•Smoke and mirrors - Demi Lovato •
•Two ghosts - Harry Styles •
•Lonley- Demi Lovato feat Lil Wayne•
•Solo- Clean bandit feat Demi Lovato •

ALISHA'S P.O.V.

The next few weeks, everyday was the same.

Wake up, go to school,  fake smiles and go back home. Nothing felt right without Jayden anymore.

Since that day,  he hadn't even come to say hi or even explain or even try to convince me that everything I saw that day was a lie. Just one huge misunderstanding.

The only time I could even get a breather was when Zarha would come over and we would hang out.

Alessia was surprised when she saw Zarha come over for the first time but we bonded well and she let us see past her to tough exterior. Turns out, she wasn't really that bad and is actually really fun and nice.

The two of them, together with my mom and Anne have been my pillar of support in my difficult time and I couldn't be more grateful for them.

To be very honest, it's funny how the universe plays tricks on you.  Take me for example, my worst enemy became one of my best friends and the one who used to make me so happy is now the very cause of my heart ache.

Anne told me that she didn't know anything about what was going on between  Jayden and Susan. I honestly believed her. I didn't need a reason to. I just did. That's how relationships are supposed to work. No words need to be said but we can always tell.

They've been there for me when I needed them and I honestly didn't know what I would do without them.

I was standing by my locker and picking my books for my classes when I saw him out of the corner of my eye.

He looked different. His eyes were redder, his skin paler and his eyes were lifeless. He was just standing there, leaning against the wall, looking defeated. It took everything in me not to just go up to him and wrap my arms around him.

Jayden was the best thing that ever happened to me and seeing him so close yet so far away now kills me. I constantly had to remind myself that he is the reason for my current condition.

My feet were moving toward on their own accord as we held each other captive with out gazes and my breath hitched but luckily, before I could make what would have been the most stupid mistake of my young life, Zarha grabbed me from the end of the hall.

"Please don't tell me you were just about to do what I think you were just about to fucking do." she scolded.

"I don't know." I deadpanned.
Truth be told,  I really didn't know. I didn't know why I was being drawn to him. When I looked in his eyes,  I saw longing,  sadness,  pain and love.

Anne emerged from the other hallway and joined the discussion. She took in my present state as she turned to Zarha.

"What's going on?" she asked.
"Alisha was going to Jayden to give him a sweet little hug because he looks so pathetic and miserable." she deadpanned.

I would have laughed at her accuracy if I wasn't to caught up in my self wallowing.

It's been only four weeks and it took me the first two weeks to actually get my head around what had happened. The next two weeks were— as Zarha put it,  my road to recovery.

The bell rang and we went to our respective classes. Neither of us had classes together so I had to do that one solo. As I stepped into the classroom, my chemistry teacher wasn't there yet and the only available seat was the one beside Jayden.

I had tried my very best to avoid anything that would actually lead to me having a conversation with him.  I couldn't trust my heart around him.

He had his head in his desk, facing the ground and I took a deep breath as I took the seat beside him.  

As is sensing my presence, he lifted his head up and looked at me.

JAYDEN'S P.O.V.

It's taking every bit of my self ducking control to not to just drag her out of here and tell her everything.

When she looked me in the hallway this morning, it was like I could finally breathe after being suffocated for a long time.

The way she looked at me told me that I wasn't the only one being affected.  She also missed me and her eyes were a bit puffy so I knew that she had been crying.
The lively spark in them had faded and they were empty, holding nothing but sadness in them.

The teacher came in and class was boring as usual.

When the class was over, I couldn't even talk to Alisha. She bolted like I was some disease that she was running away from.

The day went by and I couldn't hold it in so I had planned what I want going to do to get her back. I was ready to tell her everything. Having her angry at me was so much fucking better than having her sad because of me.

I missed her so toothy smile and way her way lit up when she was happy. I even missed her teasing.

It may sound selfish but truth be told,  I love it when she smiles.  I really do but I love her smile even more when I'm reason.

