Now on top(Book 1)

Confused

Akua's eyes took in the view of her husband hugging Alessia as she cried, her heart tugging with sadness.

She saw the emptiness in the girl's eyes suddenly filled with so many emotions, as she repeatedly told herself over and over again that she was not okay.

Tears filled Akua's eyes hearing the brokeness in Alessia's voice. It was so painful to hear the the tears she tried hard to keep at bay finally fell and she too hugged them, knowing that this girl needed this warmth even without knowing it.

Alessia didn't know how long had been crying but soon there was no tears left and she began to hiccup while sniffing, her face burning in emarassment for displaying a moment of weakness as Carl continuously run his hand up and down her arm to comfort her and Akua just holding her, her presence already a comfort itself.

Finally leaving their embrace, Alessia couldn't help but become emotional again when she was no judgement in their gaze, and the tears that she thought had all dried up was once again spilling from her eyes.

"T-thank you. Thank you." Alessia mumbled over and over again and the couple nodded in understanding.

Akua placed a glass of water along with some pain killers on the table for Alessia whom she was sure was having a headache after her emotional outburst but was startled seeing the murderous gaze Alessia was directing at the tablets.

"Dear, please have some. I'm sure you're having a headache from all that crying." There was no mockery in her voice, just genuine concern.

Alessia hesitantly took some of the pain killers with shaky hands and swallowed it along with the water. She soon gulped all the water and let out a small sigh of content at it's refreshing taste.

"Thanks." She seemed to be saying that a lot today.

"No problem dear." Akua smiled, her dark skin radiating beautifully and Carl just gazed at her with an awed face.

Alessia looked away from the sight.

Carl sat beside Alessia and prepared himself to ask her some questions, reassuring himself that this would allow him to help her better in any way she can.

"Alessia," he began, "I would like to ask you some few questions, if you don't mind. If they seem too personal don't feel pressured to answer." He looked at Akua before bring his gaze back to Alessia.

"My wife and I, would very much like to help you. So please, know it's for your own interest, okay?"

Alessia looked into Carl's eyes before diverting her eyes someone, the honest present was so unfamiliar to her she felt her stomach churn discomfortably.

Carl cleared his throat gently before asking,

"Could you tell us everything, from the start?"

Alessia, now convinced a bit with their honestly, opened her mouth to began but stopped.

Akua went over and held her hand encouragly.

"We're here for you."

Hearing that, Alessia took a breath before speaking.

"My family is not what you call loving, or supportive." She said in a bitter voice.

"My sister," Alessia spat, "Was always the prettier one, the smart one, the perfect child for my parents." Alessia rolled her eyes.

"Every single thing my parents compared her to me, always mocking me about how I should be more like her. My parents loved her so much they actually sent us to a new school and managed to jump her classes to mine since I'm two years older than her so I'll not have a slight advantage over her."

"She somehow copied my grades when we were younger,I really don't know how. The way I dressed, and was always the first to show it to my parents. It got to such a point I realized that their love wasn't a simple favouritsm, no it was much more cruel, toxic." Alessia said with a sad laugh.

"It's safe to say I didn't really have a happy childhood. They never really hit me save for the occasional slaps here and there, but sometimes I had wished they did, at least they'd aknowledge that I exist."

Akua gasped horrifically at what Alessia had said and Carl's expression became darker but Alessia was too busy caught up in her memories to notice any of this.

She told them about everything her parents did, how her only support was her grandma, Ingrid. How her parents had somehow managed to prevent her from taking custody over Alessia many times.

Alessia also told them about how her ex best friend Wendy left her for her sister.

She soon told them about Ryan, how he became part of her life.

"I thought I finally met someone who understood me. I thought I finally had someone who my sister couldn't get her hands on. He understood me, listened to me without judgement. But I ignored the signs, the texting, the blank face. Everything." Alessia said painfully before hiding the pain in her voice.

"How stupid I was."

Alessia continued telling them how she found out that her sister and her then boyfriend Ryan, were actually together behind her back.

"The one person I least expected to betray me, stabbed me in the back. I became more desoriented than when Wendy betrayed me behind my back."

"I wanted to forget. So many time, but the pills weren't helping, the cuts weren't helping, nothing was helping. Death itself didn't want me."

She told the couple how she passed out many times for long periods of time, and Carl soon realized that was why sometimes Alessia never came to school.

Alessia remembered how she'd stare at the wall of her bedroom or the ceiling for hours, so empty and so alone. She couldn't even visit her grandma even if she wanted to.

She kept quiet for a while until she felt an embrace she was quite unfamiliar to. Akua hugged the girl with all the love she could knew the girl needed at the moment, and she'd hoped that if Alessia allowed it, she would continue to give her the love her own mother had deprived of her.

"For being named Angel, your sister sure is a devil." Carl tried to make a joke and the whisper of a laugh that left Alessia made his heart swell at her for laughing at his lame joke.

"You're no longer alone Alessia. We're going to be there for you, and we're going to help you, even if you don't you don't want that, we know that we'll like to be there to help you become the best you. Okay." Carl and Akua reassured her.

For some reason, she didn't believe them, even if she knew they genuinely want to help, her heart can't handle that kind of support, because it has bled so much she fear it's almost dead.

But she'll try.

Because no matter how much she'd been hurt, no matter how many tiny fragments of her heart have even been trampled on, she'll try.

Cause even if they leave her, she's too broken to care.