LEARNING TO FORGIVE YOU

9.

["What the fuck is going on here?"]

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"Ali-" Alex began to say, but before she could finish her sentence, Daniel shot up, knife wielded as he walked towards the brunette.

"Whoa, hey, hey, hey." Alex spoke, moving to stand defensively in front of the younger girl, her right hand stretched out to create a distance between her and Daniel, who stared daggers at the girl behind Alex.

"Daniel!" she snapped, making the older man look at her. "Stop, this is Nick's sister, remember? The step-daughter of the man that took you guys in? You know, that curly-haired dude, Travis." Alex rambled, trying to calm the man down, who was angry at the fact that someone else was in the basement, possibly putting everyone in danger.

"Daniel, i'm warning ou back the fuck off because i will shoot your ass if that's nessecary!" She said loudly moving her hand to grasp the handle of the pistol resting in the band of her sweatpants, that she had found when she went outside of the fence last week. Alicia grabbed Alex bicep, gently holding it in fear as the older girl placed her free arm behind her resting it on the brunette's waist as they took a couple steps back, mking the younger girl's front press into Alex's back.

As Alicia and Alex stepped back, they could hear Ofelia trying to calm her dad down in Spanish. "Ella debe haberme seguido, pero créanme cuando les digo que no es una amenaza, quiere recuperar a su hermano tanto como usted desea recuperar a su esposa." Alex said, her voice a bit more steady and confident, seeing Daniel's arm going down and his shoulders relax.

^("She must have followed me, but believe me when I tell you she is not a threat, she wants her brother back just as much as you want your wife back.")

Alex released a relieved breath when she saw Daniel nod at her before walking back to the soldier tied up in the chair. Once the man was no longer a threat to her or Alicia, Alex fixed her shirt before turning around to the brunette behind her, keeping her left hand on the girl's waist.

"Alicia, what are you doing here?" she asked the younger girl, who was still in a state of shock. "Alicia?" Alex repeated the girl's name, gently pulling the girl's chin towards her so that Alicia would look at her instead of staring at the tied-up soldier.

"I—you, you started to sneak off a—a—and I followed you because I didn't know what you were doing a—and I—I—" The younger girl stuttered, struggling to speak coherent words as she spoke in a fast pace, looking up at the older girl.

"Hey, it's okay, it's okay," Alex said, attempting to calm the younger girl down, placing her free hand on the girl's cheek to keep her looking at her as she kept glancing at the man behind Alex. "But, hey look at me, look at me. Alicia, look at me. You cannot tell anyone what is happening here, okay? If you do, bad things can happen to all of us."

"Do you understand?" the taller girl asked, looking down at the younger girl in front of her. "Alicia, tell me you understand." she said, urgency in her voice and written all over her face.

As Alex said this, Alicia pushed her hands away before turning around and storming out of the room. "Fuck." the light-skinned girl mumbled before glancing back at Ofelia. "I'll be right back." The older girl nodded before Alex went to run after Alicia.

"Alicia!" she called out, quickly running after her. "Alicia, wait." she said, reaching out her hand to grab ahold of Alicia's wrist, stopping her from leaving when she caught up with the younger girl.

The younger girl yanked her wrist from Alex's grip, turning around with an angrily look on her face. "What the hell are you doing, Alex? What the fuck's wrong with you?" she asked, yelling in the older girl's face, stepping closer.

"Alicia, calm down." Alex sighed, placing her hands on her hips.

"Don't tell me to fucking calm down!" Alicia snapped back.

"What did you want me to do, huh!?" Alex exclaimed, angrily stepping closer to Alicia, who stepped back in fear.

"Don't yell at me." she said, shaking her head as she looked up at Alex.

"No, fuck that. First of all, I need you to take some bass from your voice before I pop you in your mouth. Then second, you told me to get Nick back, so that is what the fuck I'm doing, okay? I don't know what the fuck you're doing, following me and shit, but that ain't what you're supposed to do, aight?" Alex said, her whole body shaking with anger as she clenched her fists, trying her best to contain herself.

Alicia stared up at the older girl in shock, her eyes starting to water as she gulped harshly. "Fuck." Alex mumbled, seeing the younger girl's scared face. "Alicia, I'm sorry." she said softly, hesitantly stepping forward towards the girl, whose face completely changed into a face filled with pure anger.

"Don't ever talk to me like that again!" the brunette yelled, slapping the taller girl hard across the face. Alex clenched her jaw as her head snapped to the side, but she couldn't do anything in return, knowing that she deserved that slap.

Alex took a deep breath through her nose, releasing it through her mouth before she brought her head back to face the younger girl, who was looking up at her in pure anger. "Look, I'm sorry for reacting the way I did, and I'm sorry that you had to see that," she began, referring to the tied-up soldier. Speaking very calmly to prevent herself from snapping at the girl again. "But it is necessary if you want to see Nick again, okay? There's no other way, everything you could come up with, I already tried. Trust me."

Alicia stood there in silence, causing Alex to grow slightly worried. If the brunette were to tell someone about this, it could not only cost the light-skinned girl her life but also that of Ofelia and Daniel. When the younger girl still hadn't said anything, Alex spoke up again. "Alicia, listen, I am truly sorry you had to see that, but I'm begging you to believe me right now and not say a word to anyone. It could get me killed."

"You think he'll really spill?" Alicia questioned, her anger having faded, catching the older girl off guard.

Alex nodded in response, once again taking another step in the brunette's direction. A sense of relief washed over her when the younger girl didn't step back. "I know he will. I just need you to trust me on this one, okay? I understand that's hard for you, but—"

"I trust you," Alicia said, cutting the taller girl off. "This is all just so fucking insane."

Alex nodded, sliding her hand over her face with a deep sigh, placing her other hand on her hip. "I know." She glanced back at the room. "Listen, I'm going to talk to Ofelia and then we can leave, okay?" She said, looking down at the shorter girl. "But please don't leave without me. It isn't safe out there."

"No." Alicia replied, shaking her head, catching the older girl off guard. However, before Alex could protest about Alicia leaving on her own, she spoke up again. "I want to go back down there with you." she said, with a confident look on her face.

Alex looked down at the girl, biting her lip in contemplation before replying. "Yeah, okay. Are you sure?" She asked, her eyes softening as she saw the determination on the younger girl's face.

"I'm sure." Alicia nodded.

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