Dark Shadow (Book 1 in DARKNESS DUOLOGY)

Four: A Friendship Crumbled...

I was unresponsive to what everyone else was feeling when they cheerfully cried out and began clapping. The noise surrounding me was fading out as I went numb watching Molly ascended the steps so gracefully with her hand extended out. Ridge smiled, stepping forward to take hers in his.

They stood close together, Ridge saying something to Molly before she smiled and laughed, nodding her head. She looked at the Alpha and the Alpha Female, bowing her head respectfully. Molly looked out to the crowd as Ridge proudly announced, "I give you your future Alpha Female!"

A pang of hurt jabbed the center of my chest the moment Ridge bent his head and kissed Molly. My hand went up to my chest, gripping to the material covering it as I swallowed and leaned forward a bit. But no matter what, I couldn't break my gaze from seeing my best friend—my best... friend... standing up on stage, in my place, beside the man who rejected me.

I could hear Eden's voice. Barely. It was so far out as she asked me if I was okay. But I couldn't stop looking at the couple on stage, happily in an embrace. What made the anguish spread further was when Molly's blue eyes slowly drifted from Ridge and scanned the crowd before looking directly at me. The corners of her lips slowly curled up into a small grin as if she could see how hurt I was as I hunched over with my hand clutched to my chest.

I gasped, trying to figure out why she would look at me that way... unless... A shaky breath was let out, realizing that Molly knew about me. About what I was to Ridge and what he was to me. Or what we should be to each other.

To add salt to the wound, Molly turned back to Ridge and purposely pulled him down to kiss him again.

"Gigi? Gigi, what's the matter?!" Eden cried, trying to straighten me, but I looked up catching sight of my older brother frowning in my direction, already making his way towards me.

I breathed heavily, gasping out to Eden in a hoarse whisper, "I have to get out of here!" and whirled around.

It felt like I was going in slow motion. The cheerful people around me smiling and clapping still as I was the only one having a panic attack. I pushed forward, weaving about and stumbled a few times as I was trying to escape. My breathing becoming more ragged and the pain in my chest ached so damn much!

Outside, I stumbled and a few people lifted me up but I pushed them away, doing what I thought I could only think of, and that was run. I urged my feet to sprint away from the meeting hall just as I could hear Wade's voice call out to me, along with Eden's.

My blood was pulsing, my chest hurting and my head couldn't think straight. I couldn't see straight with my tears now impairing my vision. A sob choked out of me and I gasped, tripping over my footing down the hill and went tumbling down. My body hit the grassy hill, making me cry out before rolling down the hill until hitting a tree trunk. I wept, curling myself up a moment from both the impact of falling and what happened back at the meeting hall.

"Gigi!"

My brother's panicked voice traveled and I quickly rose, pushing myself up and looked behind me at him and Eden running after me. I chose to run from them. I rushed into the forest, making a zig-zag pattern in order to spread my scent in different directions until I ran straight ahead and saw the secluded creek.

Picking up my pace, I ran over to it and jumping off the edge to leap over it, but I slipped and fell into the deeper side of the creek instead. I whimpered out a yelp from the fall and the surprising cold of the water. Sniffling, I pushed myself up and thought it was better that I had fallen in the water. It would assure my scent would be harder to pick up.

I turned to the side, seeing a small cavern like rock extended out of the ground over the water and decided that I'd hide there for the time being. Swimming over to it, I swallowed, placing my hands against the moss covered stone wall and took a deep breath to duck into the water once I heard my name being called again.