Chapter 112: Thanksgiving Arc: Two
Mosiah, Gordan, and Aurora sat in the park having a pinic under the autumn leaves. It was now November with Thanksgiving right around the corner.
Aurora took a sigh as she finished eating the pumpkin pie that Gordan had cooked. She rubbed her stomach and smiled at the Beta. "Wow, you are one damn good cook," she said to him.
Gordan made the best treats and dishes. She remembered back in elementary school during school parties, he would bring full on pies and cakes made by him, not his parents but him!
He laughed and ran his fingers through his hair. Gordan was truly loved cooking especially when the customers were his friends or family. He wiped his hands and began to clean up some of the plates.
"You know," he said. "It would be cool if I could sell some of my pastries in her restaurant."
Aurora smiled at him. "Honestly, I’d think she’d be interested. I’ll ask her and see what she says."
"I’m so glad we were able to do this," Mosiah said. He crossed his legs on the blanket and picked at the leaves on the ground. "My part time gig had been busting me to the bone."
Gordan nodded his head due to him having a similar situation. Gordan looked at the two Omegas, being pleased he was with them now. Unlike Brie, Mo Yong, Shatwa, and Aurora- Gordan and Mosiah came from regular middle class homes. So they didn’t have much of a luxury of not having a job, although Brie did have a job working at Aurora’s mom’s restaurant.
Aurora got up along with the two boys. They began to clean up the area then folded the blanket while they walked to Mosiah’s car. Already it was starting to rain with Aurora rolling her eyes at it. Predictable, of course in the city of Ashley.
Gordan offered to drive the two Omegas home. Mosiah smiled and nodded as he climbed into the backseat. Aurora got into the front seat and buckled her seatbelt. She looked at Gordan as he pulled out of the park and onto the main road.
Mosiah leaned his head against the window and watched the rain streak down the glass. Aurora turned her head and looked at Gordan. He was focused on the road, but she could tell he was thinking about something. She wondered what it was. She decided to not ask though, thinking it was best if he was allowed to be in his own space.
Shatwa sat in her room the next day looking exhausted. She had been caught. She had been caught raping an Omega down at the abandoned cabin in the woods. And whats worst, she was caught by Aurora’s younger sister. The young Alpha saw everything along with her friends. What if Adama called the police? She knew she did. When Shatwa ran away from the scene, she heard Adama demanding for someone to call the police.
She placed her head in her hands and sighed, running her fingers through her hair. She looked up and saw her beaten self in the mirror.
Ding, dong!
She quickly turned to the door of her bedroom. Then she heard the footsteps reach her room.
Shatwa didn’t move. She didn’t breathe. She didn’t even blink. Her eyes stayed glued to the door handle as it slowly turned. The softwood creaked under the pressure of whoever stood on the other side. Her fingers dug into her thighs, leaving crescent moons on her skin.
The air tasted stale, thick with the scent of her own panic, a metallic tang mixed with sweat and something else, something sour like regret. She could hear her own heartbeat drumming against her ribs, a frantic rhythm that drowned out everything else.
The door swung open slowly, revealing not the police uniforms she dreaded, but Aurora’s younger sister, Adama. The girl stood framed in the doorway, her expression unreadable, a mask of youthful detachment that somehow felt more terrifying than anger.
Behind her, the hallway light cast long, distorted shadows that crept across the floorboards like grasping fingers. Adama’s gaze swept over Shatwa’s disheveled form, lingering on the bruises blooming on her knuckles and the tear tracks staining her cheeks.
"The cops are going to come question you," Adama said.
"How’d you know where I lived?" Shatwa asked the young Alpha.
"I looked it up," she laughed. "Also...I want you to stay away from my sister," Adama said. She glared at Shatwa with such hatred.
Shatwa began to sweat; the little beads going down her forehead.
Adama stood frozen in the doorway, her eyes locked onto Shatwa’s trembling form. Shatwa’s fingers dug deeper into her thighs, the crescent marks now red and angry against her skin.
The air hung thick with the metallic scent of fear, mingling with the stale odor of unwashed sheets and cheap perfume from a discarded glamor model magazine on the floor.
Shatwa’s reflection in the mirror showed hollow eyes and a jaw clenched so tight it ached, a stark contrast to Adama’s unnerving calm. Outside, rain lashed against the window jambs, each droplet sounding like a ticking clock counting down to disaster.
"You disgusting piece of shit," Adama said before leaving the room and the house. Getting on her bike and going back home.
Adama made her way back home on her bike to smell of bare b que coming from the backyard; the rain having stopped once leaving Shatwa’s home. She opened the backyard gate and saw her sires gathered around the grill. Her mother was sitting at one of the tables drinking a glass of wine. Since it was getting colder, everyone had on pants and long sleeve shirts or sweater.
Lacy looked over at her daughter and waved for her to join her at the outside table beside the pool.
"Whats the point of us having a pool? We can barely use it," the young Alpha said.
"We’re gonna get some heaters for it," Samantha said. "Put a canopy over it and that should be good."
"Actually," Salmona started. "We should build a whole room around it and have it heated up," she suggested.
Lacy nodded her head to the two Alphas. "I like that idea," she said.
Adama sat down at the table and was given a can of soda by her mother. Lacy opened it for her. "Mom, I can do it myself," Adama whined.
"I know," Lacy said. "But I like doing things for you."
Adama took the soda. The cold metal stung her palms, condensation already beading. She watched her mothers, Lacy’s calm sip of wine, Samantha flipping burgers with precise tong clicks, Salmona sketching pool enclosure ideas on a napkin.
Their ease grated against the tension coiled in her own shoulders. She’d just threatened Shatwa, seen the raw terror in those eyes. Now here? Barbecue smoke, laughter, the sizzle of fat hitting coals.
"I’M HOMMMEEEE!!" Aurora screamed entering into the backyard. She had chip bags in her hands.
Aurora plopped the bags of chips on the table and sat down next to Adama and took a soda.
"How was Gordan and Mosiah yesterday; you didn’t tell us?" Samantha asked, she began to put the hamburgers and hot dogs on a plate.
"Good, it was good to catch up. They work so much," she said, sighing as she sat back in her seat.
Adama stared at her sister, Aurora’s face relaxed and happy. The scent of barbecue smoke clung to the air, mingling with the damp earth smell of the rain earlier.
Aurora’s fingers drummed lightly on the soda can, condensation dripping onto her jeans. Adama’s own hands were still tensed from gripping her bike handles too tightly on the ride home.
She remembered Shatwa’s panicked eyes, the way her breath hitched in that filthy room. The memory felt like a jagged stone in her stomach. She took a long, slow sip of her soda, the cold fizz barely registering.
Her gaze drifted past Aurora, past the steaming grill where Samantha expertly flipped burgers, past Salmona sketching wildly on a napkin. She focused instead on the darkening sky above the pool, the water reflecting the grey clouds like a sheet of dull metal.
The night was dark and the family sat around a camp fire in the backyard. They laughed into the night and looked up at the stars above.
"We should get a telescope," Salmona said.
"No, those things are expensive," Lacy responded back. That was true; they were.
The family quieted down and continued to stare at the sky. Finally, Adama spoke. "Shatwa raped a girl in the woods," she said.
Everyone turned to look at her immediately, Aurora with her mouth agap. Adama met her eyes, sad to see her sister distraught by the news especially given what happened to her just a few months back.
"What?" Aurora said, barely able to comprehend the news.
"I caught her, my friends and I. We called the police." Adama said. "I told her to leave you alone," she ended.