LOGINAriana
I hated college.
I hated college kids.
I held back a gag, as I recalled some of the things that girl had said. She called me a bitch, seriously? After being so shameless, come to think of it the guy was equally shameless or he would have put a stop to it earlier.
A knock sounded on my door, forcing me to push myself out of bed to open it.
"Can I help you," I asked mom in a lazy tone.
"Get ready, we are having dinner with our new neighbors in ten minutes, and they're already downstairs." Her voice sounded demanding.
God, no, she just had to invite them over for dinner. My mom's a nurse hence why she was naturally nice to everyone, a little bit too nice if you asked me.
"Aren't they the ones who should be inviting us over for dinner considering they're are new and also as a peace offering." I pointed out. My mom took a deep sigh, shaking her head at me.
Sometimes I felt it was hard for her to raise me alone, without dad by her side. My Dad was arrested for fraud a couple years back and sentenced to thirty years in prison. Mom believed he was innocent, but mostly because she was deeply in love with him. Love? I'd g****e it if I didn't have a huge ego.
But I'll tell you what I think about love, it is fucked up as hell. I've seen people turn blind to the truth all in the name of the word that should not be mentioned. Take my mom for an instance, she was bent on waiting for my dad and believed he was framed despite the fact that all evidence did point to him.
"Be ready in less than ten minutes, dress decently and leave your phone on your bed." She ordered, and my mouth fell opened.
I hated that she's a control freak, well a bit like me. But she was the deal, while I was just the copy.
"But Mom."
"Leave the phone!" She repeated the last part loudly, walking out on me.
She have got to be kidding me. I couldn't go down there eating with a bunch of strangers without texting Sofia. How was I supposed to distract myself? Ouch, goddamn it. I hoped the new neighbors weren't creeps. The last ones stole our family album.
Sighing in defeat, I decided to let my chestnut locks fall down my shoulders, as I pulled on my black t-shirt, baggy shorts, and fluffy boys palms. I think this was what she meant when she said decent.
Grudgingly, I tossed my phone on the bed, as I dragged myself down the stairs. I heard voices coming from the kitchen. The more I walked towards it, the more I resisted the urge to walk back into my room.
There was a woman who looked like she's the same age as my mom, she was sitted next to a blonde dude who could be my age, and on the other side of the table, was another dude facing down and typing on his phone. So he gets to text people during this, but I don't. That's just great.
"Nick, no typing." The woman yelled, snatching the phone from him. Spoke too soon.
"Aria, come join us." Said my mom. I offered her a tight-lipped nod and sat next to the second dude, not even sparing him a glance as I did so. I felt his eyes on me though, making me overly self conscious as I shoved a spoonful of mash into my mouth. God, I wanted nothing more than to be over with this weird dinner as soon as possible. My wish came true because the unseasoned starchiness nearly choked me to death, but having grown used to my mom's cooking, I somehow managed to swallow it down and kept eating.
"Eve, Mark, and Nick this is my only daughter Ariana, Ariana this are our new neighbors, the Beaufort." My mom introduced all of us with a beaming smile. I could still feel the intense eyes of the guy beside me. Disturbed, I snapped my gaze towards him and God help me.. the dude beside me looked like sin itself.
He was beautiful in a way that felt wrong. Chiseled features, dark-haired, and a familiar set of striking ocean eyes. I gasped loudly. Hold on.. wasn't this the same asshole from class?
"You." I mumbled, causing him to lick his buttom lips, making it all wet and pink. Okay what was happening? Why was he trying to look all hotter?
"You two know each other?" My mom asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
"Uh.."
"She's in my class." He interrupted me, his voice smooth, deep and annoyingly sexy.
My mom's face instantly brighten. "I can see you two are already familiar with yourselves."
Nick choked back a laugh. "No, we aren't. She has attitude problem and is rude."
Attitude problem and rude? You have got to be kidding me. Wasn't he the one who was about to get a hand job in public space and even after I reprimanded him couldn't apologize. I laughed darkly, how fucking oblivious was this guy.
"Care to share what's so funny." He asked. I looked up and found everyone eyes on me.
"Nothing. Just the fact that you couldn't even wait untill class was over before trying to charm the pants off your seatmate." I deadpanned.
And that people was the perfect start of an aggrieved situationship between Nick and I.
