The Hidden Wolf

Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

Natalie's pov

After leaving the table abruptly, I snuck into Aurora's bedroom. Oh, sorry, I meant Aurora's former bedroom.

I entered her room quietly and dropped the car keys that I brought from my room. I was too scared to return them last night, so I just kept them with me.

I placed the keys somewhere hidden, so that they wouldn't be noticed immediately. I opened her little bedside drawer and placed it in the second step. I made it seem like Aurora forgot to take the keys when she was packing her things to the arctic.

After plotting everything, I ran down the stairs to begin my beautiful plan. Before coming to the living room, I noticed that Aurora was still outside with her food soliloquizing, her life is really sad.

"Dad, I just went to the garage, where you keep your cars because I was just bored and I wanted to walk around, but what I saw there shocked me to my bones."

Immediately I started speaking, Joseph, my step dad and my mom both turned their attention to me. I could see Joseph dropping his fork on his plate and facing me fully.

"Tell us what it is, Natalie." My mum said impatiently.

"It's..it's your car." I said slowly, putting my acting skills into action.

"What's wrong with my car?" My parents were already on their feet, waiting for the next sentence that would leave my lips.

"Trust me, you do not want to see it." I moved my hand forward dramatically, to show them how bad the situation was.

I could see the hunger that Joseph was earlier feeling, vanish from his eyes. He cherished his car so much, so hearing everything that I was saying was really bad for him.

"Lead the way, Natalie." My mum said calmly. I took them to the garage.

When Joseph saw it, he ran around the car, touching it to feel the several scratches that were on different parts of the car, the front part especially.

"How..how did this happen, Natalie?" Joseph ran to me and grabbed my shoulders like I was the person that caused this. Well, I am, but nobody knows that.

"Dad, why are you doing this? I didn't do this." I protested, pushing his hands away. He looked really angry, like he was ready to murder anyone at this point.

I felt a little bit scared for Aurora but I immediately brushed the feeling of sympathy that I was having for her, she doesn't deserve that.

"Then who did? Answer me, who did all these?"

I moved back a little bit to add a little bit of a dramatic flair.

"Um, Joseph, I mean dad. Aurora did this."

There it was, the huge flame burning in his eyes, making him look dangerous right now.

"Au..Aur…Aurora? Do you know what you're saying, Natalie?" He stammered. I don't blame him, Aurora acts like she is way too good to do anything bad.

"Yes, dad." Immediately I spoke, Joseph left my sight and ran inside to fetch Aurora. After a few seconds, he came back outside, remembering that Aurora was outside, enjoying herself with her food.

"Aurora! Aurora!" He called her several times. My mum ran after him and I also had to run after them.

"Dad?" I could hear Aurora's voice from a distance, she sounded so innocent like she isn't capable of doing something like this and honestly, she isn't.

Aurora's pov

I had finished my dinner and now, I was just enjoying the nice natural breeze brushing against my skin, it felt good, really good.

The world is actually really peaceful without the wicked people trying to make the world wicked or the people in it.

I was just enjoying the silence of the earth when I heard my dad scream my name from a distance. Why would he call me like that? Is something wrong?

I was already startled and seeing my dad, Natalie and Ava running towards me just confirmed my fear. Something was definitely wrong.

"Aurora!" He called my name again, but this time his voice was louder and filled with anger.

"What's wrong, dad?" I was already on my feet, ready to help in any way that I can. I walked towards them, taking a few steps before I realised what was going on.

Nobody was in trouble, but it looked like the trouble was with me. The way my dad's eyes blazed with anger, his hands swinging angrily by his sides, Natalie and Ava running after him displaying a feigned concern for me, something was wrong.

Did I do anything wrong? Is it the arctic? I started asking myself so many questions, because for a while now, I've been on my own, avoiding Natalie's trouble or Ava's.

They finally got to my side and my dad faced me immediately, looking at me from head to toe like he wanted me dead instantly.

I looked at his shoulders and I saw Natalie cross her hands over her chest like she was a boss. Yes, she definitely has a hand in this.

"Dad, what's wrong?" I finally asked, after a few long seconds of maintaining a very weird eye contact with my dad.

"What did you do to my car?" My dad said scornfully.

The venom in his voice could be visibly heard. I wonder when my dad will start talking to me sweetly. As it is now, it looks like he won't be talking to me sweetly for a very long time.

What's wrong with his car? Did Natalie steal it again? Not again.

"What did I do to your car, dad?" I returned his question back to him. I really dislike someone accusing me of something that I know nothing of.

"Don't test me, Aurora. Do not test me." He raised his voice at me, his voice booming across the house. He sounded really angry, but why?

"What happened to your car, dad?" I asked innocently because I know that whatever crime that my dad feels that I have committed, I am innocent of it.

"Oh, the pretence. Yuck." Natalie said maliciously, while rolling her eyes.

My dad suddenly grabbed my hands and started walking towards the garage. His tough palm was pressing against my skin. I could clearly see my skin turning red under his grip.

I kept on begging him to at least release my hand from his grip but he turned deaf ears to all my pleas.

I heard Natalie chuckling behind me like she had something to do with what was happening. Ava just looked lost, just like I was.

