Hell Upside Down

Chapter 40

Chapter 40 - The final 

Point of view Alena Underwood 

A few months later... 

It was move out day for Hellia University. I couldn't believe that I had spent a whole year here. I had finished my courses and exam. I had the approval of the Dean to come back another year. Another year at Hellia University was never promised. Especially for those who haven't shown much improvement or their powers weren't as impressive as the school thought. For some reason, Lilith had decided to keep me. 

I had loaded up everything I possessed into the car that Uncle Jay had recently bought me. In the other hand, I was holding the letter that my father had wrote back to me. We come up with a plan together. I would spend the summer with him and he would show me and eventually, answer my questions about my life. 

I close the door behind me, and gave one last hug to Sierra who was going to spend her summer working at home. She wasn't really looking forward to it. 

I grabbed my handbag, the last thing I had to bring to my car before I was heading to my father's.    With my heart beating last in my chest, I walked towards the end of the hallway. I never even dared coming this close to his room, but here, I was. I stood in front of his door for a few minutes. I had no idea if he had left already, or if he was in there. 

Part of me wanted to see him again, and stare straight into his eyes. I wanted to show him my pain, and my heart break. Another part of me knew that I wasn't strong enough to face him. That's when I opened the door and realize that he wasn't there. 

Ashton didn't have a roommate. According to the school, he was too dangerous to have one. Sometimes, in his sleep, his nightmares could invade the ones of people around him. Blaze was by my side when I walked into his room. 

Some of his belongings were in boxes, but some were not. Even in the middle of packing,  everything was very clean and organized. His room reminded me of his cologne, and his smell. I couldn't believe I've never been in his room. 

There was only one thing left on his desk. It was frame. I picked it up before realizing it was a picture of us. A silly picture that Sierra took at one of the parties that happened at the beginning of the year. In the picture, Ashton and I are both looking at each other with such a passion that left the people around us jealous. 

Although I was still falling in love with him back then, Ashton made me feel at home. He made me feel understood. I allowed myself a single tear drop to fall from my eye onto the picture frame. 

I placed my box died black hair into a bun, before placing my fingers on a new symbol I got on my body. It added to the collection. I had two tattoos on my skin. One of Blaze and the other one, on my neck which wrote: "Carry on." 

Carry on was a reminder for me to move on. With that reminder, I took off my wedding ring and placed it on his desk. Right in front of the frame that had the picture of us. 

I had thought of writing him a letter but what would I have written? I didn't want to beg for his attention. I had my own closure when he walked away from me, on the day that was supposed to be the first day of the rest of our lives. 

When I turned around, I saw Ashton standing in the doorway. His brown hair was all messed up. His eyes were swollen, probably from sleepless nights that I knew we both had. With all these flaws, I still thought that Ashton was the most handsome man I have ever laid eyes on. He was still as jacked as the day I met him. His arms were covered in tattoos. I could distinguished a few, but I was still too far away for me to fully grasp them. 

I knew that Ashton was too much of a coward to speak to me. It's been month since he had been this close to me. Since then, he had spent weeks in the confinement area and doing god knows what. He kept blowing up, and causing chaos.  

When others would speak to me, I just pretended like I didn't care. I took a deep breath before walking right pass him. I could see the pain in his eyes when I finally was the one that was walking away from him. It was one of the first time that I had the strength to do it. I could tell the minute that Ashton saw the ring on his desk because I felt a knife to heart when he did. The pain was unbearable so I walked away at a faster pace. Blaze wined a bit before following me. Blaze missed Ashton too. 

I thought our relationship and our story would end with a big boom. But in a reality, it went like this. I continued walking and continued to my car without another look back. Our story did not end in a storm, or in chaos. 

It ended with pain in our hearts that never was able to emerge. It never was given a space to hurt. It was a silent pain. The ones were you cry without making a sound. 

I felt Ashton's emotions from time to time due to our bond that was created. We saved countless of lives to fulfill some prophecy in which we were both puppets. 

As I walked to my car, and started the engine, I began thinking. This time, Blaze was with me, silently sleeping in the back. As I drove by Main Street, I started to enjoy every stone and tree on my way. This place had made me stronger, and has changed me for the better. I was going to miss this place over the summer. As I drove away, this question started haunting my mind. This question that I could not find the answer for. I thought back to this year, and to everything that happened. I thought back to Ashton who had truly never left my mind. I thought back about the ceremony, completing our bond, and falling in love, and now going on our separate ways. Ashton. 

My question is... Was it all worth it? 

The end.  

***

Thank you so much for reading Hell Upside Down ! This marks the end of Hell Upside Down. Let me know if you would want a second book and what you would want that to be about. Thank you again for reading my story, and I hope you have an amazing rest of your summer ! 

- Emvia