Nick stared at Ariana through the thick glass. Her hands trembled as she held the old photograph. Tears rolled down her cheeks, but she did not wipe them away. "No."His voice was firm. "I don't care what your father wrote.""You are not dying."Ariana looked at him with pain in her eyes. "My father knew this day would come.""He left this message because he knew there would be no other way."Nick shook his head again. "He was wrong.""There is always another way."The electronic voice echoed inside the cage. "Final authorization sequence will begin in three minutes."A red countdown appeared above Ariana. 02:59. Claire looked at the control panel. "The system is moving faster."Daniel stood beside her. "Can you stop it?"She quickly typed several commands. Every screen flashed red. "Access denied."She tried another code. Again, the system rejected it. Claire hit the keyboard in frustration. "It's blocking every command."Victor walked over. "What about shutting off the power?"Clair
The blue light inside the glass cage became brighter. Thin beams slowly moved across Ariana's face and body as if they were scanning every part of her. She stepped back in fear. "What is this?"The electronic voice answered immediately. "Identity verification in progress.""Please remain still.""I don't want this!"She hit the glass with both hands. Nothing happened. The cage did not even shake. Outside, Nick slammed his fist against the thick glass again. "Ariana!""Can you hear me?"She nodded quickly. "I'm here.""I can't get out."Nick searched for any weak point, but the cage was built from thick metal and reinforced glass. He grabbed a fallen rifle and struck the glass as hard as he could. The sound echoed through the clearing. The glass remained perfect. Not even a small crack appeared. Daniel ran over to help him. "We'll break it."The two men struck the cage again and again. It refused to break. Claire rushed back to the control panel. "There has to be an emergency release."
The ground continued shaking beneath their feet. The giant steel structure slowly rose from the earth, breaking through rocks and thick tree roots. Dust filled the air as everyone watched in horror. Nick held Ariana close. "What is that?"No one answered immediately. Even Julian looked stunned. Evelyn slowly stepped forward, her eyes fixed on the massive structure. "It can't be."Victor stood beside her. "I thought every launch site was destroyed."Evelyn shook her head. "So did I."The steel doors on top of the structure slowly opened. A loud mechanical sound echoed across the clearing. Deep inside, rows of bright lights came to life. Richard Ashford smiled as if he were watching a beautiful show. "You spent years looking for hidden bunkers.""You never thought to look beneath them."David's face turned pale. "Richard...""What have you done?"Richard calmly looked at him. "I finished what we started."David shook his head. "No.""We stopped that project."Richard laughed softly. "Yo
The entire clearing fell into silence. Nick could not take his eyes off the man standing in the helicopter doorway. The stranger had the same dark hair. The same sharp eyes. The same face. It was like looking into a mirror. Only one difference stood out. The stranger smiled with complete confidence, while Nick stood frozen in shock. Ariana slowly tightened her grip on Nick's hand. "Nick..."He barely heard her. His voice came out as a whisper. "Who are you?"The man jumped down from the helicopter and landed smoothly on the ground. Several masked soldiers followed him, spreading out around the clearing. They carried weapons, but none of them fired. The stranger looked at Nick with great interest. "I've waited a long time for this."Nick frowned. "You called me your brother.""I did.""I don't have a brother."The man chuckled. "That is what they wanted you to believe."David suddenly stepped forward. His injured shoulder was still bleeding, but he ignored the pain. "Stay away from him
The black helicopter landed in the middle of the clearing. Its blades continued spinning, sending dust and dry leaves into the air. Everyone shielded their faces as the wind grew stronger. The woman stepped down slowly.She wore a long black coat, and her silver hair moved with the wind. She looked calm, almost as if she had expected everyone to be there. David stared at her in complete shock. "No..."His voice was barely a whisper. Nick looked at him. "Dad, who is she?"David did not answer. His eyes never left the woman. Ariana noticed the fear on his face. She had never seen him look afraid before. Even when Hayes held a gun to his head, David had remained calm. This was different. The woman smiled gently as she walked toward them. "David.""It has been a long time."David slowly shook his head. "You died.""I attended your funeral."The woman smiled again. "It was a beautiful service."Everyone stood frozen. Victor stared at her with wide eyes. "I remember that funeral.""We all b
The gunshot echoed through the forest. Time seemed to stop. David threw himself in front of Nick without thinking. The bullet struck him in the shoulder with terrible force. He stumbled backward and crashed onto the ground. "Dad!"Nick's scream cut through the sound of gunfire. Hayes saw the chance and quickly crawled away. Before Nick could chase him, another wave of bullets forced everyone to take cover. Ariana ran toward Nick. She dropped to her knees beside David. "Oh my God."Blood quickly spread across David's shirt. He pressed one hand against the wound and forced a weak smile. "I'm still here."Nick knelt beside him. His hands shook as he tried to stop the bleeding. "You saved me."David looked into his son's eyes. "I finally got the chance.""I wasn't going to waste it."Nick fought back tears. "You should have let me take the bullet."David slowly shook his head. "No father would ever do that."Another explosion sounded nearby. One of the black SUVs burst into flames. Julian







