A Hurt So Sweet Volume Four - Isabella Starling

1

Pandora

A few hours into the train ride, I don't feel as hopeless as I did when I saw that plus sign on the pregnancy test.

Alli is the perfect companion for the train ride that could potentially change my life for the better. She distracts me with her own past when I am panicking, and does her best to calm me down when I start crying. The thought of the baby I'd wanted so badly actually growing in my belly for real makes me feel sick. And what's even worse, I keep questioning how Dex will react. Will he be pissed off? Will he demand to get a paternity test on the child? Will he still want me, not knowing whether it's his?

I force myself to push the thoughts as far away as possible from my mind. I don't care about Dexter Booth. He's ancient history—as he should be, after what he did to me when he leaked that photo. He hasn’t changed one bit. He’s still the twisted, cruel boy I first met. And yet the thought of his reaction won't leave my mind. And that's where Alli comes in.

"Just breathe," she tells me with a sympathetic smile, gently squeezing my palm. "I'm here for you. Whatever you need. Everything's going to be fine. Breathe in, breathe out."

"Thanks," I manage a few moments later. "Fuck. How am I going to deal with everything by myself? I shouldn't have left Eden Falls."

"You did the right thing by leaving. And look... Maybe we can stay in touch." Her smile is warm, and when she pulls her hand away, I cling onto it, my eyes desperately finding hers. "I'll give you my number... You can call me when you get settled in with your mom."

"Come with me. Please. I don't want to go by myself. I need a friend."

"What?" She laughs uneasily. "I told you, I have my uncle waiting for me at his place when I get off in Stormcliff. He's my last living relative." She chews her bottom lip and I pat her hand. She told me her parents died in a tragic car accident, and she now has to move in with an uncle she's never met.

"Tell him you're staying with a friend for a while. You're old enough." I squeeze her hand again. "Please. I'll..." I bite my lower lip, not knowing what to offer her. As far as I know, my mother could be pissed to see me and throw me out before I so much as step a foot in her house. "I have nothing to offer you. But you said you were dreading to go live with your uncle, Alli. Come with me instead. I really need a friend, and I think you do, too."

She stares at me with an indecisive expression before sighing and leaning back in her chair. "Fine."

"Really?" My face lights up with a smile. "You'd do that for me?"

"What else have I got to do?" she giggles. "At least this way, I'll get some excitement in my life. And won't have to move in with my aunt."

"Don't you mean uncle?" I furrow my brows.

"What? Oh, yeah." She smiles distractedly. "My uncle."

Just then, the train operator's voice sounds on the speaker, letting us know we'll be arriving in Stormcliff in two minutes. Alli grabs her small bag and offers me her arm.

"Come on, let's do this."

Hooking my arm with hers, I follow her onto the platform when the train stops. She hails a cab and we stare at the picturesque ocean-side city as we drive through it. It's beautiful here, closer to Wildwood than Eden Falls was. Something tells me I could live here. Feel at home here. More than I ever did with my second family.

My heart beats louder and louder as we travel through the suburbs into the elite neighborhood of the city. Mom's address is right around here, the driver tells us, and I'm surprised by how rich the area is. It makes me wonder whether my mother remarried. The potential of having to meet yet another new family makes me feel faint.

We arrive in front of a gated driveway leading up to a gorgeous, modern house shielded by tall trees. It looks like it's mostly glass, something from an architectural magazine. I can see a tennis court and a pool behind it, and the gated property is huge.

"This is as far as I can go," the cab driver says, motioning to the gate. "You girls got someone to buzz you