"My life is a lie, a dark place," Alyssa Pearson said, looking up at the sky with a heavy sigh. The weight of her existence was suffocating her.
"You are in a safe place, Alyssa. This is your home, and your life is as real as you are." He reassured...
"Hey, do you remember Mrs. Smith?" Alyssa asked Landon who was watching the game of basketball on T.V. He faced her and gave her a confused look.
"The lady with three dogs?" She tried reminding him. "We tried stealing her tomatoes and she caught us -"
"Yes, then she offered us cupcakes." Landon smiled at the memory. "God, those were delicious."
"Aurora was so pissed at us for not sharing them with her." Alyssa laughed.
"Mrs. Smith found her tough too. She always said how Aurora was going to be the mother of the house."
Alyssa nodded along with him. "She was right though. After mom left us, Aurora became our mom. She took care of us. You've told me the stories, right?"
She walked to him and handed him the cup of warm chocolate milk.
He nodded, sadness covering his face.
Alyssa placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I know you miss her too."
Landon's eyes went wide. His heart started thumping fast at what Alyssa said.
"Why don't we go visit her?" She asked, a cheerful tone filling in the room. "After new year's eve, you and I can surprise her. We can book the tickets to Sydney. It'll be fun. She'll be shocked -"
"That's not a good idea, Ally." Landon asserted. She gave him a confused look. "I mean, you cannot travel in this condition of yours."
She sighed. "Aurora will never return here. I can feel it. I think she hates this place. Maybe that is why she never came back." She took a seat next to Landon. "I miss her."
She took her in his arm and rested a kiss on the side of her forehead. "I miss her too, Ally." As much as he wanted to cry, he had to be strong for Alyssa. They stayed in that position and continued watching basketball.
▪▪▪
It was evening time, two days until New Year. Everyone had something planned. Alyssa wanted to spend time with her family, but Jamie had already planned a dinner date with Landon. Keith was busy with work and Karen decided to pay a visit to her relatives. So Alyssa planned on going ice-skating as it was snowing again and she loved ice-skating. She dialled Neil's number and waited for him to receive the call. He had been avoiding her calls since the night at the club. Skye asked her to wait as she also knew that Neil would never ignore her on purpose. That night, none returned to his house. He left a message that his parents were back home as his mother fell ill.
Again, he ignored her call. So she decided to go to his place and put some sense in him. She called Brett and asked him to drive her to Neil's place. When she arrived there, his mother received her at the door and informed her that Neil was out of town with his father for some work. She left the place.
"Cheer up bud, you have me." Brett passes her a smile, trying to lighten her mood. "Let this evening be about you and me." Then he winked at her.
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