Her Fear, His Obsession

One day he would leave too, the cursed

"This won't work between us, Alia. We're probably just better off as friends."

"But, why, Amit? I thought you liked me... that's why I told you how I felt..."

"I know, but, you know the truth... you'll always be alone. You care soooo much but no one gives a shit about you. And you're the fool that keeps falling for it."

"And you know something, Alia, I never actually liked you, you were just a fun time. You'll always be alone, Alia. And you can't explain to anyone why."

"Cause you can't explain why you're such a loser..." Alia fell back as the words started to pound all around her.

LOSER

FREAK.

TRASH.

WEIRDO.

Alia awoke with a start, shooting her head off the bed, tears streaming down her eyes. After a moment of adjusting to the darkness, she felt to the edge of her bed, trying to go get some water. But she felt nothing.

Oh, right. This isn't my bed and this isn't home. Alia chided herself as she moved to sit over the edge of the bed that she eventually found. With a start, she went to stand and felt herself wobbling. As she began to fall back, she felt a set of firm hands grab her arms from the front, pulling her body into their chest. Her head fell on to the chest and from the smell and general common sense of this place, she knew it was him.

"My love, what happened? Do you need something?" Luca asked, sleep and worry mixed all over his face.

Alia blushed bright red and then shook her head, "No, sorry to wake you up. But how did you wake up so quickly?"

Luca raised an eyebrow to look at her, "Quickly? Quickly would have been stopping you from trying to get up in the first place. I just didn't think you would be foolish enough to try." He retorted.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot," Alia hung her head in shame. She was supposed to be resting after passing out earlier in the day.

"Why are you awake any way, Alia? I thought the music was supposed to help you sleep."

"It does," Alia replied. "But it also causes me to sleep too well which causes me to have such terrible flashbacks and nightmares," she thought to herself.

Luca saw the sadness and afterthought present in her eyes and thought to push further when he realized he still hadn't addressed why she got up. Putting his hand under her chin to have her look up, he asked, "Love, what did you need?"

Alia shook her head. Luca continued to stare at her, a glower growing heavier over Alia as they both continued to stare in each other's eyes. The look was so intense that Alia forgot to breathe. It was only after she felt like she was feeling like she could drown that she broke the connection, blushing fiercely and looking down. "I told you, nothing. I'll get it myself."

"My Queen, no. You can't. You have to rest."

Alia squared her shoulders, shook her head firmly, and then stepped out of his hold, turning slowly before beginning to walk through the double doors.

Sighing, Luca started to follow her. If he wasn't able to stop her, the least he could do is make sure she was well along the way and personally accompany her. Nodding at the servants outside their door, he silently heard them all step into place as she continued to walk down, stopping every now and then to whiff the air before continuing in a direction.

All the slaves watched in awe as she limped through the castle, using the wall for support when she needed. They were even more in shock seeing the bouldering King following her like a lost puppy, confusion clear on his face as well as a look of fright at anyone he made eye contact with.

Slowly, but surely, they made their way through the walls, as Alia smelled the freshly baked bread stronger and stronger. Smiling in triumph as she went into the kitchen, she walked over to the dishes, ignoring the requests to serve her. This time, her search was a lot shorter, finding a glass for water and a plate for the bread and nutella within seconds. She stood at the counter, aware of the narrowing eyes of the King, watching her every move.

Luca stood at the door of the kitchen entrance, dumbfounded. It was three o'clock in the morning and she was eating bread... Puzzled, he kept his eyes trained on her as she moved, taking her dishes towards the sink. She deftly sidestepped every person who came to grab the dishes, almost as if it were a dance.

Without so much as a word, she completed the dishes and quickly started walking out of the kitchen. Stumbling into a corner, she launched forward, only to be caught by Luca. Saying nothing, he lifted her and walked her back to the room. By then, Alia had already put her headphones back in and was slowly starting to slip back into a slumber. Using his shoulder as a pillow, she slowly felt the exhaustion wave fall over her. The last thing she saw was him walking with a squared jaw, confident. And she almost felt good, secure. Like Luca could be the one that would break her curse.

But her nightmare came flushing back into her eyes and she squeezed them shut, hoping that she could crush those memories. Knowing it was futile, she let the sleep come along with the nightmares.

This was her reality and she could never escape. Everyone left her, and one day he would leave too, the cursed.