That being said, I was determined to bring her beautiful smile that I can't live without back to her face. For good.

I hopped in my car and drove home.  I had to be well rested for the emotional drama that was going to unfold later to tonight.

Alisha had even become friends with Zarha, that was a big twist that I didn't see coming. Susan even tried getting with me after the whole incident. That I saw coming.
I would have to get that restraining order as soonest I can.

I texted Alessia and told her I was ready to do the needful. She had been the person to keep me from  falling apart since this whole thing started. She told me that I just needed to give Alisha a little space and that everything would be alright.

She sounded so sure, like she had so much faith in my love for her sister which warmed my heart. I just hope her faith proves to be true in the end.

ANNE'S P.O.V.

My cousin is an enemy of progress was the first thing that came to mind when I heard whet she did.

How could she do that?

The Susan I love and grew up with would never intentionally ruin something as beautiful as the love between Jayden and Alisha.

She didn't even tell me that she knew Jayden. It took me a while or wrap my head around it all.

Susan had her hand in his pants and kissed him. I was shattered.

This was someone I look up to and love so much.

Alisha was devastated. She wouldn't say it out loud but I knew she was. When I told her I didn't know anything about it, she believed me and that made me happy.

She still trusted me even though my cousin had been the cause of her ordeal.

I was happy that Alisha believed me but not satisfied. I needed answers and I needed then directly from the horse's mouth.

Ergo, I'm sitting across my dear cousin in our tiny living room, looking at her with a scowl on my face as I guilt trip her for answers.

"How could you, Susan? Fuck,  how could you?" I growled.

She looked at me with indifference as she shrugged.

"How could you do that?  How could you ruin something so beautiful?  Alisha and Jayden have been nothing but kind and open hearted to you since they met you and you go and do this? I can't even looks at you the same anymore. It's like I don't know who you are. " I mused.

Her eyes softened as she held my gaze.

" You're right. I'm not the Susan you know. The Susan you know would do anything for you and you know that. You have to believe me when I say that I did what I did for you and I—" she said.

"Why?" I cut her off. She looked at me confused for a moment.

"Why did you fucking do it? " I growled.

"He's fucking loaded." She said and that took me by surprise.

"Explain." I demanded.

"Jayden and I were in high school together and we used to date at a point. He was just a distraction for me but he was actually deep in it. He was the boy that every girl wanted. The total package. Kind, sweet, smart, handsome and all that but for me he was just a booty call and he was always there when I needed him to be." she started.

"He was blinded. Not by love because I didn't even feel that for him so he was like a clingy puppy.  We went on for a few months and then his dad died. Remember the famous industrialist whose picture was in all the news papers and on all news channels before we moved here?" she asked.

"Yeah. Matt West. Why?" I ask genuinely confused for a moment but then it hit me like a slap in the face. Jayden West. Matt West. He was Jayden's father. Jayden is the only child of famous business tycoon Matt West.

She raised an eyebrow at me and I nod.

"He was assassinated by some rivals and Jayden, Jayden was heart broken. He almost lost it. I took pity on him but still didn't love him. I took that as an excuse to mess around and I hooked up with other guys and cheated on him. Unfortunately, he overheard everything I said and he lost it." she deadpanned.

I was shocked. Astounded. Astonished at how she could say she cheated on him so casually.

"What so you mean by 'he lost it'?" I asked even though I was genuinely afraid of the answer.

"He lost his mind. He became depressed. Didn't care about shit anymore and tried ending it all a few times. Luckily for him, he survived the last one. They took him to the hospital and got the poison out if his system."  she explained.

I put my hands over my mouth in shock. Jayden tried committing suicide. He couldn't hold on after his first love— no,  obsession cheated on him and he witnessed it. He lost his dad as well as his will to live. The thread he was hanging by was cut.

Susan was his obsession.

"They sent him to a mental facility after that and he didn't come to the town anymore. I genuinely didn't care until I got to find out from a friend of his that he inherited everything his dad owned and will have full control once he turned eighteen—" she explained.

