"You need to listen to me carefully, what happened is a disaster upon your career and mine too." Her voice was steady even though her soul was broken and her heart was shattered into a million pieces. She did not know why he did that and why he would say those things about her. She could not help but wonder, did he really see her in that way?
"Listen to me, please. I..." He wanted to justify his doings so bad, but she did not let him finish his sentence. His voice was not the same to her ears. His voice was like daggers slicing her already wounded heart. His words killed her. He was not hers, he was just a friend; a close friend maybe. She was not sure what she should label themselves, but it did not matter at that moment. Was he a player? A liar? A great actor like he had always been in front of the cameras? She was lost, yet she wanted to appear strong and in control of the situation. She was not going to let him walk over her heart again just like he did a few hours ago. She put on a façade and it was believable enough to make him nervous. His feelings were all over the place, he did not know how to fix what he had ruined.
"Trust me, I don't care at all about what you have to say. What's done is done, you can't take it back and you can't turn back time," she told him as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a few seconds to prevent the tears that were threatening to roll down her cheeks. She did not want to cry in front of him. She wanted to look as strong as possible; she did not want him to take advantage of her again. "You will say that it was a social experiment to see the reactions of everyone, especially the media and it turned out just like the way we thought."
"How did you think of that?" She never failed to amaze him, she was always ready with solutions for every single problem he had ever confronted. She owned a fascinating mind that never failed to shock him. She was a gem and he was stupid enough to lose her. He did not even get the chance to own her before losing her.
"I don't know and I don't care, " she snapped at him and sighed heavily, "I already talked to your managers and they liked the idea. We will say that we did it to prove that the media could be really bad and untrustworthy and it didn't waste time and snatched the opportunity to gossip and make stories about us. I'll start to get closer to you and your family more to show everyone that we're okay, I may even sleepover once or twice every couple of weeks with your sister to make the lie believable."
"You really have it all planned..." he trailed off, not knowing what else to say. He broke her, he lost her, but it was all unintentional. He just wished that she could listen to him; he only needed a chance. Even the idea of being granted that chance terrified him. He feared that he might ruin the chance and be unable to express how sorry he was along with his true intentions.
"After three or four months I will eventually pull myself away from your life and we will cut everything between us, okay?" Her voice was a little shaky, she thought that he did not notice, but he did. He wanted to hurt himself for hurting her. He wanted to feel the pain he caused her, but he did not know that he was already feeling it. He had not realized that yet. He thought that he was a heartless monster, but he was not. He was just numb.
"Okay." She could barely hear the weak sound that came out of his mouth. "You need to let me talk please, just hear me out. Maybe I can make you forgive me," he pleaded, but she shook her head. She wanted to erase him from her memory forever. He made her the happiest person and now... he shattered her.
"Nothing can make me change my mind... so, what will you say about what happened?" she asked him.
"It was a social experiment," he answered her, trying to avoid looking into her eyes. She was stubborn and persistent; she was never going to let him explain himself.
"Why did we do that?" she questioned, wanting to make sure that no mistake would be made. She wanted to get out of this crisis with the least amount of casualties. She was new to the industry and she wanted to maintain a good reputation.
"To prove that the media is untrustworthy and is ready to gossip about anything," he repeated her words. He took a liking in hearing her talk; he would always listen to her carefully because she always had something nice to say. She could attract anyone and she attracted him, turning his life upside down without noticing. However, she was going to walk out of it sooner or later and it was never her fault. Had it not been for what he said and what the whole world heard, he would have been able to get close to her and maybe make her his.
"Good... I need to go, we will start the act tomorrow, bye," she said and got up from her seat, taking her phone in her hand and walked out of his apartment not even letting him say 'bye' back.
When he heard her say 'bye', fear built up inside of him. She had never said 'bye' to him. She would say 'see you later' or if she was in a good mood she would say 'see ya'. She had constantly believed that 'bye' or 'goodbye' were meant to be said to a person whom you would never see again and she even considered them bad luck. He knew that about her, she told him herself. When she said 'bye' to him, he knew that the end was near and she was completely serious about what she had just told him.
"I didn't even get to admit my love to you..." he murmured to himself. His eyes were locked on the door, silently hoping that she would come back. He wanted to hear her knock on the door, he wanted to take her in his embrace. He just wanted her to know what he truly meant. He wanted her to know how much he valued her. Only then did the numbness fade away and pain dawned on him. Only then did he allow himself to break down just like how his heart broke into a million pieces.
Saying she was nervous would be an understatement. It had been her dream ever since she was young to be on Cheryl Gardens' show and now her dream was coming to life. She was on a rollercoaster of different emotions; she was nervous, worried, ecstatic and excited all at the same time. She could not believe that she was about to sit on the chair where many of her favourite artists sat. She would pinch herself every now and then to make sure that she was not dreaming. Who could blame her anyway? She was living the life she had always wanted to live ever since she knew how to sing.
