My first instinct was to cry.
I was so vulnerable and helpless again, just like how I was back in college.
The only difference was, this time I wasn't sure if I was going to make it through.
The overwhelming emotions built inside of me, and emerged. I clutched the phone with trembling hands and quickly retrieved mine with my free hand. I opened the camera, and shakily took a picture of the texts, to make sure everyone believed me about the threats.
Hayden was right all along. Nothing with being with Edward was going to end well.
It was clear in Hannah's messages how much she despised me, and even more clear that she was blackmailing me and had much worse intentions than I had anticipated. But the fact that Edward was staying in touch with her was still alarming, and I couldn't quite place my finger on the reason behind it.
I scrolled up towards his texts but there wasn't much conversation between the two lately. There were multiple messages from her, but he didn't seem to reply to any of them.
Her sick need to destroy our relationship was evident in them, and that scared me.
I quickly backed away from the message thread, nervously fiddling through the rest of the conversations but there wasn't much there to see. Mindlessly, I scrolled through his apps and decided to check his photos application.
Several albums showcased random photos of places and him with his friends. I scrolled down and my eyes stopped at the same locked album I had come across quite long ago. There seemed to be new videos in there, all made in the dark and I couldn't quite make out what it was. I tried unlocking the album but it just wouldn't budge this time.
It only worsened my worst fears of Edward's intentions.
Before I could shift to another locked album, that was named after my name with a heart, quite surprisingly, I was interrupted by the unlocking of the main door of my house. I froze in my place stunned, wondering who it was that had access to my flats just like that since mum was probably asleep. After a while, I heard the twist of my bedroom doorknob, but since it was locked from the inside, it wasn't budging.
"Michelle?" I heard a breathless gruff after a while, and my heart felt like it stopped. It was Edward.
I hastily wiped my dried tears and kept a firm grip on his phone. Shifting off my bed, I slowly stepped towards the door, and slightly tilted the door open, revealing Edward's concerned face in the dark.
The contrasting hues in his eyes gleamed at me in the subtle darkness, then at his phone in my hands, before shifting back to me. He looked quite composed compared to the situation but that only made me more upset.
"How did you get in?" I choked.
"The front door was unlocked," he simply answered without a hint of worry on his face. "Can I have it back?" He asked in another calm voice and I shot him a disappointed stare. "Please?" He stepped inside my room, revealing his full form, and slightly closed the door behind him.
My face broke into a pained expression as I stared at the black device. "What's in the phone that I can't see?"
He simply looked at me with an unchanging emotion and then sighed. "If you're concerned about Hannah, then don't be. We're not on good terms anyways,"
"Why haven't you blocked her?" I tried to yell at him, but my voice only came out weaker. My eyes were on the verge of tears again at this point, and I waved the phone away from him out of his reach.
Edward just looked down at my hand holding his phone, and his expression mirrored mine of hurt. He exhaled an exhausted drag of breath, running his fingers through his dark hair.
A feeling instantly flashed inside of me and my anger dissipated. "She's blackmailing you..." I begun in a loud whisper. "Is that why you couldn't block her?"
"She's... I know she can be a handful-"
"Tell me, Edward. Why don't you tell me anything?!" My voice kept raising several decibels at his lack of communication. "She's threatening you... She's threatening us... That's true, isn't it?"
Edward gulped before speaking. "Yes, it is," He instantly admitted, but slowly neared me, giving me a crazy look. "But look at us. We didn't give up on each other after everything that's happened right? She's no one, nothing. She can't separate us okay?" He muttered, his voice filled with desperation, as he looked me in the eye expectantly.
I blinked and stared back at his equally crazy behaviour, matching Hannah's, I saw him look at me with hopeful, optimistic eyes. "I... Just want you to know that no matter what happens, I won't leave you."
His words somewhat assured me that maybe he wasn't playing with me again, and I breathed out a relieved sigh. Edward's veiny hand reached out and touched my arm, turning me towards him, and we were inches close. I heard his breath hitch and his dark irises dilated, whilst staring right through me. "Would you ever leave me?"
