Chapter 12
LUCIA LORENZO'S POV
Certain times in our lives shape who we end up being. Nothing like that—nothing you would write about to get into college—like a sports injury or anything of the sort. The moments we consider trivial are typically the ones that change our perspective on life and the people in our immediate vicinity. An odd organ is the brain. It likes to punish us even though it governs us. Positive remarks are more likely to stick in our memories than negative ones.
Most of the time, we are unaware of the specific circumstances that led us to where we are today.
Everything can change in an instant. I'm not sure which events shaped the person I am now. But I still recall the day I said I detested Blaine De Lombardi.
It was my ninth birthday celebration nine years ago. My sister and her friends were having a conversation, and Valerie, Anthony, and I were playing in my backyard.
Mirabel treated me badly. She desired to be friends with Blaine's friends, the elder wolves. We seldom ran with the same group, so it didn't bother me, but the taunting was becoming tiresome.
"Lucia! Take a look at what I can accomplish!" Anthony bellowed. I had seen him perform this backflip twenty times before. He was quite happy to pick up a new skill.
Mirabel remarked, "Look at Lucia, she looks ugly in that dress." Her comment made Blaine and his pals giggle.
"Mirabel, we have the same dress on," I said. We weren't identical twins, but my mom insisted on dressing us alike.
"It looks better on me, I got the good looks from our parents unlike you," she replied.
That's what she would always bring up. I was secretly in agreement with her, therefore I never confronted her about it.
Mirabel inherited our dad's green eyes and our mother's lips and face structure. There were also gold streaks in her hair. My hair was black, and my eyes were brown. The worst thing was that, unlike my brother, Mirabel had the same traits. Although there are photos of the two of us from when we were babies, Mirabel said I was adopted because I stood out. My father claimed that it was the Italian in me, and I was learning to accept my looks.
"That is untrue! Lucia is attractive," said Anthony. I blushed, knowing that he would always defend me.
"Yes! Mirabel, she's much more attractive than you!" said Valerie. She stood up for me, and I was grateful, but I didn't want them to treat my sister badly. She was merely going through a romantic phase with Blaine.
"Stop talking, Dorcas Lisa! Anyhow, what kind of name is that? A grandmotherly one!" Back, Mirabel shouted. Her eyes were glaring and her face was flushing. She was so hard for me to understand.
Valerie's face dropped, tears welling up in her eyes. Although she was a strong girl, this was a delicate topic. Her mother's name was Dorcas, and the name of her elder sister was Lisa. A day after Valerie was born, they both passed away.
Valerie burst into tears and fled. Anthony trailed behind her as I gazed at the person my sister had transformed into. Mom remarked that when a person is in love, they tend to do strange things. Blaine was to blame for this, not Mirabel. Because he took my sister, I detested him.
I was aware of my hatred for him. I simply had no idea how much it would expand.
Could you imagine if I included that in my college application? I still have very clear memories of that incident. I recall spending the entire day locked in my room. Though I still harbored hatred for Blaine, the thought kept coming to me.
"Was Blaine the wrong person to be hated?"
"Lucia! The game is about to begin, hurry up!" Rose let out an excited shout. We had all invented the game she was talking about a few years prior. In essence, the lake contains this enormous circular floating platform. Two people fight in the circle, and everyone swarms around it, a few feet in all directions. It's only about pushing, not about kicking and punching. Getting the other person into the water is the aim.
I reach down and pull my shirt over my head, then put on my shorts.
"Let's go blondie!" I told Rose this before entering the water. We made our way to the circle containing everyone else.
Anthony says, "Let's make teams."
Girls yell, "Boys versus girls!"
"All right," replies Johnson.
"Dude, what are you saying? Anthony yells, "They wiped the floor with us last time." He was correct; the girls won handily last year. Even though the guys were stronger overall, we were much faster and had superior balance.
"Well it's time for some revenge isn't it?" Says Blaine. Mirabel was resting on his back, but his expression was irritated.
"What a joke! You people are failing once more." Says Valerie.
"Then let's get started, shall we?"
Stella and Anthony are the first individuals up. My ex-boyfriend and the woman he cheated on me with, how ironic. Anthony and I got along well, but Stella always managed to agitate me. I feel like throwing Stella into the lake by Anthony, even though I know I should be cheering for Stella.
"Go!" The game starts when Johnson yells.
Stella stumbles and lands flat on her back while Anthony reaches for her foot right away. Her expression twisted in agony, and then she grinned.
She asks, "Is that all you got, handsome boy?"
Regaining her footing, she kicks Anthony in the shins, destabilizing him. Stretching his arms wide, he leans back, trying to regain his equilibrium. I fear he's about to stumble, but he steps forward with his right foot and grabs Stella's wrist. He draws her toward him, turns, and shoves her into Lake Tahoe's azure waters.
"Stella, don't let your guard down!" he grinned. The lads taunt the girls and give Anthony words of encouragement while hooting and hollering. The boys are doing better than they did the last time they went through the rounds. It's going to be my turn soon.
Now it's Lucia's time. It's a draw; you must defeat Blaine." Says Rose.
"Blaine?" The fact that he is the lone guy who hasn't left yet escaped my notice.
"Knock her off, Blaine!" The boys yell at Johnson. On the platform already, Blaine is standing. The light gleams on his abs, and the water pushes his hair back. His expression is arrogant as if he already knows he will prevail. I will not allow him to. This one's for me; the other night in the forest, he prevailed.
I press myself up and lay my hands flat on the circle. I place my feet firmly on the platform and stand there. Despite my trembling toes, I took a deep breath to help me relax. Being an alpha gives him the advantage of being inherently superior to everyone else in any situation. It's a difficult hurdle to overcome, but I can do it if anyone can.
His eyes follow my body as I watch. I'm not sure if I like it when he seems to be undressing me with his eyes. His eyes move from being a regular color to flashing gold.
It appears that I am in the lead.