Beyond The Gaze: A Love Unseen

Chapter 42

I walked into the living room, finding no one but Aubrey talking to someone on the phone.

"I care about you; that's why I'm saying you should stop. It's not a good thing." My eyebrows furrowed at her words.

What was she talking about?

"Ely! Ely? Ely?" Aubrey removed the phone from her ear, heaving a defeated sigh. She collapsed on the couch, holding her head.

"Aubrey!" I called. She looked up instantly, looking relieved.

"Oh, Ares! You're here," she stated.

"What happened? Who were you talking to?" I inquired.

"Oh, it was my best friend, Elysia Lawson!" she replied, gesturing me to sit.

Best friend?

"Elysia? Your best friend? I have never seen you guys together?" I asked, creases forming on my forehead, and sat on the couch across her.

"Yeah! We don't talk anymore," she answered, her voice turning sad. "But she is still my best friend. It's not her fault," she explained, further confusing me.

"Would you tell me what you're actually talking about? And how are you friends with Elysia Lawson?" I questioned, raising my eyebrows.

Aubrey sighed and explained, "Elysia and I became friends from the very first day she joined school. She was really sweet and nice, so we instantly became best friends. She even used to come to my house as well, to spend time with me and everything, but then one day, she changed!" Aubrey shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes.

Confusion gnawed at me as I eagerly waited for her to continue. Everything about Elysia Lawson, I needed to know. "She soon started doing a lot of shopping, so much that I couldn't understand what was going on with her." My eyebrows furrowed further, but I kept listening, "I knew she liked a lot of things before too, but you may know she isn't very rich, so I wondered where she got the money from. There were a lot of doubts in my head. I was so worried because Elysia was too innocent, and I was afraid that someone might be taking advantage of her, and I was right. I found out Elysia was using drugs. She—" My eyes instantly narrowed at whoever gave this wrong information to Aubrey about Elysia.

"You have misunderstood. I know Elysia. She is my friend, and she isn't like that at all. Yes, I know she is really innocent and doesn't talk too much, but involving in these kinds of things... impossible! Tell me who told you these things about her?" I asked, my voice turning sharp, and my jaw clenched.

"No, Ares, I'm telling you this because I need your help. Instead of getting angry, listen to everything I have to say." Aubrey took out her phone, tapping on it, and then handed it to me. I took it with questioning eyes and watched the video she played.

My lips parted as I noticed Elysia in the video while Aubrey was trying to take a cigarette from her hand but she wasn't giving it to her. This couldn't be Elysia...

"It's fake!" I stated firmly..

"It's not; it's my house, and it's CCTV footage. That day, I found her doing this, so I instantly took it from her, and then I got to know about her addiction."

Countless bells rang in my head as I processed what Aubrey was telling me about Elysia.

"Aubrey, listen to me!" I started. "I don't know who told you this sh*t about Elysia, but believe me, Elysia Lawson isn't that kind of person. I have helped her with her studies for two months, and I have known her since then. We are actually good friends, and I can say this without a doubt that this is all nothing but cr*p. People sometimes feel curious to try these kinds of things, so it could be that she tried it out of curiosity. Don't give this video much importance. And you say you're her best friend, how could you not know how Elysia is when even I know what kind of a girl she is." I inquired sharply.