We finally got to the garage after a long painful minute. My dad left my hand when we got there and moved aside for me to see why he was angry. When I entered the garage and saw my dad's car, my hands subconsciously flew to my mouth.

What happened to his car? Oh my God. His car was in a very bad shape. The lights were badly broken, the bonnet was broken badly and the screen, oh the screen.

The screen was broken too. There were a lot of scratches too on the car, I could barely recognize the car.

I moved closer and ran my hands through the scratches and the breakages. I felt really sad about the situation with the car. I hate seeing the car in this shape.

I turned away from the car and asked him a question, "what happened to the car, dad? Did you have an accident?"

Immediately I asked the questions, I knew that they sounded stupid. Dad was just inside having breakfast, so how could he have had an accident so fast?

"Wow, wow, wow…" Natalie walked slowly towards me, clapping her hands slowly, like she had caught me in a very bad act. My brows furrowed in confusion. She finally stopped clapping and continued talking.

"...Now this pretence is getting annoying. Why in heaven's name are you pretending?"

"What are you saying, Natalie? I don't understand."

"Oh shut up. We all know what you did to dad's car."

"Why did you do this, Aurora? Why? Why?" My dad placed his fingers into his pocket. I suspected that he did that to curtail his anger.

I wondered where this accusation was coming from. Dad should know that I would never do this, I don't even go out.

"You should know that I won't do such a thing, dad. You should trust me." I moved closer to my dad, to show my innocence but he moved back immediately, like he didn't want to touch me or something.

"I promise, dad. I would never do something like this."

"We don't believe you, bad girl." Natalie said and turned to my dad instantly. "Dad, I suggest we check her room, you know, for the keys or something that might help us."

Oh God, did Natalie put anything that's complicating in my room? She can stoop to any level to make me suffer.

"Let me check for the keys first." My dad said. He wanted to check where he keeps his keys first, before going further.

We all entered the living room to look for the keys, my dad didn't see the keys where he used to keep them.

We proceeded to go with Natalie's plan and check my other room. I confidently led them to my former room because I was sure of my innocence.

"Here." I said to the three pairs of eyes that were staring at me when we got to my former room's door.

"With pleasure." Natalie eyed me and walked into my room confidently. Her confidence was really disturbing for me. It looked like she had a plan for me, I could tell that the plan wasn't a good one.

I have gotten used to Natalie always putting me in trouble even though we are the same age, but I've always ignored or looked past all her plottings. She wouldn't do something like this, would she? This is too much. I believe Natalie has some humanity in her.

I stood at the door watching them search for my dad's car keys in the almost empty room. Natalie suddenly moved to my bedside table and opened the first and second drawers at the same time.

She stood up and jiggled the keys that looked exactly like my dad's in front of everyone.

Could that be the key? Oh, no. Natalie did set me up. The smirk that was on her face when she continued jiggling the keys told me everything that I needed to know; she wants to get me in trouble.

So, that can only mean that Natalie was the one that damaged my dad's car and she just wants to blame it on me. This girl is more evil than I thought..

My dad walked towards Natalie and snatched the keys from her hands with a huge surprise expression on his face.

He immediately turned towards me and started walking towards me. He stopped when he was just two feet away from me and he raised his hand.

I didn't know what he wanted to do until he landed a huge slap on my face.

Several gasps escaped Ava and her daughter's mouths, they were really surprised. Hell, I was surprised too.

The pain that I felt on my right cheek was nothing compared to what I was feeling in my heart.

The fact that my dad doesn't believe me was..so overwhelming. I felt a rush of tears trickle down my cheeks. My tears were really hot against my skin but the flames burning in my heart were hotter..way hotter and I fear that the flames are going to burn me very soon.

"What's this, Aurora? What's this? Answer me now or I will hit you again." My dad said angrily.

I moved back subconsciously, really surprised at the tone of my dad. I can't survive here among the three most wicked people that I have ever met in my whole life.

I left the place and ran down the stairs, stopping when my dad called out my name.

"Aurora! If you leave, then you'll be dead to me, I promise you that. Even if you leave, you'll pay for the car, I promise you that."

He came and stood in front of me, ready to talk again.

"So, you want to kill me so I'll be like your mother, right?"

When he said this, more tears poured from my eyes. The fact that he had to drag my mum into this to spite me was so painful. I lifted my hand and placed it on my chest to reduce the pain that I was feeling there.

It didn't work. My heart was aching badly and I couldn't help it. I stood there and watched my father talk to me like I was his enemy, with so much hatred in his eyes.

"Do you know why I hate seeing your face so much? Because you remind me of your dead mother." He repeated what he had said the night before. I have to leave this place quickly if I still want to remain sane.

It felt like my dad had always wanted to say all these, because a car issue isn't meant to be this painful and sad.

I looked back at Ava and Natalie and I saw the both of them smiling.

I turned to look at my dad again and he spoke again.

"Now, where did you take my car to?"

I released my breath and I replied, "maybe you should ask your daughter."

With that little sentence, I brushed my shoulder against that of the man that's said to be my father and I left the house.

I don't know if my departure is temporary or permanent…