𝚂 𝙼 𝙸 𝙻 𝙴

Chapter 19

The prominence of anticipation filled the room to make it somehow humid and muggy. Colton broke out into a sweat from the anxieties of finally meeting the boy by the name of Oliver, the boy whom changed his crush for the greater good. A meeting scheduled in secrecy. A meeting that could potentially end with Alina losing all faith and trust she has in Colton.

Now that he weighed the possible consequences, this is dangerous. But the question he stirred inside of his mind was: is it too dangerous to proceed or am I just a chicken?

Oliver was someone she clearly didn't want him to meet, he was someone worthy of her hiding as a secret. He wouldn't forget that. No matter the consequences, he will find out what's so special about him that she felt obligated to hide.

The coldness of the air circulating around the dark colored room attacked her face with a fierce-like blow, causing her to retract and shiver. Her body was noticeably prone to temperature changes, and this made her wake up. She stretched her arms out in front of her and slowly sat up to avoid being light headed; the blanket yet again gathered around the slimness of her waist as she crawled out of the big bed.

She wiped her tiny fist across her eyes to look more awake as she walked down the stairs, looking around for Colton. Her long, black hair swayed behind her with a gentle motion, and the numbness in her eyes had a slight twinkle to them.

"Colton..? Colton, where are you..?"

She turned the corner sharply that bordered the living room and kitchen, immediately spotting the silver-haired boy cutting an apple into long slices and placing them onto a plate with bananas and a singular pancake. It was decorated with syrup and a gallop of whipped cream on top, sided with a scoop of Nutella and caramel for the fruit.

"Oh, you're awake! I got bored so I made you some breakfast, I'm pretty sure it's your favorites, too." he said with a slight smile, obviously proud of himself.

Alina grinned slightly before taking the chair into her hand and plopping down. There was a mirror in front of her and the smile she wore slowly faded into a face of worry and horror; disgust. The plate and surroundings seemed to fade into nothingness until all she could sense was her feeling of shame and misery, and the silver haired boy who stood next to her with a hand on her bony shoulder in worry.

"Lina, are you okay?"

Her breathing became unsteady.

"Crap... Dan!"

The slender fingers slipped around his wrist, whilst in a panicked moment of frenzy, Colton looked down at the girl and was met with eyes practically reassuring him that she was fine.

Fine.

Honestly, when a person defines themselves as being fine, your brain immediately flickers more leniently to the emotional side that screams at you to beg them to tell the truth. It's the feeling of guilt—of having caused worry—that usually makes a fine person tell the truth of their emotions, yet this wasn't the case with Alina. When she says she was fine or okay it was the truth. Not is , it was.

Past tense.

For a split moment, it was the truth; she was okay. But after that split moment of being okay, she wasn't anymore. She isn't programmed to feel anything except agony. That's her mindset.

Everything goes away.

And Alina?

She felt alone and the world was cold. She lacked serotonin and she couldn't do anything. It's hard to focus.

"Hey, you're okay... it's okay..." Colton whispered comfortingly into her ear while caressing the top of her hair and running his fingers through the strands with a calming sense of gentleness. "..I'm here.. Colton's here, so you're okay, Lina."

He tried his best to comfort the shivering girl but even in a time of disparity the obsessive need to just hug her in hopes of making it okay was intense. He did not want to seem belligerent as to request if she wants him to leave but the thought still enmassed his mind. There were so many options he had yet none of them seemed to fit the current situation, leaving him here with a shaky, horrified girl whom is freaking out. It was moments like these that he wished he knew her longer, better; his wish would later come true whether or not he welcomed it. 

The question remaining was one no one wanted the truth for... and one Alina had been avoiding actively. 

When will he find out the secrets she hid away?

The answer? It waltzed up to the door and rang the doorbell, awaiting someone to welcome it and provide explanations ; Oliver had arrived.