I took a minute and weighed his question with the pros and cons of my leaving him. It wasn't that I wanted to leave him, but the constant fear and anxiety hovering over me for the fact that some of the girls around him wouldn't bear me, was unbearable enough. "Of course, I wouldn't... But considering how Hannah isn't stopping with the threats, I might not be able to survive with you for long,"
"Hannah can't do anything. She can't, I won't let her," Edward said quite calmly in comparison to his words. "I just want to hear from you... That you love me, and that you, for the life of you, wouldn't leave me. Ever,"
"I-I will never leave you, I know I just can't." I anxiously smiled a little against his lips and he reciprocated.
"Tell me that you love me," He demanded and with that, all my doubts against him faded away.
"I love you, Edward, more than anything," I replied honestly and he gave a light peck on my lips.
"I love you more Michelle," He growled, his eyes glowing with seriousness in the dim light.
With that Edward's deft hands interlocked with mine, slipping his phone from my grip and into his hand before tugging it in his back pocket. He pushed me lightly on the bed, crawling over me. I interlocked my lips with him, and we synchronisingly moulded against each other. His one leg was pressed against the bed, as he brought his knee between my legs. My back arched slightly and a small moan escaped my lips when he begun nibbling at my delicate skin over my shoulder blade.
I brought my fingers in his hair, as I consented him to continue to do so. He didn't seem to be stopping and went down towards my chest while I breathed heavily, feeling the ecstasy build inside me at the touch.
My eyes shot open when he went down slowly, making me squirm. I blinked several times, my eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness of the room. Suddenly my eyes adjusted and could make out a silhouette in the dimly lit area, standing right in the corner of my room.
"Hayden-" I gasped breathlessly, and suddenly cupped my hand with my mouth. Edward's pleasurable torture ended quite abruptly at the sound of his name, and he got off from me, yet still towering over me.
"What was that?" He curtly asked, looking quite annoyed and upset. I glanced at him and back at the shadowy figure, only to realise it must've been a shadow from someone trying to peek inside my bedroom, but now it had disappeared.
I instantly got up from my sprawled position, fixing my shirt and scanning the room, trying to absorb anything that I could make out in the light darkness. "I'm sorry... I... I just saw Hayden here, I swear."
Edward slightly turned around to look across the room, appearing angrier all of a sudden. He snatched his leather jacket from when he had taken it off earlier, from the bed and shrugged it on. Frustratedly, he sat on the bed, his eyes narrowing at me. "I don't see him here,"
"He's not here anymore," I quickly explained. "I swear I saw his shadow in the room, which I think came from the window if he was peeking inside,"
Edward's eyes snapped towards the locked window, where the subtle moonlight hit the glass pane, not revealing anything else. "Do you see him right now?" He asked again, looking back at me.
"I don't know. He usually comes around at this time of the night through the window. He must've gone after he saw you I guess." I gulped and Edward's frown deepened.
"What do you mean? He has been in your room too?"
"Edward..." I breathed. "It's not what it sounds like,"
"Why has he been in your room?" He asked a little calmly, much to my growing discomfort.
I gulped back the frightfulness, the adrenaline rushing in my veins. I didn't meet his eyes that had seemed indifferent all of a sudden and I continued. "As I said, he was a friend. And he was trying to help me through,"
"Help you through what?" He inquired again.
"He was the one who told me you..." I finally looked up to him. "Were trying to threaten me, you hacked my phone and you had worse intentions for me. I was too naïve to make sense of that,"
I didn't know where this newfound emotion inside of me got triggered but it did.
He gaped at me in return, unable to contain his hurtful expression. "You said Hannah was a threat to our relationship," Edward very slowly but steadily begun. "But looks like this Hayden is worse and you are so unfazed about it. Whoever or whatever he is, I'll destroy him if he tries to pry in between us,"
It was my turn to gape at him this time, looking at him with a broken expression. Hayden was my only friend at this point, and Edward wanted to get rid of him too. I couldn't let this happen. I was too isolated anyways and Hayden was my only saving grace, the only guy who seemed to make sense of things, I was too timid to even fathom. "He's my only friend Edward." I sniffed, getting uncontrollably vulnerable.
"He's a threat to our relationship. I can't let you be friends with him," He quickly retorted, and my face crinkled into a helpless expression. "You have other friends. You have Marilyn,"
"I'm not friends with Marilyn or anyone else all because of your ex, Hannah," I snapped, standing up from the bed.
"You don't need any friends when you have me." His eyes darkened. "I don't need this Hayden to come in between us, and I don't want to hear otherwise," He said in a warning tone.
