Tasting 122

122–Pushed Down!

Nora:

“So, you’re not looking for a boyfriend? At least try to find someone who can take some of the

burden off your brothers,” she didn’t directly speak to me. It was her way of passing a comment

while frowning.

I never responded to her, and the next three minutes felt like the longest ever.

Now it was just the two of us, and the awkward silence settled in. I thought about running back to

the car many times, but I feared if I moved, she would remember I was there.

She kept sighing and pacing around the car, looking at the tall trees until she reached my side and

grunted.

“Your stepbrother cares way too much about you,” she said, not as a question but as a statement.

“He does,” I replied with a smile. Just remembering how our journey started with him wanting me

out of the house to him becoming a strong shield for me.

“And what do you do for him?” she inquired with a raised brow, making me narrow my eyes at her to

try and understand what exactly she wanted me to do for my stepbrother.

“Excuse me?” I guess it stemmed from how Natalia had accused me of sleeping around and had

even thrown my stepfather’s name into the mix. I felt like she was accusing me of the same

nonsense.

122–Pushed Down

“He will come back all thirsty, and there is no water,” she replied, waving the empty bottle at me.

I knew it was all her doing. She had been drinking way too much water, which I didn’t mind until she

started constantly washing her hands and her shoes with our drinking water.

I could tell from her ways that she was going to be too hard to deal with.

“There is a river down there. If you really want to help your stepbrother, go fill these bottles with

water for him,” she shrugged, tossing the empty bottle at me. I caught it before it fell.

“Are you coming with me?” I asked, which made her laugh.

“You can’t even fetch water without someone’s help?” The judgment in her eyes got to me.

I watched her face in disbelief for a moment, trying to comprehend what exactly she wanted me to

do.

“I don’t think Nash would appreciate me going into the woods on my own,” I said with a

stepbrother wouldnting smile, making her understand that my

be upset about me not getting him water.

“That’s because he knows you’re not good for anything. And it’s not like you even try,” she rolled her

eyes. “And by the way, do you never feel odd about staying with a family that your mother ruined?”

I didn’t expect her to bring that up. So far, not many had reminded me of the fact that my mother

was the reason the brothers lost their mother. In fact, I never delved too much into the details

either.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I hissed, folding my arms over my chest to give her the idea that this

topic was off–limits.

122 Pushed Downt

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“Of course you don’t. First, your mother ruined their happy life, and now you. I’m more shocked that

Lord Atwood brought you home, even after promising his sons that he would never let that woman

or her family come in the way of their happiness or lives,” she continued, making me bury my head

even more.

“Do you know they were also very young when they were robbed of their mother’s love? And yet

they are doing everything for you, but you can’t even get them water,” she shook her head, getting

back to the

topic of fetching water. I didn’t understand why she was making such a big deal out of it.

She could come with me if she needed water that badly. But no! She had to make me work for it..

“But I’m not familiar with this place,” I argued, a frown appearing on my face.

“One excuse after another. Just leave it. Stay with your big ass and be a burden. It’s not like I

expected you to do anything. If you weren’t here with us, I would have left with Nash instead of

staying here and babysitting your giant ass,” she yammered with a bitter look on her face.

It was so exhausting listening to her that I grabbed the other water bottle and nodded my head,

deciding to leave before she drove me crazy.

“I’ll go fetch water. At least the unknown woods wouldn’t be as exhausting as staying here and

listening to you,” I hissed, making her

gasp.

She acted like she could say anything to us, but we must show respect to her. Not sticking around

her anymore, I walked into the wonde with

122 Pushed Down! .

the hope of finding that river.

She said it was in a straight line. So, if I kept walking without stopping, I would be able to find the

water.

As I walked, I began to feel like I was being followed. I turned around a few times but didn’t see

anyone or anything. Maybe it was just my mind playing tricks on me. It was extremely loud here, so

that could be it.

“Hey! You should know I have a weapon,” I yelled, just in case somebody was indeed following me.

But silence was all I got from the other end. So, I assumed it was all in my head. Or maybe just the

wild animals.

With a sigh, I kept pacing forward until I noticed there was no river. In fact, there was a deep hill and

just darkness beyond.

“What is–” I had only stepped to the edge to look over and examine the area when a hand pushed

me with much force.

I didn’t have time to react as the hand pushed me so hard that I slipped, and the next thing I knew, I

was falling down with so much force that I began to fear what my end would be like and sadly, I

couldn’t even twist the ring in my finger.