"Long, long, long time ago-"
"But not very long time ago," I added.
"Yes, not very long time ago. Just a few years back, I was a splendid student-"
"Then why did you say the whole 'long, long time ago' part?"
"For effects. And-"
"Splendid student? Really?"
I snorted. Asher just glared at me for cutting him off, twice.
"I was, okay? Not exactly splendid, but...better than others," he said.
I rolled my eyes.
"Anyways, I was like the most popular, hottest, the most-wanted guy in the whole school, which as a matter of fact, consisted of about twenty thousand students," he explained, as he did a hair flip.
"I don't believe you. You're not that good-looking. I've seen much more attractive guys in my life, and even dated a few," I stated.
"Who? Please, go ahead and enlighten me," he challenged.
"Elliot," I answered with a smirk.
He just grumbled under his breath, how life was unfair. But he didn't argue against it.
"You know, calling you ex-boyfriend 'much more attractive' in front of your newly made boyfriend isn't a very wise thing to do," he advised.
He made a fair point there.
"Yeah, sorry." I muttered.
"All is forgiven. Anyways, I was the bad-boy, broke school rules, yada, yada, yada, the typical bad-boy stuff. Everything was going just as I had imagined high school as a kid. I had the girls, the gang, the money, and the perfect life."
He sighed.
"I didn't want it to change, or maybe I did. I don't know. I didn't even know anyone could change it without my consent, but she did," he said.
My mood instantly got a little more downer, I don't know why though. His past love life didn't matter anymore, but it sure wasn't a topic I'd like to chat about.
"Now, now," he said, noticing the slight downfall in my expression. "Don't turn go all 'possessive girlfriend' on me. Remember, it's all in the past."
I glared at him. He thinks I'm possessive. But, I'm anything but that.
"I'm not, you idiot. Of course it's in the past. You're not in high school right now, are you?" I snapped.
I swear I didn't mean to be that harsh. But I was.
"Sorry," I muttered.
"Nah, it's alright. I know how you're feeling, anyways," he replied. "Moving on, her name was Alyssa."
Sounds familiar.
"Blonde, grey eyes, fair complexion and five feet four inches tall. She was everything I had dreamed of. Everything. When we were dating, like officially, I was the happiest guy on earth," he sighed.
He's exaggerating so much.
Thanks Asher, for telling me that I'm not everything you had dreamed of.
"She was nerd, I was a popular guy, but after a long series of fortunate events, we got together. Everything was going perfect. And obviously, perfect things either never exist, or if they do, they don't last. We didn't last either," he continued as he played with this fingers.
"All because of him," he growled.
Elliot, what had you done boy?
"He entered our school in my final year as a newbie, but took no time to become popular. It's like everyone, except us, were attracted to him. Even my friends," he smiled. "I lost all of my fake friends to him. Only one of them was loyal enough to be with me."
I can't relate to what he's trying to say, as I, myself had no more than one friend. I motioned him to continue, anyhow.
"I didn't mind that. As long as my best friend and Alyssa were there with me, I was a happy man. Alyssa, as I said, was gorgeous, and that's what caught his attention. He begged Alyssa to date him, but obviously she denied. I even beat him up for asking my girl out," he explained.
So violent.
"Didn't you get suspended or something?" I asked.
"I guess? I don't remember, to be honest. I've been suspended quite many times," he answered, scratching his neck.
Such a rebel.
"Moving on, Elliot, being Elliot, got pissed off. Wanted revenge on me. He could get me beaten up with his agents or something, but I guess that wouldn't satisfy him. So, he decided to get revenge on both, me and Alyssa," he said. "He tried his best at separating us, but failed. Nothing worked for him."
Asher shut his eyes tightly. Took a few deep breaths, and just stared at me.
Maybe he doesn't want to tell any further. Maybe he should stop for today. I didn't say anything though, because I didn't know what to.
"He-he put a camera in Alyssa's bathroom at night. No one saw him going in there," he shook his head.
I gasped. I knew that Elliot wasn't the purest person in the world, but this was just disgusting. I can't believe I liked him and dated him.
I was a fool. Ash was right, that night, when he told me to stay away from Elliot.
"Released it on internet. Word spread around fast. She-she couldn't bear it and I couldn't-didn't do anything. I was pathetic, useless when she needed me the most," he added.
He buried his face in his hands, and seemed like he was on the verge of breaking down into tears. I moved forward and allowed him to rest his head on my shoulder and hugged him, gently.
Soon after, he began sobbing. I didn't mind my shoulder getting wet at all, rather, I was glad to be the one to support him.
After a few minutes, he seemed a bit better than before. He moved away from me, staring into the distance. The sounds of our breaths was the only sound.
I didn't know what to do now. Should I go to my room? Should I tell him to continue? Should I get something to eat?
"She left. Just...vanished, along with her family," Ashed spoke up suddenly, still staring into distance. "I-I searched for her, and...ended up in Amsterdam."
Wait...what?
