Don't believe everything you hear | WLW

Chapter Fourteen | The Truth

                         Evelyn Carmine POV
                               (Present Day)

As I turn to look at the door, It's Alethea. The expression on her face is hard to read. Seeing me like this, on the floor in a school where I thought no one was in.

Sounds so fucking weird but I don't have time to think as she comes up to me. Her cryptic expression quickly shifts into worry.

I try to say her name, "Aleth—" but I can't finish it. My breath gets caught in the back of my throat. Fresh hot tears weld up in my eyes in front of my enemy.

She bends down and says, "It's okay Evelyn, I'm here look at me." I look away, I don't want her to see me like this; I'm embarrassed. But for some reason, this gesture shifts something inside of me. It's so intimate.

Usually someone saying this would make it worse, especially coming from Aleathea, but for some reason, this makes it better.

I go to say something else but I start to hyperventilate. Why does this need to happen in front of her? Why does she seem everywhere I go?

I feel the heat rise to my face because I know what's coming. It's worse than it ever was and I start to panic. I can't breathe no matter how much I try. It feels as if i'm drowning.

"Wha— what's happening I can— can't breathe," I try to say. It's never been this bad before. It's like holding your breath but you have no control.

She takes my right hand and places it on her chest, near her heart. It's beating so erratically like mine.

"Can you feel my heart?" She asks me.

I nod. It kind of helps me in a way and I'm not sure as to why.

She asks me to tell her one thing I can hear. It's hard to focus because all I can hear is my own heart beat and blood rushing through my ears.

I tell her I can hear her voice, and then she asks me to tell her one thing I see. I'm starting to calm down a little bit.

I find the courage to speak again and say," I see your face."

Once I say this, she starts rubbing my back slowly. This gesture helps my whole body calm down form it's high, as if it has been like this for hours.

She speaks again saying,"You're doing so good Evelyn just try to breathe for me baby." And I do as i'm told.

As I'm taking deep breaths, I feel my body shaking. Once I'm breathing normally for once I look at her. I don't know how she did this or why. After everything I've done to her, why would she choose to help me? I'm not deserving. She hates me and I'm sure even worse now that I kissed her.

I look down and say, "I'm sorry Alethea," I'm ashamed and embarrassed.

She takes her hand and pulls my face upwards and she looks at me. Her eyes are filled with something so comforting. I've never seen her like this. I know it's all some game she's playing. She doesn't mean anything she's just done. I know it.

"You don't ever need to be sorry for something like this okay Evelyn?" She replies.

I'm not sure exactly what I was sorry about, but I know I have so much pent up guilt inside of me. I don't know what to do with myself. I want everything to go away.

I feel warm tears flowing down my cheeks and I have to hide my face. No more panic attacks, just crying. What's wrong with me?

"Hey, baby it's okay, don't hide from me" Alethea says taking my hands from off my face. For some reason this sparks something inside me. I know she's trying to help but it feels like more. And it can't.

Just as I take a deep breath in, she hugs me from the side. That's all it takes for me to break again. I breakdown in her arms, ugly crying. I hold onto her shirt because it seems like every time I have something, it slips away from my grasp.

No one has ever done this for me.

"It's okay to cry, don't let anybody think you can't," she says reassuringly. Wow. No one ever says anything like that. It's always "don't cry".

About 5 minutes pass by of me crying and her whispering sweat nothings in my ear. It just came to me that's she's going to have a lot of questions, that I won't be answering.

I push from out her arms and look in her eyes. There's tears in her eyes? I remember my best friend telling me she feels things differently from others, including me. I just always thought that made us different, but it's not in a bad way.

"Why did you—"

"What happened to your—"

We both say in unison. We both kind of laugh. Even if it wasn't a real laugh, it's something other than what i'm feeling right now.

She nods at me and I go first,"Why are you here right now? Helping me Alethea?" I ask her. This is just one of the millions of questions I have right now.

She expression is quizzical, then she responds, "I was in the school for extra credit and I heard walking in the hallway. It was you and when I seen you the way you were, my body just reacted."

So she didn't think much about helping me? Just instinct? Im skeptical. We're not friends let alone anything.

"What did you want to ask?" I say thinking deeply.

"I didn't know if there was a right time for this but, I seen a mark in your face? What happened—" she says but stops. Probably from my face.

I'm shocked. I totally forgot about that with the amount of force and hatred my mom hit me with. She never hits me in my face so I forgot it would bruise.

I don't even know how to respond. I'm kind of scared and I can't tell her. I get up abruptly. I walk towards the door but she stops me. She turns me around and my back is against the door.

"Who did this to you Evelyn?" She says frustrated. There's a destructive look in her eye and I'm not sure how to take it. I know I should thank her for what she did but I can't find it in me right now. I need to leave. No one can know about this, especially her.

She stares deeply into my eyes and I push her off me.

"It's nothing. Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to Alethea." I say rudely. I take one look at her again and she's surprised. I see the fire in her eyes building up. After everything she's done, I would be confused too at the sudden turn of events.

But I don't care about that right now. No one can help me. It's all my fault the things are the way they are. I don't need help from someone like her. She would never understand. I feel myself growing angry.

"But Evelyn—" she goes to say, but I stop her.

"Just leave me the fuck alone Alethea. I don't need your help." I scoff and run out the door.

I don't know why I said that. I don't know what I would have done without her being there. I need to get the hell out of here and fast. I can't see her face or be around her for another second. I hate her, always have. Nothings going to change that.

As I'm running out the school. I take a step outside and I feel like I can finally take a breath of air for once. The sun is setting and I have no where else to go. I sit down in my car with my hands on the wheel.

I hear a notification on my phone and it's from my boyfriend, Damien.

"Hey babe I'm back In town. I've missed you, and I have a lot I want to talk about w/ you. Want to come over?" He says. He's not going to be doing a lot of talk, just fucking. I know him too well.

The man I totally forgot about texts me. Just great. But I haven't seen him In a while. I need to get my mind off of things, including a certain blonde. He will remind me of who I am, how much I love him.

I start my engine and begin driving. I have no where else to go.

I need a distraction. I'm not using him, just his body. Alethea means nothing to me.