The Arrangement Factor (ARRANGEMENT SERIES #1)

Chapter 59

Mia's POV

I was sitting in Daniel's living room, as I had been living with him. I tried to call Sarah, but she wouldn't talk to me or meet me when I visited, and she wasn't even coming to college. I knew I had hurt her by not telling the truth, and that led to all the problems between her and Alex.

Daniel came back from checking on Alex. Alex had been unconscious since his birthday a day before yesterday after Daniel found him all drunk and hurt. I didn't know what he did to hurt himself, but Daniel had called Alex's doctor.

"Hey! How's he? What did the doctor say?" I asked, concerned for Alex.

"He's fine, still unconscious. The doctor said that he would be fine by tomorrow and gave him some medicines," he said, pinching the bridge between his eyes. He was tensed for Alex.

"What happened to him?" I asked because I wanted to know what caused Alex to react that way. It was in no way normal, and what he did later and called Daniel was even worse.

"That girl ruined him, Mia. She ruined him. She not only broke his heart by cheating on him but made him this angry and feelingless man after her. It took months to get him back to what he was and years to overcome his anxiety attacks. After meeting Sarah, I saw him smile. He was getting better; the old Alex was returning. He would joke around and be happy like he used to be before that bitch," he said.

Later, he told me how that girl used Alex for his money and was cheating on him constantly for money and sex with others. But Alex was head over heels in love with her to see anything till Daniel and his friends planned to show him the truth. When he caught the girl red-handed, he was devastated, and that was when his anxiety attacks started. They would get triggered when he saw or did anything related to her, especially the colour green, which was her eye colour. He hated it and started throwing things at the person who wore green or had green eyes.

"The doctor said that Alex triggered his anxiety attack again, and since he was highly drunk, he may be unconscious until morning," he said sadly. He really cares for his friend, and he has been tense since his birthday for both Alex and Sarah, as both of them were hurt in their own ways. Daniel was blaming himself for not telling Sarah or warning me, or at least checking her dress colour because he knew that would hurt Alex.

"He will be fine," I said, sitting next to him and offering comfort.

"I don't know, Mia. He was fine. He had been fine for a long time. He even had come to terms with others wearing that color, and he was able to control himself. I don't know why he acted like that, and that too with Sarah. He loves her a lot, he won't admit it, but I know that he does," he said, hugging me, concerned for his friend.

I don't know exactly what went down with Alex, but I know what may have triggered him now after all these years. Because I have firsthand experience with a similar situation. I know that the trigger may not have worked with any other person, but since he liked and cared for Sarah, his trigger worked more on her. He loves her, though he may not realise it yet, and seeing her with anyone else triggered him. He could not bear the thought of Sarah leaving him, and his defences acted, and when she wore the colour that he hated the most, it acted as the final straw.

The same thing happened to me when Daniel held me against the wall in that restaurant after our fight. He didn't know that he triggered something, but I blamed him for being the same as him. Anyone else doing this to me would have gotten a kick in the balls, but with Daniel, it was as if my whole world was shattered. I would have handled anyone converting into him, but Daniel, because deep down, I started liking him even back then.

But I was saved by Daniel himself because even though not knowing he triggered old memories, he knew he did something to hurt me and he made every effort to apologise to me and made me realise that nothing can make Daniel hurt me.