Let It Burn [18+] **Being Edited**

Chapter 21

Maia

After telling Michael about my past with my stepdad and crying a river on his chest, to the point his shirt was soaked with my tears. He left Alyssa and me in his dorm while he went to get us food.

Still feeling the tingling sensation where his arms were holding me two minutes ago, I clear my throat and sit next to Alyssa who's staring at the floor lost in thought.

"Are you okay, Ali?" Placing a hand on her shoulder, Alyssa turns to look at me.

"I should be the one asking you that. Are you okay?" Her eyes were soft and a faint smile appeared.

I can tell she's bothered by my revelation. Maybe because of how close we are, and it hurts her to see me hurt or to know I was going through a lot at one point.

But as soon as those thoughts crossed my mind, they vanished. There's something else that's wrong.

"I'm okay. What's on your mind? You seem like you are having an inward battle with yourself."

Whipping away a tear from her face, "it's just that you're the second person I know that had gone through this." His voice cracks and she clears her throat.

"Oh Ali, do you want to talk about it?" It's weird that I feel like I don't know how to comfort her. I've been through the same issue but I don't know how to help her feel better right now.

Offering me a sad smile, she shakes her head, "oh it happened a while ago, one of my sisters was assaulted one time on her way home. It was really traumatic for her. I can on only imagine how you feel. I'm sorry that happened to you."

Bring her in for a hug, I whisper, "it's all over now." I hope.

We decided to leave behind the depressing talks and move on to some gossip. It's amazing the number of things Alyssa knows. It's like she's in the VIP section where all the drama is.

Remembering that I haven't told her of my conversation with Danny I decided now was the perfect opportunity to bring it up.

"So, I met up with Danny today for coffee.." I tell her, suddenly feeling shy.

Her brows furrowed for a slit second before her face went blank, "And?"

"And he apologized for what he did to me. Actually to what he did to us." I emphasized the 'us' part so she knows we spoke about her.

Biting her bottom lip, Alyssa's face brights up, "well I'm glad he finally apologized to you like a man. But, I want nothing to do with him." She scowls and crosses her arms like a child.

"Well, that's a big fat lie if I ever heard of one. You need to let him talk to you. You might be surprised by what he tells you." I tell her, trying my hardest not to smile at the thought of his love confession.

"Yeah, maybe. I'll have to think about it." Is all she says about that, "did you guys talk about anything else?"

"Actually yes, so I asked what was the problem between him and Michael and he confessed that Michael was dating a girl at some point and he saw the girl at the club one night and they both were drunk and—" I'm cut off by the sound of the door opening. Michael walks in holding a bag of food.