"Tell me about yourself," Jordan told Aubrey after the waitress took their order."I'm bad at this," she said, scrunching her nose with a little giggle. "Maybe we can play twenty questions?" she tilted her head to the side as she made the suggestion.
"You actually met him, right? Can you believe that?" Maria hollered once Aubrey walked inside their shared apartment, making her laugh. "Did you know anything about that?" "No, if I did, I wouldn't have talked about him the way I did in the interview. I'd have been too shy," Aubrey answered as she sat down on the dark grey couch. Maria threw herself beside her, ready for some girls' gossip. "You won't let me sleep
Around noon, Jordan went to his parents' house because he needed to see his sister. He was planning on using her to try to get closer to Aubrey. He was not completely sure about his actions as he failed to understand himself; he did not know what made him so drawn to a girl he met once. He was aware that Aubrey was a huge fan of him, but he did not want to use that card. He did not want the celebrity version of him to take control; he wanted her to get to know the real Jordan, not the one she was used to seeing on the screens.
Normally, people love waking up peacefully, but when you have a best friend like Maria, you could say good-bye to that wish. When Maria saw Aubrey's phone ringing, she looked at it and jumped on the bed to wake Aubrey. Aubrey and Maria's friendship was so strong that none of them minded the other snooping in the other's phone. Maria and Aubrey slept in Aubrey's room the night before as they kept talking for so long while they were watching a movie and Maria was too lazy to go to her own room.
Aubrey was sitting on the couch in the living room, watching TV and enjoying a cup of hot chocolate. It was Saturday and she had nothing to do, so she decided to have a lazy day by herself. Maria was out, since she had a photo session, leaving the apartment for Aubrey. An hour ago, Jessica messaged Aubrey asking her if she was free the next day to have dinner at the Hill's place. Since Aubrey had nothing to do, she agreed. All of that was still a b
It's been a week since Aubrey's visit to the Hills family. Aubrey and Jordan grew close to each other as the days passed which was something they both liked; however, they didn't like to announce it. They would text each other all day long and they even went out a couple of times. Aubrey did her best to deny the fact that she started to feel something towards him. Unlike her, Jordan was not in denial, his whole family knew he had feelings for her, but he was doing his best to conceal whatever feeling that made its way to his heart. He always said that he was waiting for the right time to tell her, yet he never knew which time was the right one.
After a week of talking to Jason, Jordan decided to make the move and ask Aubrey out. Although he waited for a week after his talk with Jason, he found out that waiting was no use; it only increased his worries and fears of rejection. Jason spent a lot of time thinking about the best way to ask her out. He kept taking notes of what she liked and what she hated, so he'd give her the perfect date. He really wanted to impress her. Jordan picked up his phone to cal
The warden locks the door of my cell behind me and I let out a heavy sigh as I throw my body on the thin mattress on the narrow bed. I am supposed to be spending the next forty years of my life between these cold, hideous four walls. Nothing here is comfy and I guess this is intended; it's a prison not a hotel after all. I have to get used to this feeling; the feeling of imprisonment. How am I going to survive this? I can't live like this. I need my freedom back. Whatever I've done to that bitch isn't worthy of my freedom. I'm confined and bound by transparent shackles. It feels like there's no air to breathe. It's been two months since I last took a glimpse of the busy streets of Los Angeles and I swear, I am close to losing my mind. I miss the busy streets, the traffic jams, my job- that I lost a long time ago because of my stupidity; I should've been more cautious-, my beautiful girlfriend, the humane food and most importantly, the looks of plea that I used to witness eve
"I'm finally seeing him! I'm finally seeing him!" Aubrey squealed as she got off the plane with Maria and Jessica. They have been on a vacation for a month. They went to more than six countries together. They went on the vacation they talked about on the day of the trial. It was a girls-only vacation just as they planned. Jordan wasn't really excited about the whole thing since he was going to be staying away from Aubrey for a month, but he definitely wanted her to go and have fun."For the love of God!" Jessica rolled her eyes playfully at Aubrey. "It was just one month." She chuckled."Exactly! A month! Like 30 days! I miss him!" Aubrey whined as they walked to the bus that would take them from the plane to the arrival hall. The girls decided to go on this vacation after exactly twenty days of the trial. Ever since Austin's chapter in Aubrey's life came to an end, she became a whole new person. She was more cheerful, happier and she seemed to be more alive. She was b
Aubrey stood in front of the mirror and she adjusted her grey suit on her body. She styled it with a blue blouse that was tucked in the suit's pants. She took in a shaky breath and closed her eyes for a couple of seconds then she opened them again. "You got this," she whispered to herself. "Are you done, babe?" Jordan asked her as he walked out of the dressing room. He approached her from behind and she turned around to face him. "I guess I am." She smiled a little at him. She took her clutch that was on the bed and the two of them went downstairs. Just as they reached the bottom floor, the doorbell rang so Aubrey went to open the door. She found Maria and Jessica before her. "You were supposed to be in Miami," she said in shock, looking at Jessica. Jessica did have a modelling gig she managed to get for a perfume commercial and it was supposed to b
