The Rogue Alphas

Chapter 2

After a couple hours of riding, I was totally bored as I sat in the backseat of Aida's SUV staring out the window. I was trying hard not to pay any attention to my two besties having small arguments with each other. Occasionally, I'd catch Lily making small dance-like movements or mouthing some words to the songs. I think K-pop is growing on her.

I crossed my legs in the seat and browsed social media on my phone. When that got boring, I read some fanfiction. Hopefully, I get a signal at the campsite just in case it's totally boring or if the two lovebirds sneak off to get some alone time with each other. I quietly sighed at the thought of being ditched. What's new? It's been happening since I was born. By my mom and all my friends. Not that I have many. Maybe this weekend will be different.

The three of us had been best friends since freshman year of high school. We were pretty inseparable during our high school days; often doing homework and studying in the library or at each other's houses after school. I absolutely lived for nights with them and the memories we shared. I remember being so happy that I finally found the two bestest friends a girl could ever ask for.

I could tell Lily, and Aida resented my mom for letting me stay home alone when she worked late. Thankfully, both their parents were understanding and came to see me as a part of their own families. A few times a week, I'd stay at Aida or Lily's family homes. Mom agreed to let me stay at their houses because it gave her peace of mind. It's not that we lived in a sketchy neighborhood, it was just that mom's office was in the city and it was a 30 minute commute for her to come back home to me if there was any kind of emergency.

After a few years of going to Aida's or Lily's house after school, I overheard Aida's brothers talking about how I was there a lot. I didn't care at first because what does it matter to him? But slowly, it ate at me, and then I felt that I was burdening my best friends and didn't want to be a bother to them and their families.

One weekend during my junior year, when my mom had to go to work early, she dropped me off at Lily's place on the way. Lily's older brother, Cam, was the only one home at the time. Lily's mom had taken her early that day to run errands. Cam was chill, and I kind of thought of him as somewhat of an older brother even though I couldn't help but think he was super hot.

He had let me chill in his room with him. We were sitting on his bed together watching TV when he scooted closer and put his arm around me. At first, I was a little nervous because I didn't know he thought of me like that. It was kind of exciting. He was tall and played sports, so he had an athletic build. I just thought he wanted to cuddle. But wow, how naive was I? Our eyes met, and we stared at each other for a minute. He kissed my cheek and then my neck, and before I knew it, I was making out with him. It was honestly thrilling to know someone had a crush on me, but I knew it would look bad for me if Lily & their mom found out. So this had to stay between us.

He wanted to go all the way, but I told him I didn't think it would be right to have s*x with him since he was my friend's brother. I was so nervous that someone would find out. I felt like such a horrible friend after that and stopped going. I guess Lily commented, one day, about how I stopped coming, and he texted me and apologized, but I told him I really liked Lily and him but didn't want to come between our friendship. Lily always complained about how her old friends would come over just to flirt and try to hang out with him, and I just didn't want to be that friend. He could've been the love of my life, but I tried to be a good friend to someone who’d eventually ditch me.

Even though I could tell them anything, except that I kissed Lily's brother, I didn't feel the need to tell Aida I stopped coming because of what her brothers had said. They asked if something had happened, but I denied it. It's really not that big of a deal.

Senior year at high school, everything was great for us. I was getting good grades, and I even received a small scholarship to study basics at the community college the next town over.

Lily was captain of the track team and aspired to become a school counselor like her father. She was a caring person and easy to talk to, so naturally, she wanted to help ease the minds of kids that faced school and home struggles.

Aida became president of the Art Club after the previous president graduated. Her paintings never ceased to amaze everyone who saw them. She received a full scholarship to go to the School of Arts in the city for graphic design.

Late in our senior year, Aida confessed her love to Lily. As selfish as I sound right now, I was honestly heartbroken that my only two friends seemed to be content spending time with each other; and I was left with the feeling I was destined to be alone. I wanted to believe they weren't leaving me out on purpose. I thought that it was just how new couples acted.

I respected that they wanted alone time, but I still made an effort to hang out every time I didn't have part-time work or homework. Often, for them to cancel at the last minute.

I totally understood why Aida had fallen so hard for Lily. Lily had a heart of gold. She was the type of person who loved you no matter what. She was charismatic and caring and would drop anything to help someone in need. Lily, being an outdoorsy person, had an athletic figure, amazing tanned skin, and her long, blonde hair hung down past the middle of her back. She had sparkling hazel eyes and stood 5'9" tall.

Aida was quite the opposite of Lily, but she was equally as gorgeous. She's sassy, sweet, and strong-willed. She's Latina and has smooth golden brown skin. Aida's luscious, curly, black hair fell to her shoulders. Her eyes were dark, and she was 5'6" tall with a voluptuous body that she hid under baggy shirts and sweaters.The two were honestly so cute together. If they're happy, then I'm happy.

When we graduated high school and started our college courses, I immersed myself in my basic studies and lost touch with them. I guess I have accepted the fact that nothing can go back to the way it used to be.

One night, a couple of months ago, I received a message from Aida, and she said they really wanted to reconnect and that they missed hanging out. I had made a couple of new friends and started talking to guys, so at first I was like, 'you had your chance...' But then I thought I was just being b*tchy. So I kept contact, and they actually made an effort to video call every few days. After reconnecting, I realized how much I missed our friendship. I'm so glad to actually hang out with them for the first time since high school.

Sitting there, lost in thought, I realized I was mindlessly braiding my waist-length, dark auburn hair. I shouldn't dwell on the past. It's only going to hurt me and bring up bad feelings.

Coming out of my thoughts, I saw a fancy, black sedan driving towards us, and when he passed, I locked eyes with him for a brief moment. He was handsome, and his sultry stare was captivating. He had gone over the hill in a flash.

"Hello, stranger," I said aloud without realizing it. I was turned around in my seat, watching him drive away.

"What Marcy?" Lily turned the music down.

Shaking him from my thoughts, I turned back around to face the front seat, "Are we there yet?"

"Almost! Like maybe 30 more minutes." Lily said in between mouthing the lyrics to a song on her playlist.

The trip to the campsite felt so long, and there was hardly anything to look at on the long and winding stretches of road. The only things that caught my eye were the occasional driveway, passing car, or dirt trail that led out of the woods. I'm curious to know what kind of animals live here. Surely we won't encounter any bears.. Or wolves, for that matter.

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" I joked with Aida, who was focused on the road.

Aida, being the sarcastic one, shrugged, "Haha, so funny. Do you wanna drive us there??"

I leaned up from the back seat and pinched Aida's arm.

"Hey, watch it!" Aida made eye contact with me in the rear-view mirror and reached her arm behind her to try to swat me for revenge.

"Oh stop, Aida!" Lily smacked her shoulder in a playful way. They laughed.

"She's brought me here a few times when we needed to get away from her parents for the weekend," Lily turned and winked.

"Yikes guys, you're taking me to your secret f*ck spot!?" They both laughed at my comment.

"Okay, before I fall asleep, let's crank up some tunes," Aida said in hopes of livening up the quiet car ride. The rest of the car ride was filled with us singing along to the songs on Lily's playlist, off tune, of course.