I glanced at him with teary eyes from beneath my lashes, unable to believe him anymore. The hurtfulness was all over my face and I turned away from him, not wanting to meet his indifferent gaze. I hated my pathetic state as I palmed my face to prevent any tears from sliding out. I sniffed a little loudly, and instantly blocked myself from trying to breathe heavily. I felt Edward inch towards me slightly but I was too weak to fight him off.
"Michelle..." He sighed. "I'm sorry."
I didn't reply to him, not even bothering to look at him. I felt him wrap his arms around my waist, pulling me against his chest, and I just kept wiping my eyes with the back of my hand instead, tiredly giving in to him.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what got inside me." He breathed in my hair and I just tried hard to not break down. "I'm just trying to help you, that's all,"
"I know," I blurted.
He laid me down on the bed with me straddling between his legs. His arms were still fastened firmly across my waist and he kept kissing my hair. "Please tell me you're not upset with me."
"I'm not," I quickly replied, partially lying.
And in that moment, with him beside me, I fell asleep, as he caressed my hair and gave me light kisses to ease me down.
Several hours later, I woke up in an empty bed, as I tiredly shifted in my position. It was still dark and Edward was nowhere to be seen around. I slightly got up from bed, in a sitting position, looking around the room and yawning lightly. I recalled the events of last night and smiled at the thoughts.
I looked around the dimly lit room and found my curtains blowing with the fan's wind in my room. I saw a shadowy figure outside and my breath hitched in my throat again. I heard the window lightly tap and I quickly got up. With shaky legs, I moved towards the window and unlocked it which revealed Hayden, standing there in his usual attire.
"Hayden..." I said, taking in his appearance. He looked like a mess and more noticeably, angry.
"Can I have a moment with you?" He slowly mumbled.
I gulped and my mind instantly went to Edward and the consequences he had told me if I didn't stay away from him. I sighed, not really letting him in. "I don't know Hayden, it's so late."
Without listening to me, he entered my room with a long stride, slowing walking and standing right in the corner where I thought he was while I was making out with Edward. He stood there idly, folding his arms across his chest as if waiting for me to speak -- or to be precise -- explain.
"What?" I frowned at him.
"Why Michelle?" He said. "Why are you falling into his trap again?"
"Me and Edward have gotten onto better terms now, please," I told him with a curt voice. "I don't want to listen to anything you have to say now,"
"Wow... He manipulated you well," He said with a smug expression and I rolled my eyes, shaking my head at him.
"He's trying to help me!"
"Help you through what? Through offering therapy?" He scoffed.
"Why are you here Hayden?" I changed the subject, in a totally different tone and he gave me an incredulous look.
"To help you not to make the same mistakes you made in the past," He answered, looking at me hard. "And he's isolating you from the only person he thought could help you,"
"I..." I looked away, not knowing what to say anymore.
"You think Hannah's blackmailing him? I don't think so." He scoffed again dryly. "He's just trying to play the victim card. What else would explain for him still being in contact with her."
"But I thought-"
"Hannah and Edward, both have plans to ruin you, just please understand that. They want you dead," Hayden said with gritted teeth, whilst whispering and spelling out every word slowly.
I didn't answer, blinking at him and unable to digest the information. He stepped closer to me, looking desperate for me to be convinced. "He is obsessed with you!" He half-whispered, his eyes widening at me.
"W-what..." I looked around, feeling like the thoughts were making me go insane. "But... But he has been so nice to me... He has no reason to be like that," I spoke more as a question, asking myself.
"He's trying to paint this relationship white enough that anything without him would seem grey if not black," He whispered, standing uncomfortably close to me.
"Isn't that a good thing?" I questioned, looking at him with wide eyes.
He took a moment before replying. "Not everything good on the outside is the same as it's on the inside."
"Hayden..." I gasped, unsure of what to say.
My eyes shot open and I instantly rose from my bed, my body feeling sweaty and hot, and I was out of breath. I looked around and found myself perched on Edward's chest, his arms lazily sprawled over me. I looked towards him to find him lightly breathing, with his eyes closed.
I turned back to compose myself and lied again, but my body ached. I tried to slightly shift away from him in my sleep, feeling different all of a sudden. I had made up my mind.
I was going to let go of Edward.