After opening what Jamie's got Elia for her birthday gifts, she notices there's a note. But she hasn't reached that level yet. She can't. So they say that it's okay and it's totally fine. She could read it when she feels it's okay for her and when she's ready. All in her pace and everyone will be there to support her.
So, moving on to the next presents. This one is kind of heavy. She looks at the little notes on the wrappers to see who it's from. It's from her parents again.
"Seriously? Another?" Elia asks shocked
"What? It's your birthday" Seb said defended himself
"You guys literally bought me another closet" Elia argues
"You're a growing teenagers" Lizzie responded
"And it's our first time celebrating our daughter's birthday" Lizzie added innocently
"Oh no. Both of your parents will keep on bought so many presents for your birthday every single year" Mackie chimed in
"She's my daughter" Lizzie and Seb said in unison while playfully rolling their eyes.
Elia just chuckles with everyone and excitedly tore the wrappers to see what's inside of it. And when she sees it, it's a full set of brand new microphone! Now that makes sense when Jamie, Isa and Maggie gave her a microphone cover.
Elia's face is hurt from smiling too much tonight.
"This is for when you're going to have your tour concert or performing either in talkshow or award show because I don't doubt my daughter will be phenomenal singers" Lizzie said
Elia just goes hugging and kissing her parents for the hundredth time tonight.
"There's another one," Seb said, pointing at the last box with the vlog camera he's recording.
Eli goes to the box at the edge of the couch and opens the lid of the box. This time her mouth wide open, shocked, surprised, happy, overwhelmed, all in one.
She looked back and forth at her parents. Everyone in the living room knows what the last present was. They planned it way before Elia's race day.
"Is this real?" Elia asks breath out
Lizzie just replies with a grin and nods her head excitedly. Elia then screams happily and runs to her mother once again and this time she kisses her mother repeatedly saying 'thank you' and 'I love you' all over again. She did the same with her daddy.
"Guess my present is not the first one anymore then" Chris said sarcastically and everyone just laughed at him.
"No, the top first best birthday present I've ever got is the plushies Jamie's got for me" Elia said, smiling until her dimples showed.
"Well, we can't beat that now can we?" Lizzie said, kissing her daughter's cheek
"Nope" Elia replied with a smile
She's okay. She's happy with her family now.
"So, where's the dog?" Elia asks
"We've got her even before your race day. She's been staying with your Grammie ever since and when we're in Monaco, she's at the dogs hotel" Lizzie stated
Elia's mouth wide open in shock hearing the news. They've got her a dog way before she tells them that she wants it. God, she's grateful for this life.
"We're gonna go pick her up tomorrow at Grammie's" Seb said and Elia nodded her head excitedly.
"And now, we gotta clean all of those wrappers you tore" Grammie said, making all of them groan when Grammie whoops their asses to get up and clean those floors except for Elia.
Everyone protests at that but Grammie just responds with 'she's a princess' and shrugs her shoulders.
-/-
After they all clean the living room, the teens go upstairs to Elia's music room because that's where they always hang out and chill.
The adults that left were Mackie, MK, Ashley, Scarlett, Evans, Renner, Grammie, Grandpa, The Grey's and The Clarke's (Well Freda. I think I didn't explain this but Freda is a single mother. No husband. Queens rule)
They were hanging out in the kitchen, drinking wine for the ladies and beer for the gentlemen.
"I got a lot of Elia's laughing on camera today" Seb said, smiling while sipping his beer. Lizzie who was sitting next to her fiance just smiles at him too.
"And I've got a lot candid pictures of her smiling" Ashley added
"Please send it to me" like literally everyone in the room said in unison making them look at each other and laugh after that.
"She's really happy tonight. This is the most carefree of Eliana she let out. All of the laughter" Lizzie said, repeating the same moment of Elia's laughing and smiling in her mind
"What happens when she accidentally cuts her fingers?" MK asks, remembering the early conversation of tonight that remained unsolved because they could feel Elia's uneasiness.
Lizzie and Seb sigh sadly.
"PTSD" Seb replied quietly.
"There's an ad on the TV. F1 ads, car speeding and that's what triggers her" Lizzie added, biting her lips
"PTSD?!" Grammie, Grandpa, Aunt Ash and Aunt MK are shocked. Lizzie, Seb or Elia haven't mentioned this to them.
"She has anxiety, PTSD and separation anxiety" Lizzie informs them.
"Her therapist told us that it's to be expected," Lizzie added. While all of them are here now, it's better for her to fill them in.
"From that- that day?" Grammie asks scarily. Her granddaughter has been through a lot. She knows it but this is too much.
Lizzie just nodded her head sadly.
"The PTSD is new right" Scarlett asks because Elia never had them when Lizzie and Scarlett got back home from Italy.
"Yeah. It's the first time ever" Seb responded
"And it's horrible," Lizzie added, whispering sadly. Everyone keeps on sighing sadly. That poor girl has been through a lot.
