Dear Neveah,

18. Dear Neveah

Alli pulls over in a space in the parking lot, moving her seat back so she could relax a little. The cold weather seemed to be catching up on her a lot, making her plaid button-up shirt not help at all, but it was the least of her problems.

The sunrise was beautiful from her point of view, yet it vividly showed her mood. The dark clouds shielded the sun, making bright red streaks of sunlight appear at the edges. It looked like the dark clouds hovering around her happiness was Jackson and it wasn't hard to miss.

Her eyes clamped shut for a while she held her iPhone carefully in her hands, the sounds from the video playing filling her ears. Neveah's shaky voice in her conversation with Jackson makes her chest tighten, the pain from before hammering her chest all over again. No matter how much she tried to not grieve over it, it weighed her down more than she could handle.

"It was all your fault!!", Jackson's angry tone comes in again and her heart begun to do jumps, beating faster, making her breath falter. Neveah's pleas come in once more, sounding like she had been crying the whole time, pleading with him but he seemed to not have any sympathy for her.

Taking in long drags of air into her lungs calms her down till the loud sounds of Neveah falling into the water breaks through her walls of strength, making the tears she had suppressed slip out of her closed eyes, down the sides of her face onto the leathery material on her car seat. Muffled sounds escape her lips as she tries to keep it low.

Falling numb in her seat, her phone slips out of her hands and falls onto her pair of checkered denim Vans. Her mind makes a double-take on her as she tries to imagine what happened before the conversation. How come she never saw anything between Jackson and Nevaeh? Her mind drifts off to moments before their last meeting yet it was hard to picture anything that ensued between them.

Letting her hands fall to her sides, she allowed the tears to flow from her eyes, seeing it is the only thing that could lessen her grief. Why did Jackson do this to her? Deep down, she knew there wasn't any answer she was going to get from him. Even though the police tried to get more information from him, he gave nothing away. As to why he pushed Neveah off the bridge into the water or what their argument was about or what was between them.

The more she allowed herself to think about it, the more unanswerable questions fill her mind, not helping her headache in the least. How long will he stay behind bars before he finally says what he's hiding? More questions flood her mind but pushing them away, she opens her eyes and wipes her face of the streaks of the mixture of her tears and her mascara. Dabbing her cheeks with more blush and retouching her mascara, she was good to go.

She knew she wasn't in the right condition to be there but she knew that staying in was going to cause her more harm than good. Not sure whether there was going to be rain to calm her down, she was already sure she was going to drown in her tears and the pain might even send her to her grave. Or her hatred for Jackson could make her do the unthinkable. Good God. The things she has meant to tell him in person.

Plastering a fake painful smile on her face to brighten up her made-up face, she opens the door and steps out, scanning her surrounding to make sure no one watched her have a mental breakdown seconds ago.

Thankful that no one paid attention to whatever she decided to do in her car, she threw her bag over her shoulder and joins the large mass of students filing into the hallway, taking slow steps.

I'm sorry I couldn't save you from him, Neveah. I am. She mutters to herself as she sauntered out of the parking lot. A blurred image of Lucas flashes her eye and she halts in her steps, craning her neck towards the far end to be sure he was the one.

In his free hand is a lit cigar with a mist of smoke blown out, making spirals upwards into the skies. In a failed attempt to ignore him, his head snaps in her direction and their eyes meet for a split second before she shifts her gaze from him and continued her walk away.

Throwing the unfinished cigar onto the floor, Lucas crushed it with the sole of his worn-out sneaker and run his hand through his hair, messing it up without caring about how his hair was going to look after that. Perched atop the bonnet of his car, his eyes followed her every move and watched how weak she has become. That even a whirlwind would throw her off guard and end her face flat on the floor.

He curses under his breath and grabs his bag from his side and run in her direction. He knew he had promised himself to stay away from her but he knew he was the only one she had, even if they both didn't want to admit it and he couldn't afford to lose her too. Disgusted by his thoughts, he quickened his steps and grabbed her arm from behind, making her spin on her heels to face him.

Not caring about the number of people watching him, he pulls her close and wraps his arms around her. Encasing her into himself, knowing that was the only thing she needed. He let his mind sway from imagining what made her weak and want to give up on life but focus on giving her assurance, letting her know he's there for her, even without saying anything. He hadn't been good at words from the beginning and he certainly wasn't going to ruin it now by saying the wrong things.

Alli allowed herself to cry into his shoulder, holding him closely with memories of the video coming to her all over again. Letting out the loud sounds from her crying made her feel better and having someone to turn to soothe the pain even more.

Shifting uncomfortably, Lucas dropped his hands from her and stepped back, taking her looks in from the crown of her head to the sole of her feet. He knew something was wrong but the only thing to do was solve it, not remind her of her pain, for deep down, he knew he didn't want to see her in this state even though he wasn't going to admit it to himself.

Allison ducks her head to stop him from staring at her but she was surprised when his hand came down to her face, down to her chin and lifts it, running the pads of his thumb on her cheeks to clean her tears. The affection alone made her want to break down more, not because of the pain she was still feeling but because it felt different. Different only because someone cares for her.

Taking her by the hand, much to her surprise, he walks in the opposite direction and she follows him meekly without a word but soft whimpers till her car comes in full view. Their eyes meet again and she nods before he dips his hand into her bag to pick her car keys. After securing her in the seat, he slides into the driver's seat and drives out of the parking lot onto the tarred road, driving towards her house.

Another update after a long time. I sincerely apologise, I'm trying my best now, seeing there are a lot of things taking my time these days. I hope you liked it. Please vote and tell me what you think. Thanks for reading.