it from going off anymore and slowly climbed down off the roof. She scanned the area to see if the coast was clear before heading off down the street, not noticing that someone had started following closely behind.

>>>

Alex had successfully made it to the place Ofelia and she had agreed to meet, without getting caught. Now she was standing in front of the front door, softly knocking on it. After a few seconds, Ofelia opened it, quickly pulling the girl in by the collar of her shirt.

Once she was inside, Ofelia released her hold on Alex and closed the door, but kept one hand on the younger girl's chest. "He's in the basement." she said, breathing heavily, her eyes slipping to Alex's lips for a second before returning to her eyes.

Alex's eyes widened in surprise, realizing Ofelia had actually pulled it off and now they actually had a hostage.

"Take me to him," the light-skinned girl said quickly. Ofelia nodded, taking Alex by the hand and leading her down the dark staircase. Once they were downstairs, Alex saw a single room being illuminated and could hear someone talking from inside.

As the two girls walked into the room, Alex at first sight gasped slightly. However, her jaw then started clenching in anger when she recognized the man who was strapped down to a chair with duct tape over his mouth as the soldier who had punched and dragged Nick out of the house.

"Papa," Ofelia started as the elderly-looking man who sat in a chair next to the soldier turned around to the two girls entering the room. "This is Alex, she stays with the Clark family too. She's the one who helped me. Alex, this is my father, Daniel," she said, introducing the two to each other.

"Has he said anything?" Alex asked, skipping the formalities. Keeping her eyes trained on the soldier.

Daniel shook his head. "Not yet, but he will." He said, reaching down, reaveling a sharp barber knife.

Alex's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the knife. "He's gonna torture him?" she asked, whispering into Ofelia's ear.

Ofelia shrugged slightly, though worry could be seen spreading across her face. "He didn't mention it to me." Ofelia whispered back, shaking her head nervously. "Papa, what are you doing?"

"Making him talk." Daniel answered, moving to remove the tape from the soldier's mouth. Alex could see pure fear in the man's eyes as he looked at the knife and then at her, expecting her to help him. At first, she felt bad for him, but then she remembered how she and Nick felt the night they came to pick him up. She wasn't the person who tortured innocent people, but this man was far from innocent. Plus, she would do anything for the ones she loves, even if that means she has to hurt others in the process.

"Now where's my wife?" Daniel asked, holding the knife above the soldier's arm. Alex crossed her arms over her chest, tilting her head, waiting for the man's response. When that response didn't come, Daniel cut the man's arm, carving into his skin, making him groan and yell out in pain, begging the older man to stop.

"What the fuck is going on here?" a new voice asked, causing the four people already present in the room to whip their heads towards the person entering the room.

"Shit." Alex mumbled, her eyes widening as she looked at Alicia, who stood in the doorway staring at the soldier's arm with a shocked and scared expression on her face before her eyes shot up at Alex's

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