She swings her purse over her shoulder, her heart beating out of her chest, thud and thud , again and again. Something is wrong. Her instincts are screaming at her, warning her. She won't like this. Whatever is to come, she must push herself through. Ophelia is short, but her presence requires attention. Pretty brown eyes, silky black hair and a pretty green dress, at the end of the pier. Alexis can see her from here as she walks towards the end of the pier, her heart beating in her chest.
In and out. She calms herself, stopping to catch her breathe. She needs to keep her calm, no matter what the situation may be. "Alexis," Ophelia calls out cheerily, rushing towards Alexis. Alexis embraces her, smiling slightly at her "How have you been?"
She takes a breathe, "I've been okay. Adonis came back," She says offhandedly, carefully watching Ophelia's expression. Ophelia doesn't even bat an eyelash at this, smiling. She clearly already knows. Alexis doesn't understand, "Anyways, how did you end up in LA?"
"University. I'm going to UCSB, and I drove down for the day," She responds within a few seconds, picking her phone from her pocket and staring at the screen. Whatever the text is, she doesn't like. She shoves her phone back in her pocket, painting on a smile "I missed you" Her voice is genuine, but for some reason, Alexis doesn't believe that's the reason she came down here.
Alexis just plays along, as she always does, "I missed you too," She responds after her heart skips a beat, calming herself down. Something about this entire thing unsettles her "So, how do you like UCSB? Any hot boys? Anyone you are interested?"
Ophelia shrugs a shoulder, "No, actually," Ophelia mutters, clearly disappointed, her eyelashes fluttering "The boys in Greece are far better," Alexis smiles at this. She knows that by heart. All the boys she met in Greece easily overwhelm the male population here. And Adonis has done what no man has ever been able to do.
She meets Ophelia's gaze, forcing herself out of her daydream,"Easily" She chuckles, allowing herself to let go of some of the stress she has been building up. She doesn't want to eat herself alive before she even knows what is going on. Assuming the worst is one of her worst traits.
"So, how have you and Adonis been?"
And her worst trait reappears. She can see the tense look on Ophelia's face, the biting of her lip. Whatever she has to tell her, it's related to Adonis. And she doesn't know if she can stomach it. She has a feeling she has been played a fool, again. "Good. But you know something about that, don't you?" She sharply asks, watching Ophelia innocently blink. She seems to be battling an inner conflict. Unsure whether to tell her or not. Alexis grows impatient watching Ophelia gaze at her.
Ophelia just gazes at her as if she doesn't have enough words to describe what she needs to say, "I can stomach it. Go for it" She demands, and Ophelia sighs, letting out a deep breathe. She sits on the bench, gesturing for Alexis to sit beside her with a sad smile. She isn't going to like this. Ophelia is like her. She doesn't beat around the bush. If she's beating around the bush, this is something big. Bigger then life itself. Something that will make Alexis collapse. Not many things can do that.
Ophelia just massages her nose, "Sit" Ophelia gestures with a look, and when Alexis crosses her arms she forces her to sit beside her, grabbing her arm.
Alexis blankly smiles, unable to muster proper emotion, "Sure" She mutters, as she feels the cold marble of the bench beneath her acrylics, running her fingers along it.
Ophelia musters a smile, dropping it at Alexis's expression, "You know how upset Adonis was at you when you left, right? The party, the way he slit his hand across his throat," Alexis grabs her hand, her heart dropping in her chest. It brings back gruesome memories. And most of all, it reminds her of Ryder. Who he was, and what he managed to make her feel like. Completely insignificant. Irrelevant. He had knocked her ego down.
She'd never felt smaller, "Yeah, I remember that" She chokes out, the thought replaying in her head. Every single time she thinks of the moment, she wants nothing more then to empty her insides. But she convinces herself to remain calm, breathe, steady motions.
"Okay," Ophelia pauses, watching her carefully. She seems to want to allow her to regain her senses for what she's about to say next. Alexis doesn't like this at all. Her ears are ringing, her heart is thumping, her face is pale. Ophelia can barely meet her gaze, playing with the strands of the dress.
She doesn't know what it is. Guilt, maybe. Eating her alive. Alexis steadies her hand on the bench, stopping them from shaking. "Continue" She barks in a low tone, her voice cracking as she says these words. Even before the worst has come, even before she knows the truth, she's scared. Something is off, in the air. Her instincts are already tipping her off.
"So after you left, Adonis drowned himself in his pain. He drank, got into useless fights with Ryder, etc. He was falling off the wagon, and everyone was trying to pick him up. Including Tanya," She scowls in disgust as she says these words "Tanya, of course, remained the same bitter bitch. But that isn't the point," She reminds herself, returning to whatever she was saying before.
Alexis is growing impatient, "I know that. He told me" She impatiently cuts in, not allowing Ophelia to continue. She doesn't want to hear about how she tore him apart, made him feel useless, and completely morphed him. Because the Adonis she knew- he would never fight anyone. For anyone reason.
"Okay, did Adonis tell you about his father?" Ophelia slowly questions, keeping her tone even. Alexis blinks, confused.
She stares at her, her heart beating, "What about his father? He told me about how his father and him don't get along" She explains, and Ophelia cuts her off.
Ophelia just blinks at her, "No. About his father's church. Did he tell you about that?" She inquires, searching Alexis's features as she stares back.
