Five Steps Away

Chapter 16

Elijah comes to pick me up in the morning. I get into his car, preparing for what I'm going to tell him. I wait for us to reach school first, before leading him to a more secluded part of the hallway, telling him that I need to talk to him.

"What's wrong?" He asks, a worried look on his face. He tries to hold my hand but I force myself to pull away. I breathe in, praying God gives me the strength to do this. "Alyanna," he says. This is the first time he's ever said my full name.

"I think we should stop this."

"What do you mean?" his voice cracks and I swallow down a lump in my throat.

"I mean we need to stop fake dating." Just saying fake dating out loud reassures me that this is the right thing to do. "It wasn't right of me to bring you into this stupid fake relationship. I used you and I'm so sorry."

"You're making this sound like you forced me. I did this willingly Alya, I wanted to do this!"

"You don't get what I'm saying. This whole thing was so fucking petty and stupid and childish."

"So what, you're saying you regret it?"

I shake my head fast. "No, of course not!" his features soften for a second, only to turn pained. The look he gives me tugs at my heart.

"So that's it?" He says, and by instinct I want to ask him why he's making such a huge deal about this when our relationship wasn't even real. But for once I bite my tongue. I know what he feels. It doesn't make sense, but it's like something—whatever that something may be—is ending. Over these past months, our relationship has turned into more than just acting, and I would be lying if I said otherwise.

"This was never supposed to be permanent. It was just to get them jealous and we got what we wanted." a moment of silence passes by. "We're not over them yet, and you know it. This isn't healthy for either of us." Elijah looks at me as if waiting to hear me say that I'm joking. His face goes from looking pained, to slowly looking emotionless. He doesn't say another word, and walks away. I sit down on the floor, leaning my back on the wall behind me. That was the right thing to do. I know it was. But I find it extremely twisted that that was so hard. Nothing should be as painful as that. But at least that's one thing done.

At the end of the day, I catch Jenna walking out to the bus stop. When I spot her, I rush to her side, screaming her name. When she sees me running toward her, she walks into the bus, completely ignoring me. By the time I actually get to where she was the bus is already long gone with her.

The rest of the week, the same thing happens. Whether I spot her at lunch or after class in the halls, she always pretends I'm not there which, to be fair, I kind of deserve.

On Friday she goes as far as looking the other way and giving me the finger.

Ok I deserved that too.

But I'm still determined to make things right.

On Saturday, I knock on her house. When her dad opens, I wonder why he's not at work when I remember what she said...

He lost his job.

"Hello Bernice!"

"Oh, what a lovely surprise Alyanna! I haven't seen you in ages," he says, opening the door wider.

"Is Jenna home? I kinda need to talk to her."

"Oh sorry she left a couple of hours ago. You could wait for her in her room though, she should be back soon." I nod, thanking him before taking off my shoes and entering their house. I walk through the familiar foyer, before walking up the stairs and finding her room.