Chapter 18: Dreams, Hopes, and Secrets

Zander POV
Cleo took a sip of her soda and looked at me. “What are your biggest hopes and dreams?”

Was she really asking me this? I was caught off guard with the weight of her serious question.

I took another bite of my burger to stall on my answer. Honestly, I didn’t know if I wanted Cleo to know me on that level. Normally, I didn’t let many people in.

I swallowed and said, “I’d say my biggest hope would be to become someone that others look up to. I want people to say 'Zander is what I aspire to be like'. No one’s ever wanted to be like me, and I think that’d be cool.” I paused and continued, “My top dream is to become an Alpha of a pack one day. I know I could lead others if I was given a chance.”

I let her absorb everything I said. Cleo had a look of surprise on her. She took a bite of her fish sandwich and looked at me.

She swallowed and said, “Those weren’t answers I was expecting from you. I didn’t know you had such high hopes and dreams. You wanting to be an Alpha really surprised me.” She put her hand over her mouth and added, “Not that I think you’re unfit to be one.”

“Do you want to hear more of my hopes and dreams? I don’t mind sharing more with you," I said when she got quiet for a moment.

God. Had I just said that to her? I was baring my soul to Cleo. But I felt safe to want to
tell her about myself. Maybe my heart was beginning to break out of the cage I kept it in.

She nodded at me, so I continued. “Another hope I have is to be able to help people. I’ve always wanted to get into med school. I like the idea of saving people’s lives.” I looked into her eyes and said, “I’ve also dreamed about having a family one day. Having lost mine when I was young made me want kids of my own. I want to have people who love me and would share experiences with me throughout life.”

Tears started to come out of Cleo’s eyes. Oh man, was it something I said? I needed to fix whatever was wrong.

She sniffled a little and told me, “I never knew you were so intelligent and thoughtful. Your hopes and dreams are so beautiful.”

I grabbed a napkin and held it out for her. She took it and blew her nose. I left her alone as she got her composure back.

“If you’re ready, why don’t you tell me about your hopes and dreams?”

Cleo finished eating and talked, “My hopes and dreams are different than yours. I’d say my biggest hope is to have a pack that I’m proud to call my own. I want us to be peaceful and always be there for one another. I don’t want any inner fighting going on or drama.”

She took a few sips of her drink and continued, “My other hope is to make my dad proud that I’m the next Alpha. He seems proud of me but never said it directly. Hearing him say 'I’m proud of you Cleo' would be great.”

She looked at me, as if wondering if she should continue. I said, “Keep going. I want to learn more about you
Cleo.” I added, “Besides, I told you all my hopes and dreams. It’s only fair.”

Cleo moved to sit next to me at the table. Then she started speaking again, “I’ve always dreamed about being an Alpha who would represent the members of the pack. I want to be able to take care of everyone’s needs and make sure that no one ever feels neglected.”

She paused and looked into my eyes and said, “I want to be an Alpha who is remembered for all my beneficial deeds that I did for the pack. Members saying Cleo was a great leader is my overall dream. I don’t want to let anyone down.”

She’d make a great leader one day with what her hopes and dreams included. I bet she'd make our pack even stronger and more unified than ever before. Cleo was also strong and stood her ground. I noticed she never gave up either and fought for what she wanted to achieve.

I told her, “Your hopes and dreams will come true. I know they will, because you’ve got a fire within you that won’t ever stop. You get what you want and never give up.”

“Thank you, Zander. That means a lot to hear.” A few seconds passed when Cleo had a spark come to her eyes and asked, “Do you have any secrets?”

I looked off in the distance and thought about if I wanted to share them with her. It wasn’t that I didn't trust Cleo. I was a little afraid at what she’d think of my secrets. They weren’t happy ones. I stalled by eating the rest of my burger and drank a few sips of my soda.

I took a deep breath and asked, “Are you sure you want to know my secrets?”

“Yeah I’m sure. I want to get to know you even better.”

I swallowed a last sip of soda and said, “I’ve never told anyone this. I used to cry every night after my parents were killed. I just cried myself to sleep, because I was so low at that point in my life. I got into a depression for a while because of it.”

“I’m so sorry you had to go through that immense sadness. You shouldn’t have had to deal with that.” She paused and asked, “Is your depression still around?”

“It still hits at times but isn’t as bad these days.” I wanted to change the subject and said, “Let’s talk about your secrets now. I’m sorry mine are so depressing.”

“Don’t apologize.” She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “You have nothing to be sorry about.” Cleo’s eyes looked into mine and she said, “My secret isn’t happy either. You’re the first one I’m telling this.”

Cleo got quiet for a few seconds. I almost thought she wasn't going to tell me her secret.

She sighed before speaking, “I've never liked my twin sister. She's always rubbed me the wrong way. People think she's this sweet girl, but she's actually rude and mean." Cleo's voice broke and she asked, "I sound like a horrible sister, don't I?"

I wrapped her into a hug and said, “Don’t you say that Cleo. You’re not a horrible sister. Just because you're family doesn't mean you need to like her."

I kept hugging her and rubbed my hand up and down her back. She sobbed into my shoulder while I kept holding her and stroked her hair gently.