A Winding Path

Ever since I was a little kid I was told exactly how my life was going to play out. I was born into a rich family, who did everything they could to give me a good life and education. That meant I got a chip placed into my wrist.. Now, for all those Christians out there, sorry but no, it’s not the end of times. The chip only tells them what my future holds. 

Most people are only told small snippets of their future, only see flashes of what they are supposed to be. Me? I see everything, and my family takes that for granted. To see my future, all you have to do is get a scanner and watch it play out on the screen. My mom used it for everything. ‘No, sweetie. He’s not in your future, so you can’t be friends with him.’ She would tell me when I would bring my friends home. 

I was alone. My future only showed me what I wanted to see, and after rejecting my first couple of friends, I eventually didn’t even want to see myself with anyone. So after that the only people I ever saw in my future was my family, and soon even they disappeared. I was tired of everything, tired of having to follow a certain path and only do certain things. But then he came along. 

Alexander Hope, the only person I ever wanted to be with. He was in my future, but not in the way you might think he would be. He was also a part of the highest ranked families around, which meant we knew about each other before even meeting in person. 

I came home from school and found him sprawled out on my couch; he was so focused on his phone that he didn’t even realize I was there. ‘Hi, my name’s Nick.’ I said, giving him my best smile. ‘No it’s not. Your name is Nickolas. How sad, a guy in your status not even knowing your first name. How much did they brainwash you?’ 

He never looked up from his phone. My smile slowly faded and we sat there in silence. ‘My name is Alexander Hope, from the Hope family. I’m kind of important, but I bet you already knew that. So let’s just stop with this stupid introduction and get on with why I’m here.’ He sat up and flipped his hair out of his eyes, causing me to blush a little. 

His eyes trailed my body and I shifted my feet, feeling uncomfortable. ‘Your sister is the reason I’m here, Nickolas. She broke into our estate in the middle of the night. We caught her in my brother’s room. Would you care to explain this?’ He crossed his leg, his attention now on me instead of the phone in his hand. 

‘I’m not Alissa's babysitter. Why should I care?’ I leaned back on the wall, furious at my younger sister for getting herself in this mess. He raised an eyebrow. ‘Well, you should care. She has no business with my brother, and he can’t be seen in public with someone like her.’ My eyes narrowed and I clenched my fists. ‘There’s nothing wrong with her. If anything, she’s perfect for your brother. I don’t see any problem with it.’ 

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, taking in a deep breath. ‘They must not tell you anything around here. The problem is that she’s supposed to marry into the Kingston family, not the Hope family. If she’s seen with my brother.. Well, let’s just say it won’t be pretty.’

'You're from a family of assassins, and you're telling me you're scared of the Kingston family? They can't do anything to you, so what are you scared about?' I asked, a little confused on why the heir of a world-known assassin was telling me he was scared of a royal family. 

Alexander rolled his eyes. 'The Hope family works for the Kingston family, idiot. Our family name would be in ruins if your sister entangles herself with my brother. Not only my family would suffer, but yours as well.’ I shrugged. 

‘Well, what do you want me to do about it?’ 

‘She’s your sister.’

‘And she’s your problem, not mine. If it gets worse contact me and I’ll step in, but I doubt it will come to that. As you said, you’re important, so I’m guessing you don’t need my help with this. Now, if we’re done talking I’d like to get back to work..’ I turned and walked off. 

And then I was pinned to a wall, his face inches away from mine. He leaned in, his hair tickling my cheek. ‘I’m guessing you still don’t understand, so I’ll make this simple. Your little sister, caught in the middle of the night in my brother’s room. The Kingston’s heir finds out about it and either makes me assassinate my own brother, or one day my brother just disappears. Poof. Gone. The Kingston’s heir can either reject Alissa, which would ruin the alliance between your families, or he can take her but never treat her the same again. Now, which one would you rather prefer?’ He growled in my ear. 

My heart raced and I felt my face grow red from his sudden closeness. ‘N-Neither. But you can stop this, can’t you?’ I whispered, watching as his eyes grew from his icy hardness to a soft ocean blue. ‘That’s what I’m trying to do. I need you to keep an eye on Alissa, make sure she doesn’t go out by herself or whatever. I’m doing my job by keeping what happened last night quiet. Now, can you please do this? For me?’ 

For some reason I agreed, like I was in a trance I couldn’t break out of.  

And that’s when my path got twisted. 

