Leilani.
*Beep.beep.beep.beep*
The sound of the heart monitor echoed throughout the vast space, snapping me back to the present, and I wiped the tears off my face with the back of my hand as I listened to the sound of my mother's choked sob from across the hall.
A few rows away from where I sat, my sister and mother were hurdled together, sporting the perfect image of a loving family; and our elder brother, Gavin, stood to the side, his eyes red and puffy, but despite that, he still managed to throw scornful looks my way, scoffing whenever our eyes met.
He hates me.
They hate me.
I shouldn't be here…
"Doctor, how's she?!" My mother spoke up suddenly, rushing to her feet when a woman in a white scrub walked out of the ICU.
The doctor sighed, shaking her head, she whispered; "she's not good. Her condition is very bad. She may not survive this."
The world spun. Sounds dissolved into white noses in the background. Her words shattered every hope I had left in me, and I staggered backwards until I hit the wall behind me, my heart lurching in my chest as a choked sob slipped past my lips.
Grandma was the only family who loved me— at least she tolerated me and stood by me whenever everyone seemed to be against me. She didn't deserve this.
"This is all your fault!" Gavin's voice boomed and suddenly, my head whipped to the side as something crashed against my cheek.
Tears sprung into my eyes when it dawned on me what this was… what this is. He'd slapped me, which was usual, and I was about to be blamed. Again.
And I was right. "It's your fault that Grandma is in this condition. If you didn't pick a fight with Chalice then this would've never happened! She wouldn't have been so stressed that her BP skyrocketed!"
"But I didn't…" I began to say, but the look in his eyes had me biting down on my lips, swallowing my words. He never listens… he wouldn't listen.
"If anything happens to her, I'll end you. I promise you. I'll kill you and I'll feed your carcass to the dogs even before father returns from his trip!"
"Gavin, ignore that reject," my mother's harsh words came next, and oh hell, it cut through me more than any knife could.
By the heavens, I should be used to it by now. I should be used to their hatred, their scalding words, the quiet way I've been exiled from this family; But I wasn't.
It still hurts like a bitch. My heart still throbbed whenever they spoke so illy to me.
Suddenly, the main doors swung open and I was soon assaulted by the most divine scents to ever exist.
My mates.
I smelled them before I saw them, but as usual as soon as their eyes snagged on me, they looked away. Their hatred was palpable.
Gods, I wonder what I ever did to them.
"Kael, Caelum, Zevran!" Chalice cried out softly, her tears leaking out of her eyes as she rushed over to them. "I wasn't expecting that you guys would come. Grandma… the doctor… she says she might not make it." She sobbed, playing the perfect part of a damsel in distress even though she's the reason for the distress in the first place.
I watched with a heavy heart as Kael pulled her into his strong arms, and Zevran on the other hand plucked her hands into his, bringing it up to his lips.
"We'll always be here for you," Caelum whispered to her, "anytime… and trust me, your grandma would survive. Okay?"
"I hope so." Chalice croaked. "It was all my fault. I didn't mean to… I only wanted to make peace with Leilani and she picked a fight with me. Grandma tried to separate us. She tried to… she pushed her!"
The more the lies tumbled out of her mouth, the colder the room grew. Everyone turned to me in obvious contempt, but I was used to it.
However, I wasn't so used to getting these looks from Kael, Caelum and Zevran; and for that reason, it shredded me completely. I cowered. "I didn't…" I began to say but upon realization that they probably wouldn't listen, I snapped my lips shut and looked away.
"I really didn't."
Crack.
Now it was my mother who slapped me.
My head lolled to the side as more tears sprung free. I shuddered, my breaths coming in short harsh gasps.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Chalice's discreet sneer. I saw the way she smirked at my misfortune. She enjoyed taking pleasure in my suffering. It was a known fact. But what always annoyed me was how no one else could see through her 'too perfect' facade.
Something about her smugness however, made me mad, and in rage, I straightened my back, looked my mother dead in the eyes, and was just about to speak when the doctor rushed out of the ICU again.
This time, her face was grimmer than it was the last time she stepped out. She wasted no time, and didn't give any preamble. She simply said; "We've lost her. Grandma Aurora is dead."
Those simple seven letters tilted my world in its axis. It shook me to my core. I stumbled back and crashed to the floor, a loud cry tearing from my throat as my tears blinded my vision.
My Grandmother is gone.
My only loving family. The unshakable force that brought nothing but kindness to me was gone.
The pain lanced through me so much that I feared I would pass out, I groaned, squeezing my chest as if to stop the pain that way but it was futile.
And just then, the main doors burst open again, and now my father stormed in, looking everything like the Beta that he was, and the boogeymen that he was… to me.
He snarled; "Leilani!"
And I instantly knew that hell was about to be let loose.