The Day She Let Go | ✔️

• to ignore •

Alyssa Sheffield stood on the hard shoulder of the motorway behind the boulder, cursing her luck. Out of all the 365 days in a year, her car had to break down on the first day of school. Honestly speaking, a little corner in her brain had been nagging her for a while that the Mini Cooper deserved a trip to the mechanic.

The top corner of her phone laughed too, taunting her with the words 'no service.'

Her eyes flicked up at the sound of another car pulling up behind her car. She couldn't believe it when William Harvey, the school's golden boy, swept out of the Mercedes.

Surely she has to be dreaming?

There was no way that the boy she'd been crushing on for three years straight, would care to stop his car after seeing her.  Alyssa looked away, knowing that it had probably been a coincidence or something.

He probably needed to take a phone call.

Yeah, that's it.

She snaked her hands around her chest, trying to give herself a little bit more warmth whilst ignoring the hammering of her heart in her chest. For the past year, she had been ignoring him.

Blatantly pretending that he didn't exist.

It was easier that way. She didn't have to feel her heart breaking every time he was with another girl, although deep down she knew she had no right to feel hurt. It wasn't his fault. He didn't even know of her existence. She had never bothered to express her feelings because she knew they were one way. Besides, the little crush was doing nothing more than making her feel awful everyday so instead she had decided to put that attention into her studies instead. It wasn't like she had friends to spend that time with.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she ordered the marathon going on in her chest to stop. Her ears pricked at the sound of footsteps, arriving towards her.

They fell silent.

Gathering her courage to face whatever was meant to be, Alyssa opened her eyes.

She wished she hadn't.

It was stupid. A surge of self-loathing overwhelmed her at even having the thought of the word 'us.' The hate was soon replaced by disappointment, for breaking the promise she had made to herself. The promise she had made 3 years ago. The promise not to let him back into her mind.

She must have missed the passenger door swinging open, since the beautiful brunette latched onto his arm couldn't have come from mid-air. Her eyes rolled over her, trying to find some sort of flaw or anything to suggest she was fake but to no avail. With big grey eyes and a gorgeous smile, she was a masterpiece and too angelic to dislike.

Sighing, Alyssa's eyes moved to the girls right, locking eyes with the emerald green pair that she had once drowned in. His unruly soft black curls splayed in different directions from his hand raking through it once in a while.

No, she couldn't lose herself in them again. Her eyes glanced away, instead focusing on the zooming vehicles.

She wished they would just leave. Or that she could leave.

But instead the opposite happened. They walked towards her. One step at a time. She wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck, looking in the opposite direction.

Don't make me go through this again.

She heard the husky low voice that she had taught herself to despise.

"It's Alyssa, right? Uh, do you need a lift?"

Her breath hitched and her eyes widened a little. She knew it was pathetic but she couldn't help but be surprised that he knew her name. The wind tousled her brown hair as the internal battle to refuse or accept raged between her.

"Sure."

The words slipped out of her mouth before she could try to control it.

She regretted it the moment that boyish grin fell on his face. Alyssa knew that very moment that she had gone against all that she had taught herself.

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