Forever.

Chapter 27: "Why are you doing this?"

Before she could say anything, he was out of the car and quickly opened the door and untied her.

"Don't even think of running, Veronica." His eyes were digging holes in her, a cold stare, his voice low, deep, and fucking scary. She tried getting up but couldn't. As if her limbs had gone numb. Axel gave her a hand but deciding against taking his hand; she tried again. Failing, she groaned, looking back up at Axel, who now seemed pissed and clenched his jaw; he flickered his gaze to his hand, then back up at her indicating her to take his hand. But she wasn't taking any of it; she tried again by reaching her hand on the backside of the front seat and trying to hold it while she got up; halfway through, she fell again and groaned painfully.

That was it; Axel grabbed her wrist and yanked her up, silencing her groans but not the pain. It ached even more. Her breath hitched, tears stung her eyes, and she looked at him, breathing harshly, "Why are you doing this?"

Again, no answer. Axel just dragged her into the building. It looked deserted. The sky was dark as if it was going to rain, and the breeze was cool but foggy. The building looked like it could fall apart anytime. As they reached closer to it, she saw that there were spider webs on the door frame. She didn't feel good about any of what was happening; the place gave her a terrible vibe, and she just wanted to run away.

It scared her to the core. She looked around, trying to figure out where she was brought, but she had no clue. A sunflower field surrounded them. The yellow flowers contrasted the weather, the aura of the place, and their situation. The flowers looked like untainted entities in a dark and foul environment, like the good in the evil.

She kept staring at them until she was yanked inside, and just as she was in, her hands were taken back and tied down. She screamed and tried to protest but suddenly felt Axel's proximity and his breath near her ear. It made her shudder in fear; he whispered, "Hush. I'm not going to do anything," there was a brief pause before he continued, "Unless you force me to."

She gulped down her protests and let silent tears roll down her cheeks. She had never imagined being kidnapped and treated like this by a close friend. A fucking close friend. She didn't know what had taken over him; it was still unbelievable for her-- the fact that she was kidnapped and Axel, her childhood best friend, was probably behind all this.

As she sniffled silently, her throat started turning dry, and she unintentionally sniffled; Axel brought his right hand to her chin and turned it to him so he could look. The sight did nothing but make him grow even angrier. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes; he slowly but roughly wiped her tears with his thumb. Then in a scarily calm and pissed tone, he asked, "Why the fuck are you crying?"

Her breath hitched, and she looked at him in disbelief. Still not able to understand and process anything at all. Why was he treating her that way? Had she done something? Or had he gone crazy? Her body was still aching, and his words and actions did nothing but add on to the pain. He was acting like he didn't care, eyes so cold, moves so fierce at times; it felt like he wasn't concerned like he'd turned into some sort of monster over the night. It shattered her heart to know that someone she considered to be so close to her was doing this to her.

"Where is Seb, Axel?" She asked, not caring what he would do. It seemed like he was on the verge, and that name just might have triggered him, but she needed to get answers. She was scared, yes. But she wasn't not going to do anything about it. She was brave enough to ask and face the consequences rather than obeying him dumbly, and so she asked.

Axel opened his eyes and scoffed, chuckling darkly; he said, "It's always about Seb. It was never me, huh? Whenever he disappointed you or went overboard with his teasing, whenever he neglected you, whenever you had breakdowns because he wasn't with you, who THE FUCK was with you, Veronica Haynes?"
[a/n: i definitely didn't write 'Veronica Knight' and then realise it just before publishing, that her surname was Haynes *sob*]

When she parted her lips to say something, he hushed her, "I'm not done, love. The thing is, you never saw us as something more than friends, and I always hoped," he left her chin and parted from her, walking to the staircase in front of them, he continued. At the same time, Veronica stood as she was left, "I always hoped that you might see me as something more than a friend who is always there for you. Someone that mattered to you? Because you always came to me when you were heartbroken or needed a shoulder to cry on. Why would you do that to me, Veronica? I... mistook your using me when you were in pain for something unreal. Something that made me think that you found comfort in me. But it wasn't me; it was always Sebastian, wasn't it? I always thought about you; if you were doing okay, if you wanted something or not, it was always you; it has always been you, Ver. But... it was never me, right?" He looked up at her, his eyes holding back tears, not letting one slip out of those glossy orbs.

Veronica was shocked. She never thought Axel would have feelings for her; she never realized that she always unintentionally... used Axel, to put it very bluntly. She didn't want to admit that, but it was true. Whenever Seb and Ver got in a fight, she ran to Axel and vented to him; whenever she felt uneasy and Seb wasn't around, she went to him because, after Sebastian, it was him who she considered a close friend, but after Seb came back again, or when she was done venting, it was as if Axel was never there.

While being so in love with Seb, she forgot that friends were supposed to be mutual. They weren't supposed to use the other person according to their will, and she had done just that for half her life. 

--x--

hello hello! the book is about to end hehe. 
im quite excited to start another book though im in a dilemma which book to publish first-- there are three stories im working on as of now T.T 

anyways, that was the update, it's literally around 3 in the morning rn and my throat hurts like hell and to make it even ✨ better ✨ ive an exam tomorrow, so i think im going to be sick and sleep deprived yay 

yupp, that is my rant for now! skdjsdkj leaving that asidee--
i hope you enjoyed <3 if you did do vote, and comment c:

thanks for reading <3 
love, 
estrella