12 Chapter - 12

Alisha pov

I'm lying on my stomach and staring at the sky, which is slowly turning blue from black. For everyone, a normal night might have passed, but for me, a dark, horrible night had passed. I woke up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat and tears because of my nightmare. I was breathing heavily, and my mind was in an utter mess. It took me a lot more time to calm down than the other time. After that, I didn't get a hunch of sleep. I didn't even dare to close my eyes because every time I did, everything I saw flashed before my eyes.

This one was more horrifying than the other one I had been seeing so far. I even saw things that didn't happen but could have happened. Almost could have. What if those things really happened? Just the thought of it made tears wall up in my eyes. Why does this have to happen to me? Why do I remember everything? I want to forget everything, but why can't I? Why do I have to be this unlucky? Why? Damn it, why? I curled up as the tears fell from my eyes. I'm tired of all this. A few sobs left my lips. Will I ever be able to escape these damn nightmares? Please someone save me.

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I don't know for how long I was crying or how much time had passed. When I finally calmed down, I started to have a terrible headache. My alarm clock's annoying sound fills my room and makes me remember that I have classes today. The weekends ended pretty soon. I have to go to college. But I have zero to no energy left in my body. If I want, I can stay in bed instead of going to college. But this will make my family worried, and I'm sure the whole day my mind will be filled with nothing but negative thoughts. And I don't want that. I can't let these nightmares make me weak.

I closed my eyes and calmed my mind, and then, with a huge sigh, I got down from my bed. I went to the bathroom and got scared when I looked in the mirror. Oh, damn, who is this person? I look like a crazy human. My eyes are puffy, my nose and eyes are red, my face is stained with tears, and my hair is in a total mess. In this state, if I auditioned for the horror movie, I would get selected right away.

I took a deep breath and started getting ready. When I was finally ready, I saw that I had not much time left before Jenny comes to pick me up. I looked in the mirror and chanted to myself.

"I'm strong. Alisha is strong. It's fine. We can go through this."

I came out of the bathroom and went downstairs. Everyone was at the dining table, eating breakfast happily, unaware of the turmoil I was in. I plastered on a happy face and stepped inside the dining room. I greeted them and took my seat. We exchanged small talk while eating, but I was only half listening. I filled my mouth with food to avoid being drawn into deep conversation. I'm scared I would give it away if I spoke too much. I want to get out of here. My phone pinged, and I glanced at it. Jenny is outside waiting for me. I breathed a sigh of relief. I bid them goodbye and left the room. I put my hand on the door handle and breathed in and out before opening the door and stepping outside to Jenny.

We arrived at college and walked toward our class while ignoring other stares. We took our seats, and shortly after, the professor entered. I wasn't able to concentrate much in class because of my headache. I hope the day will pass quickly.

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Today's classes have finally come to an end. Today Jenny and I have a different last class. I think her class still hasn't ended, so I'm going to wait for her outside. While I was walking toward the exit, Jake came beside me and said,

"Hi. Can we talk for a moment?" I looked at him and said,

"Sure."

I haven't seen him since the day I rejected him. I thought he wouldn't talk to me again.

"Today we were going to the movies. Would you mind joining us? Jenny can come too," he asked with hopeful eyes.

I don't want to go anywhere today. I'm already feeling bad that I have to refuse him. I hope he doesn't take this in a bad way.

"I'm sorry, Jake–"

I stopped talking and halted my steps when I saw people crowding the exit. What's happening? They seemed quite excited, and all of them were looking in the same direction. What is it that makes everyone so excited? I followed everyone's gaze, and my eyes widened when I saw what they were looking at.

Alexander Moretti is standing beside his car while leaning on it. Like always, a feeling in my heart and my mind told me to run, but this time, it got ignored by my curiosity. Why is he here? Don't tell me it's because of me. All of a sudden, he looked at me and smiled, making my heart jump out of my chest. In this crowd, how did he find me so easily? He seemed to be about to walk toward me, but before he could, a girl came in front of him. The smile he gave me a second ago vanished, and he looked at the girl coldly.

Now he seems like a stranger to me. A totally different man from the one I have seen so far. Is this the real Alexander that everyone talks about? Cold, distant, unapproachable, and dark. He is looking at the girl completely differently from the way he looks at me. And this oddly satisfied me. But what does this girl want? Why did she approach him? I couldn't hear what they were talking about because of the distance and the people around me who were whispering too loudly. Can they just shut up for a moment? Some girl came in front of me, and wow, now I can't see anything.

"Alisha, look at me. What is he doing here? Why was he about to walk toward you? Was he waiting for you?"

Jake's voice made me take my attention off of Alexander, and I looked at him. Wait, how did he notice it when others didn't?

"Didn't you say nothing was going on between you two? Then why is he here? You are not going to him, right? You shouldn't go to him. He is not a good person, okay? He will hurt you. Stay with me. I will protect you. You will stay with me, right? SAY IT." He grabbed my hand and said manically, making me shudder in fear.

What's wrong with him? My wrist started to hurt from his tight grip. I never saw Jake like this. My heart is racing, but I remain calm.

"Jake, let go of my hand," I said. But my words seemed like they didn't reach his ears.

"I said let go."

I forcefully took my hand from his grip, and this seemed to make him come to his right mind. He looked at me in shock and took a step toward me, but I stepped backward.

"What's going on?"

I looked behind me to see Jenny walking toward me. When she came to me, I looked back at Jake, but he wasn't there.

"Hey, what happened? You look pale." Jenny said worriedly.

"I will tell you later," I said, and she nodded hesitatingly.

Even though Jake has left, the uneasiness still remains. I always thought he was a nice and kind person, but what he did just now made me think otherwise.

"Butterfly."

Alexander's calm voice soothed my nerves and made my heart calm down. Why do I feel this? I'm not supposed to feel that way. I turned toward him and saw him staring at me with a smile. He is back to Alexander, I know. The girl he was talking with was nowhere to be seen. I wonder what they were talking about. But there is no way I'm going to ask him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I came to meet you. I missed you, my love."

The people around us gasp. What the heck? Why did he say this in front of everyone? He extended the lily bouquet toward me and said,

"Will you enlighten me by taking this flower, Ma Reine?"

I looked at the flower, and unknowingly, a smile formed on my lips for the first time today. I should refuse, but with the number of eyes we have on us, I don't think I should. And most importantly, a stupid, annoying feeling in my heart is telling me not to refuse. No, get a grip on yourself, Alisha. He is leading you into a trap. I will just accept the flower for today. I took the bouquet from him and said seriously,

"I accept this, but let me make it clear that it means nothing." Even though I said this, his smile didn't waver, and he said,

"It's okay. I will work hard until it starts to mean everything."

"All the best," Jenny said from beside me, and I glared at her.

"It's never gonna happen," I said.

"It will, my love," he said, winking at me, and I glared at him.

A man came to him urgently and whispered something into his ear. Alexander seemed irritated and angry. He looked at me reluctantly and said,

"I'm sorry, butterfly. I have to leave, but I promise we will meet again."

"It's better if we don't," I said. He chuckled and said,

"I'm sorry, love. But I can't make this wish of yours come true."

"Wait for me, Ma Reine."

"Never."

He smiled and winked at me before leaving. I looked at the flowers and smiled. They are so pretty. So he is really going to woo me. I thought they were just words, but he meant them. As Alexander left, my mind suddenly reminded me of Jake. I figured out one thing: Jake is not what he looks like.

This proves that what we see and know can be a lie too. And I think all the things we had known about Jake were lies.