Hell Upside Down

Chapter 23

Chapter 23 - Phone call 

Point of view Alena West

I woke up with a smile on my face as a brown hair boy had followed me into my dreams. Last night took everything in me to get up and move away from him. I needed to stand my ground. I needed him to treat me right. I woke up with a vase of white roses on the side of my bed. I knew without thinking that they came from Ashton.

I got out of bed and decided to get ready for the day. Today, we had a day off and I decided that the perfect way to spend it was to make Sierra get her mind off the whole situation with Willow. I believed it was a great day for us to get our nails done. I picked out a cute outfit, which I paired with a white bandana in my hair and a ton of makeup on my neck to cover the hickeys that were left from last night.

I felt bad for my happiness as Sierra was going through one of the worst heartbreaks I had witnessed, and I could feel nothing else but guilt. However, I couldn't have left Willow in the Maze. I couldn't have left someone behind. That wasn't how I rolled.

Sierra woke up slowly. Her eyes were puffy, and there were dark circles underneath her eyes. She got up and got ready in silence. She decided to wear sweats today, and I didn't blame her. I saw that she had ripped the few pictures of her and Nero that hung on her wall and had thrown it in the trash.

I walked silently toward her. It felt like I was walking on eggshells. At any point, she could throw a fit and give everyone in this dorm nightmares.

- "Let's get your nails done today. It's my treat." I offered while she agreed and got the keys to her car.

She strolled to the bottom of the stairs as if she was more fragile now. I noticed Dysnomia in the corner of my eye. She stared at me with an evil look, and I was glad to make a decision last night. Too often, I was not prioritized in my dating life, and it has always come back to haunt me.

Once we arrived in Sierra's car, she turned up the old radio. The sound was frizzy, but the music of 5SOS reverberated in against the glass windows. The nail place was forty-five minutes away. We probably made it in thirty. She drove fast, way above the speed limit. She was flying threw cars. I didn't say anything and just let my heartbeat pump through my chest at high speed.

- "She didn't even say anything to me. My old roommate who I haven't seen in a year." She said while tears were running down her eyes. At least, she never left the side of the road. "I care about her. Losing her was one of the most difficult things I have ever done."

I didn't even think about it. Although she had lost someone who she loved, she actually lost two. "I know Nero, he would of have told her by now." She continued while driving through a red light. I flinched, my fist clenching on the leather seats.

So, I did something I promised myself I wouldn't mess with again because I couldn't control my powers well. I could take away the pain. I placed my hand on her shoulder, only for a few seconds. I wished for all that pain to go away. And it worked a bit, I felt her shoulder feel lighter.

The last time I attempted that, I made the one person I had ever fallen in love with me forget my existence. I knew I had committed the same mistake this time as the sadness in my roommate's eyes was still there, but it was less. We all knew that this would have a cost. I didn't know which yet.

Sierra parked the car in front of the nail place. As soon as we got out, my phone started vibrating in the back pocket of my shorts. It was one of the last warm days before the winter came. I got my phone out and froze.

The name Justice appeared on my phone. He had forgotten about me, and I didn't understand what was happening. I nodded towards Sierra to tell her that I'll be right in.

I watched the rings go by, once, twice... before deciding to answer. A knot had formed in my throat. I had many nightmares of what I had lost and left back home. I held my phone against my ear. No one spoke at first until I heard his voice. The deep voice made me fall in love with him. It was like a dagger had entered and stabbed at my heart. I almost felt guilty for being happy without him. He had been my human soulmate, the one I would have been okay spending my life with before I came and changed everything.

- "Lena?" He called. My nickname that he had given me on the second date that we went one when he taught me to surf during a night of a full moon. I could still smell the fresh air filled with salt while recollecting those memories. 

I couldn't speak. I couldn't say anything.

- "What the fuck did you do? How could you leave... it's like I remember parts of you..." He screamed on the phone.

Similar to Ash, Justice had a fast temper. He jumped to a conclusion. He tried not to jump to a conclusion and stay calm with me, but sometimes, he couldn't control it. He seemed lost and confused. It broke my heart. The powers that I had used on Sierra had erased a small effect that I had on my ex-boyfriend.

I hung up. I wiped the tears off my face and went into my nail salon. I had a single week before we had a four-day break for Thanksgiving, and I didn't know what I was going to do until then. I was going to try to forget it until then.