Colourless Skies

43. The Past Meets The Present

Jay's words were like a lighted match in a barrel full of gunpowder, and Leah didn't bother to hold it in this time.

Loud sobs erupted from her chest as she buried her face in her hands and cried. Tears leaked from her eyes and soaked the palms of her hands. Eventually, loss of air made hiccups follow suit between her whimpers. The sound was heartbreaking, and it affected both Alex and Jay.

In all this time, none of them had envisioned the worst case scenario of the effect of being constantly tortured, repeatedly abused, and countlessly bruised would have on a seventeen year old. And to say she was about to be a victim of the most heinous crime of the world, and be disposed off if they haven't gotten there in time, was surely the last straw for someone who was already holding onto the last threads of hope.

Jay looked down, the pain and sadness in his expressions evident, he never thought he would be witnessing a heartbreak like this, not the worst of its types. How did the trio end up here? And why them?

Alex had no words, nor emotions to feel. But despite himself, he did something he wouldn't have expected himself to do any day, or ever.

The care and concern he held for Leah had melted his hard core, seeing her weeping like that. So he did the only thing he could think of, the only thought racing through his mind again and again.

He made his way to the right side of the bed, sat in front of her, and embraced her. Careful not to cause pain to her arms or stomach, he gently ushered her into his arms, and lightly rubbed her back, wrapping his his arms around her, hoping to the heavens above that it would provide the beacon of light she desperately sought.

Leah's breath hitched when her face fell on Alex's sturdy shoulder, she was afraid of him. She didn't want him to see her this vulnerable, regardless of all the times she had exposed herself when she had faced danger at his hands. She was afraid he would hurt her again, for being so weak, and so defenceless. But soon, his motive became clear to her, and going against herself, and all she had ever stood for, she let her arms clutch his shoulders, her face bury in his neck, and she let herself cry in his warmth.

His hold oddly felt of home, one she never had. It provided her the comfort and assurance usually a roof over the head and good parents would provide, but she had none of these; it was as if his unsurpassable hug promised her that there would be an end to all the hell she was going through, and that everything would be fixed soon.

When her eyes finally dried up, her sobs had dissolving to little sniffles, she broke away from Alex and looked up at him. His eyes, which were avoiding her, were a blossoming purple. And his cheeks were tainted pink, surprisingly. Seeing him like that made Leah blush too, and she struggled to hide it while still in his hold.  Jay let out a small laugh seeing two of his friends acting goofy, but immediately quietened down when Alex glared at him.

Time passed between the trio very slowly. Alex had returned to his original position, Leah moved back to the pillowed headboard, and Jay was now seated on the sofa in front of the bed,  each of them now lost in their own thoughts, waiting for someone else to speak first, their surroundings and their conditions forgotten.

The air was thick with tension, and it suffocated Leah. After what had almost happened to her, she felt used, distraught, and sickened to her core. But she knew if she didn't ask now, her chance of getting to know the truth would fade away.

So she bore it the best she could, and took her chance.

"Alex... Alex p-please... you need to tell me."

"W-why is this happening to me? what am I?"

Her habit of stuttering was, opposite to what she had thought, fading. She could sense it; being with people who cared for her had made her acquire the strength she never had when she lived in constant fear of her parents. And she was for once, grateful she was on The Other Side than her own world.