Alpha's Stolen Mate

Thea sat by the window in the backseat of her aunt’s AMG C-class coupe, watching the scenery changing. She found it comforting. A little. She found some of her wired energy dissipating despite knowing that she was a hundred and something away from her mother. Her sister, Delphine, sat on the front seat with her aunt. They were in deep conversation about God-knows-what, completely oblivious to the turmoil going on in her head. Her mind kept replaying the events that happened three hours and twenty minutes ago. Her mother came home holding her drunk boyfriend. It had always been like that. Thea spent most of the nights alone in the house with her sister while their mother, mostly after she finished working, went to get her boyfriend from a bar or a club. And he was always reeking of alcohol. She’d complained to her mother, not twice or thrice, but so many times, about how she felt unsafe about her boyfriend. Her mother had promised she would talk to him and make him understand why he should stop drinking, but she never did. What happened this morning was that her so-called stepfather attempted to slap her after pushing her and got her head bumped on the wall while her mother stood watching. Cold eyes, cold lips, cold words and cold care – Thea knew she was at risk right down to her soul when all that surrounded her was cold. It was a mother that protected, a mother that battled impossible odds to save her children, it was a mother that would be her children's heroine every time... no matter what... But that protection wasn't there... and she and her sister were at risk and their mother’s boyfriends, like the vultures in their human masks, circled around, waiting for a moment to devour them. She knew her mother was scared of him, but she was a mother. And she said nothing against her boyfriend. And after she “tucked in” her boyfriend, she kissed Thea goodbye before she left for work. And pretended as if whatever happened was something so small it should be ignored. Thea had given her mother a lot of chances in the past, but not this time. After her mother left for work, she jotted back to the room she shared with her sister, locked the door, and grabbed her phone on the small, old teak wooden study table, the only furniture in their room. She quickly opened the contact app and searched for the only number she had saved five years ago. She called the only number she had never called before. The number she never intended to ever call before. She called her aunt, and her aunt responded. She wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to leave her mother alone with her drunkard boyfriend, but she had to make a choice just like she did. She chose him over them, so she had to choose her and her sister over her. Ever since she was little, she had always been with her mother. She had never been separated from her before, and though she knew this was for her own good, she still felt a void in her heart. Leaving without telling her mother where they were going was going to destroy her, but it was necessary. Thea had skipped her lessons many times this week, because she was always oversleeping as she was juggling between her studies and three part-time jobs. Though her mother had a job, most of her money went to her boyfriend, and the little that was left couldn’t even afford to buy them their day-to-day necessities. At twenty, she was the oldest in her class. She didn’t intend to stay in high school forever. Her new year’s resolution was to study hard and get better grades, because she wanted to go to university next year. She wasn’t sure if that was still the plan anymore, because moving out-of-town meant leaving her school too. She wasn’t sure if her aunt would find them a school that would be willing to take them in. It was almost midterm. She was sure, like all other towns, schools in Swakopmund were too overcrowded. She didn’t try to ask her aunt about school. Because she was still overwhelmed by the fact that, after all these times, she still remembered her. She still remembered her only brother’s daughter. Her sister’s laughter distracted her from her thoughts. Aunty Leah was their savior sent from the heavens. And she couldn’t thank her enough, especially after she agreed that she would take her little sister in too. Aunty Leah, with a sweet smile plastered on her gorgeous oval-shaped face, looked back at her but not too long. Thea tried to master a smile, but to no avail. She was too tormented, too agitated, too furious, to even fake a smile. She had done that a whole lot of times, but right now, when she needed to look happy, it was like she’d forgotten how to do it. She couldn’t do it. The anguish of war in her head was so chaotic she felt like she was going to explode soon. She feared she was going to breakdown soon. But she knew she had to be strong. She couldn’t give in to sorrow. She couldn’t be hopeless now. Not when a little light was starting to emerge from afar. No one was going to dim it now. She had left her miserable life behind in Windhoek, and she was about to reach her new destination. “Thea,” Aunty Leah, her eyes fixed on the road ahead now, called out to her. Thea sat up straight, and for the first time since she got in the car, looked at the road ahead. “Ain’t you hungry? We’re going to grab something to eat at the next service.” Her aunt continued. Thea thought for a while. Her mind was so occupied by the traumatic events of her life that she totally forgot about food. And talking about food, when last did she have a decent meal? When last did she and her sister have a proper meal? Last night they had two slices of bread each, and sugary water. And she was famished right now. “Come on, Thea. Never say no to food, unless offered by a stranger. That’s your rule,” Delphine said, looking back at her, with a mock plea tinkling in her eyes. Unlike her, Delphine was ignorant about all that was happening in their house. She told her apparently someone had to be sane in the house. Thea had always thought that her sister’s jovial attitude was a mask, a shield to protect herself from the anguish of their lives, but no more. Her sister was just a happy soul. And having moved in with them just a year ago, Thea was certain that her sister had no idea what she had missed. What she had experienced while she was living with her paternal grandmother. She always wondered why Delphine left her peaceful life on her grandmother’s sheep farm in Omaruru. When she asked her one night after they were done with their late night studies, she just smiled at her, but never gave her the answer. She always wondered if there was more to her story than she was letting on. She would never know. Probably. “Okay, I’ll have something,” she said, rolling her eyes. Delphine beamed and continued with her conversation with Aunt Leah. Twenty minutes later, aunt Leah got off the B2 road, and stopped at the Total Energy service station. “Del, take this and buy any refreshment of your choice. I’m sure your sister will love whatever you choose for her,” she said, giving Delphine her bob card. Thea knew what was happening, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready to deal with it right now. But it seemed inevitable. Delphine jovially took the card from her hands and jumped out of the car. And then she looked back at her. Thea tried to look away, but she knew it was useless. Eye contact or no eye contact, her aunt was going to talk to her. “So, tell me child. What had happened? Why do you have a big, ugly lump on your forehead? And why do you want me to take you away without informing your mother?” she started. Thea couldn’t get the courage to even start the narrative of what had happened, because it was a long, long story. Because whatever happened this morning was a continuation of what had been going on ever since her mother started dating the wrong man after the wrong man. They had moved places too many times, although that had stopped two years ago. But the wrong, disgusting boyfriends her mother had been with were the sore cause of her discomfort. She had always felt neglected, unloved and so lonely because her mother was busy nursing her drunk boyfriends. She couldn’t quite fathom why her mother always fell for the wrong guys. Why couldn't she find her Mr Right and settle down? And most of all, she always feared that perhaps she had the genes too. It was when her sister moved in with them, that her loneliness had somehow dwindled. Now, looking at the woman in front of her, she wanted to answer her so badly. She wanted to tell her everything. She wanted to let it all out, because her soul was tired. Her little heart was burdened, and the burden was too heavy for her. She had been carrying it for far too long, that the exhaustion was wearing her down. But where to start? She bowed her head, a lump formed in her throat, and tears started flowing uncontrollably down her cheeks. Upon seeing this, Aunt Leah quickly got out of the car and opened the door on the other side of the car and came to sit next to her. She hugged her tightly, comforting her with her soothing caresses. “Hush now, Thea. It’s okay my child. It’ll be okay now. You don’t have to tell me anything until you’re ready to.” She said, still hugging her, still caressing her back. The exhaustion took the better of her, and the soothing caresses of her aunt were like a soothing lullaby in the ears of a baby, so still in her aunt’s arms, she let her eyelids close and succumbed to unconsciousness.