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Rika
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I was waiting in my room for my guard to show up. I was sure that it was going to be Lucas again. Westin, for some reason, had not been back to see me since the other day. When I went on my daytime date with Clovio, that was the last time that I saw Westin.
I hoped that he wasn't angry at me. I had been a bit of a brat to him. As my little sister Talia was so very kind enough to point out to me. I had been behaving like a spoiled little princess that was allowed to do whatever she wanted and that the feelings of others didn't matter to me.
She didn't exactly say all of that, but I got the gist of it. I was being selfish, stupid and petty. And it wasn't just toward my parents that I was being a brat. Or better yet, I was being a bitch. I had been a bitch to my parents, to my siblings, to Lyssa and, of course, to Westin.
In the past, Westin used to always be the guard to volunteer to take me to someone. He was always the one that wanted to protect me. I didn't know if it had to do with me or if he was just trying to get on my parents' good graces, but I knew that he was always there for me. I knew that he would protect me no matter what. He would come to my rescue if I needed him. He was there for me to talk to if I needed him. He was like a constant in my life. But not anymore.
.....
To be fair, I did tell him that I never wanted to see him again. Actually, my words to him had been something along the lines of- 'Shut up! Go away! I don't want to see you ever again.' So, yeah, I can understand why he wasn't all that eager to come and guard me after I was forced to stay home all the time.
I mean, I understood that he didn't want to see me, but I couldn't apologize for being a bitch if I never got to see him. I had to tell him that I didn't mean it. When I told him that I didn't want him to stop being my guard, I hoped that he would be relieved or even happy. I had truly grown used to his presence and it hurt me that he was gone right now.
Soon enough, I heard the elevator doors open down the hall. The sound of footsteps started to come my way. And soon enough the scent of the man reached my nose. It was Lucas, just as I thought that it was going to be. He was coming to take me to lunch.
We had all had a very early breakfast that was brought to our rooms, and then I took a nap because of the early start to the day. I was still scared as well, since Talia had woken us all up screaming and covered in blood. I didn't know what had happened to her, but I wanted to find out. Hopefully, people will be a little more forthcoming with information than they had been in the past. I wanted to know if my sister was OK.
“Rika?” Lucas knocked on the door as he called out to me.
“Come in, Lucas.” I tried not to sound disappointed, but I know that I failed. I had absolutely nothing against Lucas. He was a great guard and was always there to help me as well. I was just a little upset that I wasn't able to apologize to Westin. I wanted to clear the air with him.
“How are you feeling?” He asked me with a worried expression on his face.
“I am fine. I got up early, as you know, and then I took a nap. So, I am feeling a lot better than I was this morning. Is Talia doing alright? I know that she shifted and all that, but I am still worried about why she was screaming so much this morning. I..I want to know what she saw.” Talia was younger than me by quite a bit, so I was feeling a little jealous that Mom and Dad always asked for her help. I have magic too. Maybe not the same as she has, but I was still powerful in my own right. And I could learn to do more. I..I had just never really wanted to learn before.
“I am glad that you got some more sleep. I know that you needed it. Everyone is having a hard time getting the rest that they need right now, with everything that is going on in the city and around the world.”
“Is that why Westin hasn't been back since the other day? He needed his rest?” I was hoping that was all that it was. I didn't want to be told that he refused to work for me again.
“Uh..uhm, w..well-.” Lucas looked uncomfortable and didn't seem to want to make eye contact with me at that moment. “I..I don't think that rest had anything to do with why he-.” He stopped again. It was almost like Lucas just didn't want to tell me what was going on.
“I know that Westin is mad at me, Lucas. The other day, when all of that stuff happened. Y..you know, th..the date that Lyssa and I went on with Clovio and Warrick. And then they were brought to the house to talk to Mom and Dad. Th..that was when I found out that Clovio and Warrick were lying to me and Lyssa. W..well, I uhm.. I..I said something mean to Westin. Something that I didn't mean, but now I wanted to apologize to him. I wanted to tell him that I know that I shouldn't have said those things to him.”
“Oh. Uhm..” He was still looking at me like there was an issue. I didn't know what it was that he was thinking about, but I knew that it had to be something major. I mean, why else would he be looking at me with so much pity in his eyes? And what was the pity for? What was it that was going on? Did Westin quit? Did he never want to talk to me again? Had I ruined his career or something? What was it that was going on?
“Lucas? What is it? Tell me, please.” I was almost begging him. As I sat on my bed, hugging my knees to my chest, I asked him to tell me what it was that was going on. I needed to know. Even though I had a feeling that it was going to be something that was hard for me to hear.
“Rika, I am sorry, but Westin is moving.”
“What?!” I practically screamed the word at him. “He's moving? Why? Is this because I got mad at him?” I thought that this was quite the response to this situation. I had yelled at him, yes, but I had been feeling so hurt and vulnerable at the time. Why would he move away just because of that? What was I going to do now?
“Yes. I don't think that it has to do with you though, Rika. I heard him talking to someone and he said that he was moving because of his mate.” Lucas continued to explain a little, but I was still reeling. It took the word mate to bring me out of my reverie.
“His mate?” I asked him in shock. “When did he find his mate? I wasn't aware that he had met them yet.”
“I didn't know that he had met her either. But I know that he is moving because of her. I don't know if she is leaving the area for something and he is moving with her or what, but I know that this has to do with his mate. So don't feel so bad, Rika, this isn't your fault.”
“O..OK.” I still didn't feel good about this. How was I to know for sure that this wasn't my fault? Was this really all because Westin had found his mate? Was he leaving for something other than me telling him that I didn't want to see him again? Or was he leaving and taking his mate because he didn't want to be around the spoiled rotten princess anymore? I don't know why, but I had a feeling that the last one was the closest to the truth.
“Come on, Rika, let's get you down to lunch. I am sure that you are bored and want to be out of this room for now.” Lucas was smiling and acting as calm as he possibly could. How was he not more affected by this? Probably because he didn't feel like it was all his fault.
I was in a trance for the rest of the day. I felt so guilty about what I had said to Westin and that he was leaving. I hated that I had been a bitch to him and everyone else. And if I had needed more evidence that my behavior was affecting those around me, then this was it. This was all that I needed to see to know that it was time for me to grow up. I wasn't going to act like the same entitled little baby anymore. I was going to be more mature and responsible. And that also meant that I needed to call Lyssa and apologize to her. I had a lot of mistakes to make up for.