-/-
Meanwhile upstairs with the teens, they were showing Maggie their new songs that they created. It's a song about losing someone close.
This song is dedicated to Jamie.
The day when Lizzie and Seb were having a meeting with the Russo's with everyone and Elia had to go stay with The Grey's for a while and Elia had a mild panic attack. That's when they created these songs.
They just goof around, Elia's playing piano, Isa with his guitar and they just tune in whatever melody were playing until Elia suddenly slips words by words and Isa starts to record that so they won't forget it.
Maggie listens to the song intently and her emotions get the best of her.
-Play Minefields by Faouzia & John Legend- (Pretend it's Elia and Isa as usual guys)
Now this might be a mistake
That I'm calling you this late
But these dreams I have of you ain't real enough- Elia
It's true, Elia once called Jamie to really confirm that Jamie's gone. She can't accept it when she gets up from her nightmares. Maggie was the one who picked up the phone because she's the one who keeps Jamie's phone until now.
She heard as Elia ranted on missing him, crying, begging for him to tell her that this is all a joke and he's not gone.
Started bringing up the past
How the things you love don't last
Even though this isn't fair for both of us - Isa
Ooh-ooh, maybe I'm just a fool
I still belong with you
Anywhere you, anywhere you are - Elia
Ooh-ooh, these minefields that I walk through
Ooh-ooh, what I risk to be close to you - Elia
Ooh-ooh, these minefields keeping me from you
Ooh-ooh, what I risk to be close to you - Elia & Isa
Close to you-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh
I didn't notice what I lost
Until all the lights were off
And not knowing what you're up to tortured me - Elia
Now this might be a mistake
We're broken in so many ways
But I piece us back together slowly - Isa
Ooh-ooh, maybe I'm just a fool
I still belong with you
Anywhere you, anywhere you are
Ooh-ooh, these minefields that I walk through
Ooh-ooh, what I risk to be close to you
Ooh-ooh, these minefields keeping me from you
Whoa, what I risk to be close to you - Elia and Isa
The song came to a stop.
"It's great," Maggie said with tears threatening to fall. They were all in deep silence after that. Maggie is still in amazement after hearing her two friends singing and making songs, especially about her dead brother who was actually their friend.
They are close friends. Best friends and they became family in some sort of way.
"We're supposed to go to prom together at your school," Elia said, breaking the silence. Isa and Maggie look at her and they see her smiling sadly at the memories.
They made a promise. Jamie's idea. One day when they were hanging out after their training, they talked about school, homecoming, Junior dance, prom and all of those things.
Elia and Isa's in online school. So, they won't be experiencing this. Jamie and Maggie planned that they will have to change that. So, Jamie will invite Elia to be his date at prom and Maggie will invite Isa to be her date too. That way they would be together.
It's a date. But now, it's just a promise that'll not be made.
"We don't have to talk about it yet, Lia," Isa said, noticing the tears in her eyes.
"No, it's fine. I'll be fine. I'm ready to talk about this more. I don't want to avoid it anymore. I think it'll do good to me. I'll be able to accept it" Elia replied with assuring smiles to Maggie and Jamie.
"We're proud of you Elia. He'll be proud of you too" Maggie said with her own smile.
"Did you guys ever ask Joshua about the case?" Elia asks, catching them both off guard. They've been asked several times by Elia and each time, they have to lie to her much to their dismay.
"I just wanna know who's the person behind it. Just wanna know why they did that? What did we do wrong? I just wanna know that. Maybe it'll give me some closure and I can move on" Elia added quietly.
"We don't know Lia. We've stopped asking about it long before you awaken from your coma" Isa stated, giving her a sad smile in which she returned and nodded her head.
Isa feels disgusted by himself for lying to Elia but he couldn't see Elia's heart breaking anymore.
"Right! Do you guys want apple juice or oranges?" Elia asks to change the subject.
"Apple juice please"
"Me too"
"Coming right up! I'll go grab em" Elia said standing up from her seat and go downstairs to the kitchen where everyone was to grab the apple juice that been promised
But instead, she heard hushed conversations. Usually she's not the nosy one. She knows manners. But this time it's about her. So, she couldn't resist being the nosy one tonight. And she also feels like they were hiding something from her. She doesn't know what but she just knows that they are hiding something from her.
"So, Elia hasn't opened up on her social media yet right?" It's her Aunt Ash asking
"No. Why?" her mama replied
"Somehow the media got a sneak peek about the whole court things ordeal" Aunt MK said
"Well then, we're gonna keep her away from social media longer then" Mama responded.
Elia just furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Why? And what about the whole court thing?
"For how much longer though?" Aunt Ash asks, somehow slightly annoyed. She didn't agree on lying straight to Elia's face at all but she had to because everyone insisted on it.
"As long as I could. She's not okay yet. I want her to get better first" Lizzie replied
"Liz, she deserves the truth," Scarlett chimed softly.
"What if it breaks her more? I can't watch her break more and more. As long as I can to protect her, I'll do it" Lizzie replied, her voice starting to waver.
