"Was he perfect? - no!"

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Sarah

I stood there, motionless. I had no idea why he was here, standing in front of me after that incident. Antonio was looking different. My eyes scanned his tall slender figure, from his messy brown hair down to his black canvas. The closer he came the better I could view him. His eyes were warm with a range of soft colors. He was just as nervous as me. I took a deep breath inhaling his overly strong cologne. I looked into his deep eyes which held a hint of something I couldn't place - a dark past or maybe a mysterious edge. You couldn't say by looking at him that he was the reason behind Eliza's death. One of the darkest secret which Jeff chose to share with me and Chloe. 

Both of us stood there soundlessly, we could almost hear our own breathe echoing in the surroundings as silence engulfed us. He was looking at me while I kept on staring at the ground.

'Sarah' he spoke breaking the silence. His voice was shrill.

'Yes?' I felt really weird talking to him after all that happened earlier. I didn't know if it actually was the right thing to do. Jeff's words kept ringing in my ear - 'He was the cause of Eliza's death'. I could picture Jeff crying. Crying helplessly in front his sister's dead body. And the thought itself made me angry, hatred took over me, hatred towards Antonio.

'Sarah I need to confess something, I know this is uhh...weird but I need you to know this!' Jeff stuttered while saying those words. He was blushing as his cheeks turned red. He could't keep himself away from staring at me. I felt a bit uncomfortable with his eyes glued on me. I was having weird thoughts now, the ones which I wished not to transform into reality.

'Sarah..the letter..' he stopped and gulped hard. 

Fear took over me and I closed my eyes with disbelief. I think I knew what he was going to say next and that made my stomach rumble.

After a long pause he continued, 'Sarah, I wrote that letter!' and suddenly the unexpected happened, he bent down on his knees and pulled out a bunch of roses. He looked at me, his eyes glittered and his perfect features glowed in the dim light that fell on his face. 'Sarah, I know how shocked you're right now but the letter which you received was written by me. I'm sorry if that offended you but the truth is that, you're somewhat special. The first day when I attended school I saw you near the auditorium talking to Nico and believe me, I kept on staring at you for like, eighteen minutes. Every time I see you my heart skips a beat or two. You seem to be the only girl I'm attracted to. Its lame to propose you this way but I don't really care.' he took a deep breath, 'I know you've never noticed me at school but I think you remember the library thing, when both of us were assigned our duties. That was the first time I talked to you, and I completely fell for you. You might not know me well. I guess you do not even think of me as the right guy after what happened to Eliza but my intention was never that. Sarah, I love you. I hope you accept me.' he let out a heavy sigh and looked straight into my eyes.

For a moment or two I felt kinda happy, I never got a proposal which was this serious, but again, how can I commit myself to a person who brought tears to my best friend's eyes? how can I love a person who made Jeff's life terrible? how can I be true to someone who was the reason behind the death of my friend's beloved sister? 

I clutched my side bag tightly and looked up at him. I had nothing to answer. My lips were refusing to part away. I was speechless. So I did something which was really stupid. I stepped aside, stuffed my phone into the pocket and ran with full speed. I could feel the emotion welling up inside of me. But I dared not to look back, I just ran with all my strength until my house became visible. I went up to the door, turned the knob and stepped in, closing the door shut, behind me. I climbed upstairs and jumped onto the bed...I was horrified. Soon, I found myself dialing Chloe's number... 

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Author's note: Thanks for reading. Stay tuned to know more. Until then, please vote and let me know your views on this chapter!

Harshita ♥️