Twisted Love

Chapter - 3

Continuation:

She had confronted them, but it didn't change anything, she was still alone, still unwanted. But atleast now they knew how she felt all this time. And couldn't pretend that everything was fine. With a shaky breath, she wiped her tears and went towards her car to leave that area.

While on the way her mind wandered all over the places, she just got tired of everything and how her day off went. she just got one day off from café and this all happened it's better to have work than being stressed all day...while she was thinking this all her stomach growled implying that she is hungry and need to grab some food so when she saw a 24/7 store on the way she made her way to the parking lot and parked her car...after getting outside she took a deep breath and closed her eyes taking some moment for herself..

After some relief Escape she went towards the store and didn't budge to look at anywhere and just made her way to back of the store to grab a can of beer and some bags of chips, as she needed that with how her day went ..

The store was quiet, almost empty, with only the low hum of lights and occasional rustle of shelves being stocked by an employee. Ashley walked around for awhile to look around and see that if she can grab anything else for the night but she didn't get anything hoping the simple snack would be enough to settle her churning stomach.

She walked up to the counter, still not paying attention to her surroundings, her thoughts consumed by everything that is happening in her life. She is tired, frustrated, and just wants to fall on her bed and sleep forever or anywhere that's wasn't filled with reminders of her family.

But to her dismay, as she reached the bill and finally looked up, her look dropped. Standing behind the counter, holding her bill in her hand, was none other than "Sarah Austen."

Sarah's eyes widened slightly as she recognised Ashley Brontë, her expression quickly shifting from surprise to challenging look. She was the last person Ashley wanted to see right now... Sarah, her campus rival, the girl who always seemed to be on top and one step ahead of her, the one who could get under her skin like no one else.

Ashley froze for a moment, her mind racing. Of all people, why does it have to be her? She could feel the tension rising between them, the unspoken words making the tension between them rise...

"Didn't expect to see you here," Sarah said, her tone laced with something sharp, like she was waiting for Ashley to make the first move.

Ashley raised her left eyebrow, her exhaustion suddenly replaced by a surge of irritation. "What, you work here now? Guess all the studying doesn't pay the bills, huh?"

Sarah's stopped doing billing for a second and her lips curled into a smirk, but there was no intension in it. "It's called doing part-time job, Ashley. Some of us don't have parents money or trust funds to fall back on."

That was it. That line hurt Ashley given the situation of her day. The damn holding back Ashley's frustration broke, and the words spilled out before she could stop them. "you think you're so much better than everyone else, don't you? Just because you're good in studies and everything doesn't mean you know everything!"

Sarah's eyes flashed with anger because she is being unreasonable right now. " And you think being a spoiled brat makes you any good or special? You've had everything handed to you, and you still can't measure up."

The words hit Ashley like a slap. All the emotions she had been holding back the pain, the anger, the loneliness came flooding all over her. "You don't know anything about me!" She shot back, her voice rising. "You have no idea what I am going through, what it's like to live without being loved by anyone!"

"Maybe because you're always too busy playing victim card to actually do something about it!" Sarah snapped and stepping out from behind the counter, her hands clenched into fists.

The argument went more intense and escalated very quickly. Everyone present nearby looked at them and watch, wide eyed as the two girls hurled accusations and insults at eachother.

"You think you're better than me because you got into Boston University on a scholarship?" Ashley yelled, her face flushed with anger. "I worked just as hard as you did, if not harder!"

Sarah crossed her arms, her expression cold and unyielding. "You
wouldn't know how hard if it hit you in the face, Ashley. You've had everything handed to you on a silver platter and you still act like you are the victim!"

Argument was attracting more attention. Now, small crowd forming near the front of the store. Someone pulled out their phone recording the scene, but neither Ashley nor Sarah noticed. They were to caught up in. Their argument, to notice anything at the moment.

But before they could say anything more the store manager, a tall man with a stern expression hurried over..
"What's going on here? You both need to take this outside, or I'll have to call the police."

Ashley and Sarah stared at eachother for a moment, the anger slowly fading out of them as the reality of the situation set in. This wasn't the place for the fight, and deep down they both knew it.

Without another word, Ashley grabbed her beer and chips, threw some cash on the counter, and stormed out of the store, her heart pounding in her chest. She could feel Sarah's eyes on her still digging at her back as she left the store, but she didn't look back. She couldn't. She had said too much already, revealed too much of her pain to her biggest rival of campus and the last thing she wanted was to give Sarah any more information of her personal life.

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