Austin's trial was the following day and Aubrey wasn't okay at all. She was freaking out internally and externally. In the morning, she was pacing around the house, trying to make herself busy with anything, but she failed to keep her mind away from the dark thoughts that roamed through it.She was in the backyard, just walking around, trying to do her best to stay calm. She felt like screaming. There was a huge amount of negativity inside of her and she wanted to let it out. She didn't want to do anything reckless that she might regret later. Keeping her sanity secure wasn't an easy task at such a hard time.Jordan was watching her from afar, attempting to make sure that she was okay without being so close. He didn't want to make her feel like he was breathing down her neck. He knew that she needed space and he was willing to provide her with what she needed, but at the same time, he was worried about her. Nora had already told him to keep an eye on her as Aubrey was
Two weeks passed over Dana's visit. The date of Austin's trial was getting closer and everybody was on the edge. Aubrey was trying to appear contained as much as possible, but internally, she wasn't as strong as she made herself seem. She was breaking into a thousand pieces, but she was doing her best to keep her true feelings hidden.Aubrey started therapy sessions ten days ago. She decided to go for extensive sessions because she felt that was what she needed, yet she didn't justify why she picked the extensive sessions. Most of her close ones knew why and they didn't bother to ask, they were desperate as much as her; they wanted her to get better and they were willing to do anything to get that.Her parents left two weeks ago after they made sure she was stable enough. They were assured that she'd be in good hands with Jordan, Maria and Jessica. They were certain that they would take good care of her. That was what they wanted for their daughter for the time being.
Jordan and Aubrey were still sitting together, watching Netflix while munching on the fruits. Aubrey was sat on his lap. Originally, she was sitting beside him while he had one arm around her and her head was on his shoulder, but lately, they took a liking in that position. It just happened naturally, they didn't do it intentionally. Without even noticing, she would find herself on his lap and honestly, she preferred that position.As they were sitting together, the inner telephone rang, meaning that the security on the mansion gate was calling."Who is at the gate?" Jordan sat up as he talked on the phone. By his tone and the look on his face, the visitor wasn't really favoured."Give me a minute," he said through the phone then looked at Aubrey. "Dana is outside. She wants to see you," Jordan told Aubrey, who seemed to be a bit taken aback by what she had just heard."Dana as in... Austin's girlfriend?" Aubrey gulped, looking at Jordan. He nodded and wa
Aubrey's breath caught up in her throat and her chest started to rise and fall rapidly. She was experiencing another nightmare; the third one in her first week with Jordan. She saw Austin in her nightmares. He would always torture her, hit her and of course, rape her. The nightmares' ideas were the same, but the order of the events was different each time.Her body jolted up as she screamed. Tears were streaming down her face as the intensity of the nightmare managed to break her peaceful sleep or semi-peaceful sleep. She longed for a peaceful night with no nightmares or overthinking, but it seemed like one of those two attacked her each night.Jordan was awoken by her scream and he immediately turned on the light of the lamp on his nightstand. He placed his hand on her back and started to gently rub it."I'm s-sorry." She breathed heavily. "I didn't mean to wake you up. I didn't want that." She whimpered, looking down. She was embarrassed by her state and the s
Aubrey curled up into a ball and stayed in bed. She didn't want to sleep, she just wanted to run away from everyone. She wanted to run away from the looks of sympathy and the questions that roamed their minds. Everything was taunting her, mocking her and even reminding her of what she went through. The looks of pity made the memories attack her. The days she spent locked up in that atrocious cabin played at the back of her mind like a tape on rewind and she failed to turn it off. She looked at the door when she heard it being opened; Jordan walked inside. He wanted to check on her because he was more than sure that she was far from being okay. It killed him to see her in that state, he despised seeing her broken. She resembled an angel with broken wings. The enjoyment of flying was taken away from that angel and now it was stuck on earth; that was how he saw her. He had always thought that she was an angel sent to h
Nobody could comprehend or fathom Aubrey's relief when she saw Jordan's house at her sight. Comfort found its way to her heart and she wanted to do nothing other than locking herself inside and to never get out. It was her safe haven that she didn't want to leave for the rest of her life."You okay?" Jordan asked her as he noticed how she was staring at the house before her."Yeah." She nodded with a smile on her face. He took her hand in his and they walked inside the huge house. All her smiles were broken, Jordan could tell. Even though he hadn't known her for long, he knew her true smile and her broken one. He learned everything about her, he learned to love everything about her and to cherish her.Her parents, Jordan's parents, Jaden and Maria were already inside. They wanted to give her a small welcome party to make her feel at home. They wanted to make her happy and to wash away the days she spent in torture. Yet, they didn't know the cruelness of what she