Ophelia is stunned, to the point of silence. She doesn't seem to know what to say as Alexis just braves through, staring at her. "No" The one syllable response quivers, filling the air. Something is off. Ophelia raises her hand to the back of her neck, clearly unsure how to proceed. She can't blame her. It isn't easy to reveal certain things to people
She sighs, "His father's church burned down after you left, weeks after. And the man who burned it- Adonis caught him, right outside of the church. His name was Tiberius. He claimed that the reason he burned down the church was because-" It dawns on her in a split second. It's perfect. Blair has played her like a fiddle. They have played like her like a fiddle.
"Of me. Or my father," She completes, gazing at Ophelia in awe. She doesn't want to jump to conclusions, not yet, but she can see the way this conversation is headed already. And she isn't going to like it.
Ophelia chuckles, "You knew before I even explained," Her tone is sobering "Your father, specifically. Apparently, your father hated that his daughter was upset over some lowly priest's son who never deserved her attention" She scoffs at this. If anything, she doesn't deserve Adonis's attention. She doesn't deserve his moral, perfect self. He deserves her attention. He deserves everything.
"I know Tiberius," The dots are slowly connecting, coming together, and her heart is shattering, "He works for Parker's family" They burned down his father's church and pinned it on her, effectively placing the blame on her. And creating his burning hatred for her. Enough hatred to make him seek her out for revenge. The dots are connecting faster and faster, and all the details come flying at her.
Ophelia takes a breathe, "I did a little bit of my own digging," Ophelia admits, shrugging "And I figured that out. Before, I assumed it was you. My bad. Your friends," She scoffs in disgust "They blamed it on you. They contacted him, explained how all you ever did is hurt people. They told him you were a monster and spun him in a pretty little web of lies" Alexis feels her heart thud in her chest, beating out of rib cage. This is what they've been planning. Her heart is being ripped into half, over and over again. The first time wasn't enough for them.
They want to ruin her. Demolish her. Leave her in the rubble.
She grits her teeth, head reeling. She doesn't even believe this "So they did, and they blamed it on me. And Adonis came back. Why did he come back?"
"To be completely honest with you, I don't know. Vengeance. Either way, he's been in contact with your friends," She spits the words with disgust and venom "For weeks. A long time. And I've told him multiple times that he ends this or I do. It's my turn"
Alexis catches her gaze, "So whatever we had wasn't real?" The words are unreal, slipping from her tongue. Her breathe catches in her throat, her gut recoiling as Ophelia slowly nods.
"I assume. I know you guys have this game going on between you," Alexis arches an eyebrow, confused about how she could possibly know that. "That game called Destroy. I contacted one of your previous peers and they had a vendetta against you. Alexis, I don't know what to say at all"
Ophelia notices her expression, "It wasn't that hard to find out. You are all over social media," Alexis scowls at these words. She bites her lip. This is worse then the first time. Adonis and her have been through everything. And this time, she'd put all her hope in it. Everything. Before she can give up, she has to beg him. Explain everything to him, beg for him back. If she has to let go of him she has no idea what will happen. She'll tear herself into a million pieces. He's the only bridge she even has left- the only thing holding her together. She has nothing. They must have known that. Must.
Is this the win?
God.
She doesn't want this anymore. She. wants. out. She loves him. And she would do anything for him. Even end the games. End everything. She would let go of her vengeance, her games, everything. She already has. She would promise him she would never do anything again. She would revolve around him. He would be her sun, her moon, her stars.
She can't give up. He'll believe her, and he'll come back to her.
Ophelia's lips turn downwards now, "Anyways, you know Adonis. He's an angel, high up on his mighty throne," Alexis can't even muster a smile, nodding slightly at these words. If anything, Ophelia's words ring true. And everything suddenly makes perfect sense.
Calliope's actions last week, threatening Alexis. Blair, leaving her alone. Calliope had all but exposed them, and then attempted to step backwards, covering up her tracks. And Adonis's reluctance to talk about his father is explained. The first time she had asked, he had stiffened. And his attitude whenever she did something that he didn't appreciate. Or hurt someone. He was always upset by it, and even if he eventually came around, his initial reaction was almost always negative.
And that she'll become a better person for him.
"He is up on his throne, isn't he?" She bitterly spits out, sliding her nails on the bench. She hates them. Every single one of them. But this, again, is her own fault. She had let him in, barely holding up her walls. She let him tear down in a week. A week. God. To Adonis, she will give a million chances, over and over again. She refuses to ever let go of him.
Ophelia stares at her eyes, slowly brimming, "I tried to explain to him," Ophelia mutters darkly "I told him that this was foolish, that this wouldn't just hurt you, that it would hurt him. That walking away from you would break his heart. And that this entire idea was foolish. He refused to listen. He's going to be hurt too"
"He won't walk away from me" Alexis firmly replies, a flair of determination streaking through her green eyes as she massages her hair, which is hanging low on her shoulder.
Ophelia notices the glint in her eyes, "You think?" Ophelia skeptically asks, drumming her hands on the pier. She doesn't believe in her. She doesn't think she can do it. That only convinces Alexis more. She has to do it. It isn't an option now, it isn't a choice, she has to. It's a requirement. And she will do it. She needs Adonis. And he needs her. She simply has to make him see it, clear as day.
"If anyone can do it, I can" She waves slightly, offering Ophelia a slight smile before she laces up her shoes. She runs down the pier as fast as her shoes can take, sliding into her car. Now she's a girl on a mission. And this, this a mission she can't fail.
Or she might just lose it.