Chapter 5: Again

The next morning, Althea awoke earlier than Anthony, which was unusual.

She decided she should probably take a shower to stay clean and not stink like crap.

She was used to taking showers here, and when she was done, she would borrow one of Anthony's hoodies. Unlike other girls, she always returns the hoodies she borrows. She can't imagine her hoodies going missing; it'd be like losing a child.

She then went over to the small bathroom, stripped naked, and turned on the shower to a warm setting. She had no idea how much girls enjoyed boiling water; that's just too much, even in the winter.

She sat on the toilet while the water adjusted to the optimal temperature. Her gaze wandered around the bathroom until she came to a halt when she noticed something beaming on top of the bathroom cabinet. Out of curiosity, she climbed onto the counter and took it. It's important to remember that there's not much to keep hiding in a shower room.

She lowers the thin item and examines her hand. Her eyes widened as she realized it was Anthony's shaver, not the one he used to shave. She looks down at her finger and notices a small amount of blood on it from grabbing it incorrectly. Physically, she didn't feel anything.

Althea sat on the floor and stared at it. Then she decided to slide the shaver down her arm while tightly closing her eyes. She quickly grabs the air freshener and sprays it all over the bathroom. She didn't want Anthony to be able to smell her blood.

She looked down at the damage she had caused, thinking to herself, "It's just a simple cut, nothing inappropriate with it," as she tried to drag it down a few more times, thinking that it was not worth it. What was the point of living if she had to love something like that?

She shook her head, recalling Allan as her mate. "F*ck, the mate bond would never go away, and I could never love somebody unless I rejected him, which is impossible," she thought to herself as she scrubbed the blade clean in the shower, taking care not to leave any traces.

After that, she hopped into the shower and washed, distracted by the stinging water on her arm.

She hopped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself once she was done. She didn't want to wear Anthony's hoodie anymore, so she changed into her old clothes. Since her shirt was long-sleeved, she was safe and no one would notice her wound.

"Would you like some breakfast?" Anthony asks as he lies down on his couch. She lit on his legs and shook her head no. She wasn't hungry, and she was sick. "Okay... well, let's get going to school then," Anthony said, getting up and pushing her to the floor with a thump.

She groaned as she rubbed her buttocks.

"Hahaha, is that hurt?" He lifted her torso and pulled her to her feet. "HAHAHA, what do you think?" she asked, rolling her eyes at him.

"Hahaha sorry my lady," he jokes, sticking his tongue out.

She smiles and grabs her backpack, double-checking that she hasn't forgotten anything. Then she runs up behind Anthony and kicks him in the shins.

"What was that for?" he yelled, rubbing his buttocks.

"Revenge is a bitch," she said as she flipped her hair into his face. She only got rolled her eyes in response.

When they arrived at school, she went to her locker and then to class. There would be nothing special going on today, just a regular class with students chit-chatting about just the other day. Today, a different grade level was going to this.

She sat in class just seconds before the bell rang. She wasn't up for much, perhaps a nap and some simple work.

"All right, students," her professor said as he stood up from his desk. She had no idea he was already there. He was never on time, and he was never early. "We're changing things up a little," he says, standing tall. She raised an eyebrow, curious as to what was causing him to act strangely.

. "We're going back to the prison today-" she flinched, "F*ck! please no!"

"What's wrong, Miss Althea?" the professor inquired, perplexed by her reaction.

When Althea looked around, she noticed that everyone was staring at her. "Ahh nothing, sir," she said as she sat down quickly, embarrassed.

"All right, let's continue, and this time a single class, because the Sheriff would like to show us some ways to protect ourselves that we haven't considered," the professor said.

Althea expelled the breath she had been holding. She assumed they would see the prisoners again. But she knew there was something amiss with going back there. This was not planned, or they would have informed them. "Could they have discovered that someone from yesterday's class was Allan's mate...?" she wondered, nervously. She bites her lower lip and prays, "F*ck, I hope they don't find out about this."

"Let's go fill up on the bus-" their professor said, but was interrupted by someone throwing open the classroom door. Anthony was the one.

"Thea, you forgot your phone with me," he said as he approached her and handed her the phone.

"Thank you," she says quietly, her phone clutched close to her chest.

"How could I have forgotten it? I hope he didn't notice anything was wrong," she thought to herself.

"Talk to me later, see you later!" he said as he walked out of the classroom. "Later? f*ck, I guess I had to leave school without him," she grumbled, lonely and nervous.

Her professor coughed, refocusing everyone's attention on him. "Let's go," he said, motioning to the door. Everyone stood up and walked to the bus.

She then sat in the very back of the bus with the rowdy passengers. They might be able to divert her attention away from her thoughts. But they only irritated her in the end.

She looked out the bus window again, this time at the passing scenery.

Her wolf was dying because she hadn't shifted in almost a month. She needed to shift quickly before her wolf became enraged.

"We've arrived!" their professor exclaims as he stands up.

"Haist, I hope we're not going to see him," she sucks in a deep breath.