Chapter 3 THREE

I made my way out of Cahlia's room and into mine. After gathering my belongings for school, I took a seat on my bed and held my phone. Staring at Ivan's name on my screen, I clicked on his contact. I wasn't even sure if he would be interested in talking to me about all of this hair with Cahlia and now my mother. Though, to be fair, he and Cahlia are sort of friends; why should he have to deal with it after I pushed him away? It's not his problem. I believed that Ivan would be the most ready to give me a lift to school, so I decided to phone nonetheless. I bit nervously at the skin around my nails while holding my phone up to my ear. After the third ring, he answered. "Hello?" With a voice still heavy with sleep, he uttered it. Although I had woken him up from sleep, I felt a little guilty, but I really needed this favor. "Hey, it's Lucas. I have several things I need to discuss with you. Could you please provide me with a ride to school?" By the time I finished speaking, my finger was raw from asking the question. "Yeah, of course." It sounded like he needed a wake-up call right away. "When should I pick you up?" "I'm ready when you are." "I'll be there in twenty minutes." I heard him get out of bed, the man added. "All right. I'm grateful that you provided this. "Yeah, no problem." "See you soon." "Bye." After saying that, he hung up the phone. I knew that Cahlia had already left when I heard the downstairs door close. Why she had to go so early is beyond me. I spent a few minutes doing little things while I waited around, and then I heard a horn go off outside. I went to the door, picked up my bag, and swung it over my shoulder. I turned back and shut it behind me. I emerged from the yard and made my way to Ivan's sleek black automobile. With a brief sigh, I pulled open the door and took a seat. Shutting the door, I turned to face Ivan. He said, "Hey," with a worn-out expression. "Sorry to wake you up." I muttered. To be fair, he needed to wake up promptly because we had school today. "It's alright." He stated. After a few minutes of silence, an unpleasant mood began to develop between us. "What did you want to talk about?" With anxiety, he inquired. "Can we talk about it on the way to Travis's?" "Why Travis's?" "Well, I need to find Andy, and I figure that Irene would be the best way to do that, and we need Travis to find Irene." I gave an explanation. "It seems oddly complicated." We rolled down the street after he got the car started. "Why do you need to see Andy?" "Well, Cahlia came home this morning, and then she had this huge fight with our mom, and then she kind of had a go at me, and then she said to tell Andy to meet her in the alley near the library." I stated. "Why are you doing this if she 'had a go at you'?" He enquired. "Because she's my sister, and I love her." It took him a minute to get back to talking. "Do you love me?" Silently, he inquired. I turned to face him, but he wouldn't turn to face me. "Of course I do..." "But you're mad at me." He said. "I still adore you, though. I'm not sure where I am at the moment, but I need some time to work things out with Cahlia before I can concentrate on anything else." "You know, it isn't your responsibility to look after Cahlia." He stated. She was my sister, even though I knew he was correct. I felt obligated to support her in the same way that she had supported me for so long. "She's my sister; I just want to get her back on her meds and make sure she's ok." I could tell he knew what I was saying when I said it. "What makes you think that Travis will know where they are staying?" He enquired. "Well, he has a better chance than we do, plus it's a quick trip before we go to school; it shouldn't take long." After he gave his okay, we headed to Travis's loft. Arriving there was not too difficult for us. I looked up at the building as we stepped out of the automobile. We all believed Travis had moved on from Berkeley Hills until a few weeks ago, but in reality, he had stayed there the entire time. We descended the steps and entered after realizing the door was already open. Travis had a book open in front of him as he stood in front of the table. We were shocked to see Irene monitoring her brother while seated on the round staircase. "What do you want?" Travis asked without looking away. "We were actually looking for Irene." Ivan responded. Leaning her back against the table to face us, she got up and walked up to Travis. It seemed to me that she hadn't received the news yet. "Umm, can you tell us where Andy might be?" I enquired. "At home?" "Why, where else should she be?" she surmised. "Have you seen her in the last few days?" Ivan enquired. Travis closed the book firmly and pivoted to confront us. "Ok, what's going on?" He enquired. "Well, you know about the new pack, and I'm assuming you know that Irene is part of it." I spoke, and he gave a nod. "Well, we sort of know who the alpha is." A murmured "Holy fuck" from Irene. "It's my sister, Cahlia." As I said, Travis's expression fell. "She told you?" Irene queried. "Well, kind of, but only because she got shot." Irene was about to complain, but I cut her off. "She's fine; it appears that French people found her. I'm not sure. I gave her a headshake. "I still don't know everything yet." "Ok, but where is she now, and why do you need Andy?" She enquired. I looked at Travis and said, "Well, this won't make any sense to you, but she's gone off her meds." "Oh sh*t," she exclaimed.