"You came here in search for her?" I asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, yes I did. I mean, her relatives didn't know where they went, but they had a few guesses on where they might be, where they own plots and so on," he said.
"What about your job?" I asked.
"I've got enough money up my sleeve. Although I do look for jobs in every city I visit," he shrugged. "And...jobs aren't the only thing I look for though."
"What do you mean?" I narrowed my eyes.
"Life got boring in search of her, and I didn't know whether I'll ever find her or not," he answered. "So I decided to..." He paused.
"Decided to what?" I demanded. He can't just leave me at that cliffhanger.
He remained quiet.
"You don't wanna tell me?" I asked, quietly.
"You'll hate me if I do," he answered with a sad smile.
That just made me even more curious.
"You can't be sure. Maybe I won't," I suggested.
"Most probably you will, and I'm not taking the chances," he replied as he got up. "I should get some sleep now."
"Wait! Ash, we can't end Christmas without cake," I told him.
"Jess, I'm not the in mood for cake," he said as he ran his hand through his hair.
"You haven't had dinner," I protested.
"Not hungry."
"It's a cookie and dough cake," I added.
"Not giving in," he shook his head.
"I'm willing to share it with you," I said. "But...if you won't eat it then I'll have to eat the whole thing, and then I'd get sick. Then Cass won't let me out of the house...then I won't be able to meet you. We'll drift apart, forget each other, move away. Then I'll adopt a few kids-"
"Okay, I get the point!" He yelled, exasperatedly. "Get the cake."
"Yay!"
And that's how we ended up devouring the cake Cass got from the bakery. We didn't say a word, just filled our mouths with it.
"So," he starts, looking better obviously because of the cake. "What's your story?"
"Huh?" I question him, smartly.
"You've got a fake therapist degree," he states. "You never speak of your parents. What's the story?"
He's perceptive.
"What is, some story telling contest?" I chuckle, my feel the cake in my stomach making me nauseous at the very thought.
"I tell mine," he states. "You tell yours."
I look at my feet, contemplating over the idea.
"As long as you're okay with it," he says with a comforting smile.
Come on, Jess. You're not weak. You're a strong, mature woman who's not afraid to speak of her past.
"No," I say, clearing my throat. "It's about time I let it out, you know?"
He nods with an encouraging smile, urging me to go on.
"So..." I start, not knowing where to start. "Uh, I used to live in this city called Delft with my parents, no siblings, no cousins. We were living a pretty much middle class average life. And...my father, he lost his job one day and turned to alcohol. Long gone was the father who loved us and promised to remind me how much he loved me each night. He kinds lost it. He had to work really hard for his position and he lost it. Then this one night, he comes home drunk and I-I don't know how it started, but mom and dad...they were arguing about something. And..."
I pause, unable to continue. Pushing back the lump in my throat, I attempt to finish what I've started. Asher squeezes my hand, and I nod.
"He throws this bottle of whatever it was and picks up one of the broken shards of it and just stabs my mom. And I'm in the corner, yelling and crying at him to stop. He did, actually, after she was dead. He told me to be quiet and go to my room or else he'll kill me too. I was so freaked out that I ran to my room and cried myself to sleep. When I woke up in the morning...mom was gone. There was no trace of her."
"He told me to keep my mouth shut and I did. I don't know why, but I did. Maybe because I was too scared. I lived for five years with that jerk, and trust me, I tried running away multiple times but he always got the police to find me since I'm underage. The day I turned eighteen, I ran. On the way, I met Cass who was just as lost as me. We got this sort of connection between us and we continued to nowhere."
"I didn't have any degrees or anything to get a stable job and, you know, living on the streets gets you quite a bit of knowledge about the wrong crowd. So I found this place...these people working in a shutdown factory who helped me create a fake degree and identity. I gave them all the mommy I'd taken while running away. Cass didn't want to get involved in all this so she opted for a more...legal path to a job."
"And I ended up here, with a fake degree and a newfound best friend."
I take a deep breath, feeling lighter. No, not because I miraculously lost all the excess fat, but because I let the story I had in my head for years out. I look at Asher, anticipating his reaction. He stays silent for a few moments.
"Wow," he breathes. "You've got a more fucked up backstory than mine."
I crack a smile. Guess I won this storytelling contest.
Later, Asher decided to sleep in my room, as we were now officially a thing.
"Good night, Ash," I murmured drowsily.
"Good night, muffin," he answered as he wrapped his arms around my waist. I smiled, and shuffled a little bit to make myself comfortable.
It was peaceful, to be honest.
Only if I knew that the morning would be chaotic. Very chaotic.
And...*takes a deep breath* *releases breath*
I...I have...how shall I say it?
I've...started a...new book.
It's called 'Trapped In Me'. Sci-Fi, romance, humour and adventure. So...GO READ IT. WHY'RE YOU STILL HERE, HUH?
WAS THAT BLUNT ENOUGH? And...
This book's gonna end soon. Within like 10 more chapters.