What truth have they been hiding from her? Why can't she know?
"We're all here aren't we? We'll always be here for her, for each other just like before Lizzie" Grandpa Dave said
"I can't do that to her. I can't break her. She's laughing tonight. She could talk about Jamie without having a mental breakdown or PTSD" Lizzie states.
"Of course you can Lizzie. You're her mother-" Aunt MK said
"Exactly! I'm her mother and she's my daughter. So I'll decide for her" Lizzie cutting her sisters off somehow getting irritated in this conversation with everyone.
"And she'll feel betrayed by her own mother lying straight to her face Lizzie! She's been asking the same question all over again to you right? And you keep lying to her won't do it any good if you keep it from her" Aunt MK continues, whispering yelled at Lizzie as she also loses her patience in these conversations.
Elia already knows that she's been lied to but she didn't know what things they lied to her about but it still didn't feel good. She could see in the corner of her eyes that Isa was climbing down the stairs and looked at her weirdly as to why she stayed behind the wall like a frozen statue. When he comes closer, Elia just stares at him to let him stay silent.
He must've wanted to go check on Elia as to what is taking her so long for that Apple juice. It just has to be taken out from the fridge. She didn't have to make it.
"Yeah, Isaac also told me that he can't keep lying to Elia. Elia has been asking about it more lately. But at the same time he also didn't have the heart to tell Elia it. He can't see her suffer anymore" Andrea exclaims.
Elia widens her eyes in shock looking at Isaac. She now has ideas on what they've been lying to her but what shocked her the most is that Isaac, her best friend, her soul mate, lied to her too.
Isaac who now knows what's going on, he's about to make himself known and cut the conversation before Elia knows everything but Elia grabs his wrist, looking at him straight in the eye so that he'll keep silent because she knows there's more and she wants to hear this.
"I don't know how to tell her okay. Should I go with 'hey baby, actually everyone here knows who's the culprit behind the accident that happened that day. We've been lying to you ever since you woke up from your coma. Apparently it was The Drew's! Ha! It's your old foster parent. They want you to be the one who died, not Jamie. '' Is that how I should tell her?" Lizzie asks, pissed off at this conversation.
Elia's heart dropped when she heard it. When she knows it. It was supposed to be her. Her family has been lying to her. They lied straight on her face like she's some stupid girl. She's the reason why Jamie died. Her nightmares aren't her nightmares. It's the truth that they were trying to tell her.
Her tears couldn't stop flowing out of her eyes. Isaac watched helplessly. He could feel Elia was shaking because she still didn't let go of his hand.
Isaac stepped aside, making himself known to the adults in the kitchen with his hands still attached with Elia. Elia still keeps her eyes on Isaac
"Lizzie" Isaac whispers sadly, making the adults all turn their head to the teen and they see his sad face until they see someone's hand attached to his wrist.
It's Elia. And by Isaac's tone and face, she heard it all. Everyone stands up immediately and goes in front of Elia and Isaac. Lizzie takes a sharp intake breath when she sees Elia's red puffy eyes staring at Isaac, not making any eye contact with them at all still.
"Baby, Eli" Lizzie approaches but Elia takes a step back and that shit hurts Lizzie.
"The Drew's?" Elia asks, whispering, voice wavering, at Isaac.
Isaac didn't make any eye contact at all. Elia wipes her tears that freely fall angrily but no matter how often she wipes it, it still falls like a waterfall.
"You lied to me?!" Elia asks angrily and then look at her mother
"Is it supposed to be me?!" Elia asks her mother
"Baby, no" Lizzie said, trying again to hold her daughter as her tears also fell freely. Elia shrugs her mother's hands off from her.
"How long have you known this?" Elia asks as she looks at everyone. The one who she called her family these past few months.
"Isaac! Look me in the eyes and I dare you to lie to me again" Elia said, gritting. She really hopes he lied.
"2 weeks after the accident" Isa replied, looking Elia straight in the eyes. Elia sees nothing but the truth. This is not how she wants tonight to be.
Elia took a deep breath.
"Papa?" Elia asks, whispering scarily. But her papa just looked at her with an apologetic face. Elia didn't know she was holding her breath when she's waiting for her father to respond and when she sees her father's apologetic face, she exhales shakily but then she lets out a small sob.
"Baby" Lizzie said once again. She really needs to hold Elia. But Elia keeps taking a step back every time her mother takes a step forward towards her.
Then, it was Maggie who came to them with confusion written all over her face.
------------------------
AAAAAA ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER CHAPTER AND I'VE WARNED YOU GUYS YESTERDAY!!!!!! Bit of fluff at the start but it all fell down........ The truths finally unfolds in a way that they don't want Elia to find out like this. It totally break Elia. Oh no, how will they fix this?
I hope you guys are enjoying reading this story and please remember that this is just a story and it didn't relate to the actors in this story in real life.
See you soon in the next chapter and LOTS OF LOVE MY LOVES<3!!!!!