Masked Facade

Chapter 30: Loving and Caring Father

Alice's POV

Six years ago...

Time has a weird way of turning your life and the events pertaining in it upside down that you forget how it was used to be to live in darkness. I always felt that I had no scope whatsoever to hold onto the belief of getting away from the vicious hold of guilt and remorse and disgust. Secrets were capable of surfacing the veil of lies. There's always one big secret comprising of many events that are interlinked with each other for the sake of the existence of that giant, mother-flucking secret.

I knew Ryans'. Everything about him was typical at first, his image a gift from being the son of a political figure. The perks of being someone related to the Mayor, that was all he seemed to the entire town, how he actually appeared to every one of them.

Ryan had this vision of seeping through every layer of mine, and he was more than satisfied that he was able to. For all he knew, keeping my Mom's illness from my adopted family was the last thing that weighed down my shoulders. That was not it. For me anyway. But he was successful in keeping me from embracing my dark cocoon as he fed me with various possibilities. Positive scenarios and nurturing future for me. For a person who couldn't stand a douche bag version of Ryan a few months ago, I was inclining toward him in a good way, seeking his comfort. His strength and his possessiveness over everything and nothing.

Fingers snapping in front of my face pulled me away from my series of thoughts, forcing me to snap out of my dreamland. Yes, the last month was nothing but dream-come-true. Jackson's cheery face with a knowing stupid smirk hanging on his lips was the first thing to come to my vision. For heaven's sake, I could only remember his name out of a dozen of people who shared the field with Ryan. However, how it happened was something that had no answer to back it up. No one on the table does. One day, I decided to sneak up on Ryan while he was practicing while I should have known that I wouldn't get away with my sloppy activities as he found me lurking behind the bushes. I didn't want to appear all dramatic and needy for him, though I did crave him just fine. The first thing he did was laugh at my futile attempts but then his hormones spoke for him as he assaulted my mouth with his in ways that were hard to elaborate. The next thing I knew, his teammates were howling and whistling like he won a freaking treasure. I knew I was difficult to bend but that didn't mean I was easy for anyone for that matter. I and Ryan, we went through stuff that they were oblivious to. So instead of hunting them down like a madwoman that I was, I just brushed the whole incident like it was no big deal. And it helped us just fine. The next week during lunch they all gathered up near our table that I shared with Thea and Leslie from my Arts class. I was worried about my sanity but without putting much of a thought, I agreed to them joining us, or rather me. And just like that, it turned out to be a routine.

"Stop dreaming about my boy. He needs his head in the field." Jackson mused beside Ryan, his hand patting Ryan's back in support as if he voiced out Ryan's thoughts.

"By logic, he should then stop having fancy images of my baby inside his head, Jacky." Apparently, Thea self-appointed herself as my lawyer from the looks of it as she counter-attacked Jackson.

"Ew! That's just gross." I made a gagging face while puking my disgust toward them.

"Which part?" Jackson asked innocently.

"You all trying to invade our thoughts like it's yours," I stated, eyebrows raised.

"Gross is when you leave your man freeze to death in only a towel to safeguard his manly parts," Jackson said with a hearty chuckle followed by booming laughter.

My man?

I couldn't help the eye roll that appeared voluntarily just from the crap spilled by Jackson by my feet. No living person with a dick between their legs would ever be qualified as "my man". Ryan might be entitled as my boyfriend by the entire school without me willing to put a label for him. We might be in a relationship for all I knew, but never for a second, we both brought up the topic of getting the labels done for people's show. For now, it's just a serene belonging. Nothing less and nothing more.