Fatal Addiction

Chapter five

Stella's POV

I climbed the plane stairs, got all my things checked and got a seat right next to the window. I glanced out of the window and sighed. I was going to start my new life alone in Texas. I was leaving my best friends behind, well sooner or later, all of us would leave for jobs just like how I was leaving. I was starting to miss them already and peered at the seat next to my right side, wishing that Brandon would come and sit next to me. It was not as if I hadn't missed him all those years. I was angry at him for ditching me in the middle of our relationship, and I blamed him for making me suffer alone. After ages of recovery, I made my friends swear not to mention his name and they happily obliged at my request. That wasn't hard for them to do because it seemed as if they hated him more than I, especially Sky.

"Passengers, this is Captain Zane, ready for take off. Fasten your seatbelts and get comfortable."

The plane was packed, and more people were filling the empty seats. I turned my face sideways towards the window, fastening the seatbelt. My mind wandered back to my friends. I left them behind, and left the music band. The band was never the same without Brandon because when he left, he took it's light with him. And somehow that light used to belong to me. Whenever I wasn't talking to anyone, my mind would wander back to him. I thought about him everyday during those years. Sky declared the band over because it reminded him of Brandon. Brandon was best friends with everyone in our group. Especially him and Sky, and Nabu-- they were brothers by heart. And Sky used to warn him about hurting me. I highly doubted that because we were so in love, we were literally called the Inseparables.

I remembered everything. The hugging, touching, the kissing and embracing. He was so overprotective of me and made sure I was happy. And back then, I was the cheery, loud, and happy blonde who was the fashion girl of the group. The girl who used to wear short dresses and jeans with crop tops, and wore her hair open or styled with bobby pins and glitter. The girl who despised the girls' taste in fashion and designed better clothes for them, even though Aisha and Tecna were resisting. I really loved parties and hosted a lot. My dream was to become a fashion designer but for those last past years, I couldn't use the machine or needle to sew or stitch up a short top. Then I resorted to another career which is why I was going to Texas. To start afresh in a new place. My friends were really supportive of me during the bad days where I was crying almost everyday. I had lost my spark and my bestest friend, Bloom, couldn't do anything about it. Christina, who we met during 5th grade, used to be the psychologist of the group-- she used to understand me better than anyone else(mainly because of our fashion sense and persona). She was probably the reason I was starting to recover and, drove me to new dreams and interests since nobody could restore my old ones. She wasn't there to say goodbye to me though but I figured she was busy with her career.

And at that moment, someone tapped my arm. I turned around and(I thought of the devil and she appeared) saw Christina. My dry lips curled into a smile.

"Stella! Hey! I was calling you about 2 minutes ago but you seemed lost."

I giggled unsurely and answered back with an excited response. Her sandy blonde hair was in a high ponytail when I met her that day. She looked as beautiful just like how I'd last seen her. We spoke a lot and it turned out she was coming back from a forced vacation with her parents, and was going back to Texas(where she worked). Apparently she had a new couple in need of her help so she was called by a doctor who had gotten an appointment made for her. I wished I'd be successful as her.

"Oh don't worry Stella. Even though it's strange that you will be employed as a policewoman, you'll be a success. Can I ask though? When did you start liking the idea of being a police?"

"I don't like it. I just...you know...wanna get a job and live on my own. Just like you." I shrugged my shoulders.

That was true back then. But I already knew the question she asked next.

"You really haven't reconsidered your dreams of fashion and designing?"

I took some time to answer that. Christina had thought that I would continue with designing after what happened. I ditched it because whenever I designed a piece, Brandon would admire me too much. With Brandon's inspiration, I had no problem designing collections for the whole night, sacrificing my beauty sleep.

I cleared my throat. "You also know anything that reminds me of..."

She immediately sent an apologetic look. "I'm sorry Stella. I really didn't...shouldn't have--"

I waved her off with a smile. Maybe she had forgotten about my request not to speak about Brandon.

We continued talking and sometimes the conversation would lead up to the parts that I didn't like. And were interrupted by an air hostess, asking about anything we needed. Christina had told me about a new guy she'd found for herself. She never minded her luck in love but she hoped to find someone one day.

"I hope you move on with someone Stella. You seriously need to stop dwelling over him."

I couldn't help myself and gave her a serious glare. Christina knew better than to keep referring to Brandon or ' him '. I intended to stay single for as long as I lived.

"Tina, please stop. I intend to stay single forever." I snapped, trying to swallow the lump forming in my throat.

As much as I hated to say that, I didn't want to get another person to mingle with. I had not healed very well to start dating. Even if I had healed, I wouldn't plan on dating because I didn't find Brandon because of dating. We grew up together and became friends and with time, love then took it's place. Since Christina was goodhearted, she changed the topic into something that I felt comfortable with, and distracted my thoughts about Brandon. We reached our destination and I knew that it was time for me to start my new life, without Brandon and all the things I used to dream about with him.