I got the call in the middle of the night. Blinking my sleep away I picked up my phone. I looked at the name and it read: Unknown Caller. I sighed and hung up, placing my phone back on my night stand and settling myself back on my bed. Not even a minute later another call interrupts the silent night. I sat up quickly and slammed the answer button. ‘Yes?’ I growl. 

‘We’ve got a traitor in my estate. The Kingston's know about your sister now. They’re coming for my brother. We don’t have much time, you need to keep your sister there. If she finds out she’ll want to come here, and then she’ll get hurt.’ 

I immediately jumped out of bed, rushing to my sister’s room. I opened the door and found her window open, her curtains dancing in the wind. ‘Too late. She’s gone. Are you sure she’s not there already? If not then I might be able to catch up to her.’ I ran back to my room and threw on some clothes. 

‘They’re here. Get here as fast as you can. Your sister is in danger.’ 

‘I’m already on my way. See you soon.’ 

On my way out of the door I stopped, my eyes landed on the scanner resting on the table. Without hesitation I grabbed it. I drove like a mad man, dodging other cars and zooming past red lights. I finally reached the Hope estate and parked my car in the back. At least five cars were parked in the front, and I saw the heir of the Kingston family making his way to the front door. 

I called the number back and it picked up immediately. ‘We need to run. Meet us by the woods in the back of the house.’ Alexander’s voice boomed through the speakers. ‘W-What?’ I stuttered, heading towards the woods. ‘Look, it’s either you’re with us or against us. You choose. If you’re against us then I’ll do everything in my power to get you out of our way, but if you’re with us you better be ready to run.’ 

‘This is against my future..’ I mumbled to myself. I heard him sigh on the other end. ‘You know you can change your future. All you have to do is choose what path you want.’ I stopped and leaned on a nearby tree. ‘It’s not that simple. I’m supposed to take over my family's business, marry a beautiful lady, and then carry on my family’s name. None of this has to do with that.’ 

I heard footsteps and he appeared out of the shadows. I hung the phone up and he got closer, two others following behind him, my sister included. ‘Alissa, what have you done?’ I grabbed her shoulders and squeezed them. She winced and I released her, then turned to Alexander’s brother. ‘Nathan, you knew better than this! What were you two thinking? This is against everything!’ I exclaimed. 

Nathan looked at the ground, then met my eyes. ‘Doesn’t matter. Love is love, you of all people should know that.’ His eyes grew colder and I felt a shiver run down my spine. 

‘You don’t know what you’re talking about.’ I hissed back at him. A rumor spread around once that I was gay, but they have yet to prove it. ‘Oh, I know more than you think.’ He bit back. My fists clenched and Alexander grabbed my arm. ‘Forget about him. He’s always trying to get under people’s skin. Right now is not the time to argue about this. We need to go!’ 

He pulled me toward the woods, his hand slowly sliding down my arm and into my hand. I bit my lip, blushing yet again. We jumped over fallen logs, tripped on large jutting rocks, and splashed through gleaming water. I shivered in the cold, the water on my legs making me colder. I turned to see my sister struggling in the water, holding her dress in her hands. 

Nathan grabbed her saying stuff like, ‘We’re almost there’ and ‘You can do it’. I sighed and turned back to Alexander. ‘Why didn’t we just take the car?’ 

‘I’m an assassin, Nick, don’t you think I know what I’m doing? If I can track a car, then I bet they can, too.’ 

I smiled. He glanced at me. ‘What’s so funny?’ 

‘You called me Nick, not Nickolas.’ 

‘Yes, and?’ 

I chuckled. 

‘Don’t worry about it, Alex.. Never mind..’ 

He smiled and squeezed my hand, pulling me closer to him. 

The night went on and we kept running. On and on, only stopping when the sun peeked up from the horizon, finally bringing light to the dark forest. I remember when we rested, keeping close for warmth. I remember Alex’s soft whisper in my ear, the way he said my name, the way he held me gently, everything. But there is another thing I could never forget, the thing that changed my life forever. 

I was the last one asleep, and that’s when it happened. I had the sudden urge to check my chip. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled the scanner out and moved it over my wrist. Pictures swarmed over the screen, finally slowing down enough for me to understand what it was telling me. 

Alex and I together, running. Fighting against the royals, fighting for our love. Changing the laws as we know it. My eyes widened and fear passed through me. My path had forever changed, and I knew there was no going back.