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Thirty-two
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2024-10-29 19:42:56After two days, Aubrey and Jordan were finally able to leave the house. The house wasn't surrounded by paparazzi or anyone, but they needed to isolate themselves from the world, they wanted to spend a couple of days with one another while blocking every intruding sound. Everything was getting too much and they wanted to seek refuge in a safe sanctuary where nobody would bother them.
"It's going to be okay... just dodge any question about our private life, yeah? We don't owe any explanation to anyone." Aubrey wrapped her arms around his torso as they stood in front of the front door of his house. Her voice was soft and soothing; a painkiller to his troubled mind.
"I'm so lucky to have you, my beautiful Bree." He smiled as he planted a kiss on her forehead.
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They have been in an accident. The sentence kept ringing through Aubrey's ears during the whole way to the hospital. After hundreds of questions, that was the answer Aubrey received from her freaked out boyfriend. Jordan was driving so fast, yet she didn't dare to tell him to slow down even though his driving triggered unpleasant memories. Her heart was in her stomach during the whole ride to the hospital. "It's going to be okay," she whispered, glimpsing at him. His grip was hard on the steering wheel, making his knuckles go white. "You don't know that..." he said in a low voice. It was like he knew what was waiting for him. He was aware that he was about to get hit really hard with news he would never want to know.
In the Spotlight Thirty-four
It's been three days since Jason died, three days since the Hill family felt normal, three days since they had a decent conversation with one another without having tears in their eyes and pain in their hearts. The funeral was going to be held on that day. Jordan's dad made sure to contact a security company, so the grieving family would have their privacy. God only knows how senseless some people could be. Greedy photographers might consider it a great opportunity to snap pictures for the sake of a few dollars from newspapers and magazines. Out of all the family members, Jordan seemed to be the worst. He didn't speak to anyone, he kept himself locked in his room at his parents' place and he barely ate anything; only living on coffee and liquor. Nobody could control him, not even Aubrey. He shut her out just like how he shut the rest of the world.
In the Spotlight Thirty-five
Aubrey hated fast driving, it petrified her and made her shiver, but when it came to Jordan, she made exceptions. She drove fast to his family's house and in less than fifteen minutes she was there, right in front of their front door. She was panting out of anxiousness; she could never imagine how bad his state was. "Oh thank God! You're here." Jessica breathed out in relief on seeing Aubrey before her. "He's trashing his room! He doesn't want to open the door. We don't know what to do." Jessica did not need to tell Aubrey that he was breaking everything in his room because she could hear things getting broken. Aubrey rushed upstairs and banged on his door. "Jordan, open the door, please!" she pleaded; worry and fear filled her voice.
In the Spotlight Thirty-six
Ten days had passed since Jordan's breakdown. He left his family's place four days ago and returned to his place. Aubrey stayed by his side all the time, afraid that he might experience another breakdown. He didn't want her to leave either; he felt that his need for her was intensifying because she knew how to be his pain reliever. He hated the pressure he was putting on her; however, he wasn't ready to deal with life after Jason without her.He planned on going back to work; it was a matter of time anyway. He wanted to keep himself busy because he realized that being alone only increased the amount of overthinking he did, which made things worse. He wanted any kind of distraction; he was desperate for any kind of serenity; work gave him what he needed."Hey, babe." Aubrey hugged him from behind as he stood in front of the dresser getti
In the Spotlight Thirty-seven
Jordan arrived at Aubrey's and Maria's place at eight. It felt good to be back to work. It was a great way to keep himself distracted. That was what he wanted. He wanted something to fill the emptiness of his mind that drove him to overthink. Although he was happy that he was back to work, something happened that troubled his thoughts and made him more worried about Aubrey. Somebody sent him pictures of him and Aubrey during the funeral when she took him away to comfort him. Even at the saddest times, they were being watched. He decided to keep that away from her as he did not want to scare her. He even thought about hiring a private detective since he wasn't quite content with what the police were doing."Hey, baby." Aubrey opened the door for him and welcomed him with a big smile on her face. He wrapped his arms around her body and kissed her lips.
In the Spotlight Thirty-eight
Aubrey was in denial, she could not believe what she had been told. Austin? Austin sold her out. Austin revealed her secret to the world. He almost destroyed her relationship with the man she loved. She knew that he was not too fond of Jordan, but not once had it crossed her mind that he would stoop that low. His mistake was unforgivable; he crossed a red line and there was no turning back. "Y-you're lying," she stuttered, her eyes fixated on Edmond. "I have no reason to lie." He shrugged, enjoying the scene before him. He was quite happy to feel the triumph dancing inside of him. "You have every reason to lie," Jordan spat. By that time, Michael excused himself along with the
In the Spotlight Thirty-nine
For a week, Aubrey had been enjoying a smooth, calm life. Things were going the way she liked. She felt like she could finally relax and breathe. Between visiting Jordan's family, working on the final touches of her album, getting to know Victoria, her new manager, and going on a couple of dates with Jordan, she was able to be happy again. Her life was starting to seem normal. Drama seemed to be moving away from her and stress finally showered her with its mercy as it left her alone for a little while. That was what she wanted; that was the break she was striving to get. "Babe, your phone's ringing." Jordan gave her the phone once she came back to the living room. She made herself comfortable beside him as she checked who was calling her. Her mum was calling her on Facetime. "Hey, mum! I miss you." She smiled widely on seeing her mum's face on her phone's screen. &n
In the Spotlight Forty
"So, you're not mad at me? Or upset?" Aubrey was nervous as she spoke to her best friend. She broke to her the news that she was going to move out in less than three weeks and surprisingly for Aubrey, Maria took it so well, or she appeared to be taking it well. "Why would I? I already knew you were going to move soon. It was a matter of time," Maria assured her. "I'm definitely upset but not with you. I'm just upset because I'm going to miss you." The two girls were sitting in their backyard on the grass enjoying the sunset. It was a beautiful sunset where the sky was painted with beautiful hues of purple, pink and orange. "I'm not moving far away. Jordan lives close," Aubrey said, resting her head on her pulled up knees as she looked at Maria. "This lessens my sadness." Maria smiled at her. "But you'll sleepover at my place, okay? And we will sti
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In the Spotlight Bonus (Austin's P.O.V)
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
In the Spotlight Epilogue
"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
In the Spotlight Fifty-seven
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
In the Spotlight Fifty-six
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
In the Spotlight Fifty-five
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.
In the Spotlight Fifty-four
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
In the Spotlight Fifty-three
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
In the Spotlight Fifty-two
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
In the Spotlight Fifty-one
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