"So you thought that if you made him fall for you all over again,  you could take advantage of his weakness. That's why you did that." I said.

"You have to understand that I was doing it for us. We can't live like this forever. We have to take care of ourselves and my parents." she pleaded.

"Don't even.  Don't even give me that bullshit. You can't tell me you did it for me. I would never ask you to ruin the lives for two people who have hearts of gold and don't even deserve half of what you did to them. You ruined something  that a lot of people pray to have. I won't ever forgive you for this,Susan. This is a new low. Even for you." I scowled.

I really needed to get away from her. She had the nerve to tell me that she did it for me.

"Anne, please. Don't go." she pleaded as I got up from the chair and made my way out of the apartment.

I can't even look at her. She almost ruined his life and she's being so casual about it.

I didn't know her anymore. The Susan I knew is gone.

ALESSIA'S P.O.V.

Alisha and Jayden have been separate for the past four months.

Longest four months of my fucking life. They are also the perfect picture of love birds. Even though they're far apart and neither one is complete without the other.

They're bound together and they don't know it. Their love is strong. Really strong.
It's been torture for me to watch Alisha live everyday the same way. Get up. Survive and then go back to bed and I know for a fact that it's been the same for Jayden.

She even made friends with Zarha and I know she and Anne have been trying to help her forget Jayden. I was there for her too and so was our mom but we knew that there was no way she would be happy being so close to yet so far away from him.

Jayden texted me and told me that he was ready to tell Alisha the truth. The whole truth and nothing but.

Whatever it was, I trusted that he wouldn't break her...  Well,  more than he already has broken her.

SUSAN'S P.O.V.

As I said before, Anne is one of the few people I actually care about that aren't myself.

I had to tell her the truth, hoping that she'd catch my drift but she didn't. She ranted on and in about how I ruined something so beautiful.

She didn't even think of the fact that I love her so much and was only doing this because I wanted life to be better for us.

I worked my ass off before we could even afford this dump of a place. Its not fair that Jayden and Alisha get to have it easy. Loaded families and they're so in love. Well boo hoo because now there's nothing left for them.

JAYDEN'S P.O.V.

Gathering every last bit of courage I had, I drove to Alisha's  before I could talk myself out of it.

If I was going to do it,  why not now? Why later?  Ergo,  I'm on my way to her house right now to plead my case and hope that she'd still love me.

I reached the gate and it was unlocked like Alessia promised. I quickly snuck in and made my way to the side of the house where Alisha's window was and begun throwing stones, like I did before. The night she became my girlfriend.

My heart stopped when she came out the window. She still looked beautiful.

"Go away,  Jayden." she hissed, clearly uninterested.

"Alisha. Please. We need to talk about this. " I pleaded with high hopes that she'd listen.

"There's nothing to talk about." she deadpanned as she started shutting her window.

ALISHA'S P.O.V.

Jayden was outside my window.  It took everything for me to not break down and cry in front of him as I began shutting my window.

"Alisha,  if you've ever cared for me or even if I've meant something to you at all, please just hear me out." He pleaded.

My heart contracted. He was begging and as much as I didn't want to see him, I couldn't be so heartless to just leave him like that.

I suddenly remembered how to breathe so I took a deep one and closed my eyes because I wasn't sure whether I would regret this or not.

"I'll be down in a minute."

A/N:

Cliffhangerrrrrrrrr...

What do you think will happen? I, for one, can't wait to find out so let's stay tuned.

I'm sorry for the late update. I was really busy and had to take some time off.

You can throw all the things you  want at me later. I'm just really happy that Jayden and Alisha will work things out....  Right?

On a totally unrelated note,  how do you guys like the new cover?

Lemme know in the comments. I actually love reading the comments. They're really supportive and thank you guys so much because finding us has over a thousand reads and it's all because of you.

I couldn't be more grateful to you all.  Thanks so much😁😂

Don't forget to
Vote
Comment and
Follow if you like my story

Thanks guys,
bright_star_29😘😘😘😘😋😋