Just maybe

25 - Hidden

(Sorry if this chapter is a bit eh, but here's an update! Btw I'm listening to this song while writing this. Hope you enjoy!!)

Hidden - something kept from the knowledge of others or shared only confidently with a few.

The world suddenly stopped spinning.

Or maybe it was the opposite - maybe the world began to rotate at a gravitational pull that was too hard and intense for Paige to locate herself in. Everything suddenly became a haze, the glow of the light in the film room swirled in a brassy hue. The open atmosphere and the dark blue paint that adorned the walls suddenly collapsed upon her. There was no window and the door was closed, creating a sensation that the air was suctioned from the room. Behind her eyelids, she became dizzy with realization. Reaching out, the only thing she could do before collapsing to the ground in a heap was a fiercely grip on the back of the chair in front of her.

"What?" Paige hissed, leaking from the sides of her mouth. Fists curling on her side as a crippling heat wave of anger filled her stomach. She felt nauseous. Dizzy, like standing there looking at Caroline was making her sick.

Caroline was just as shocked as she was. It seemed to be a secret she hadn't wanted to be revealed - one she wanted to kept hidden to her grave. Her skin was completely drained of color. Almost as though she was a ghost.

"Paige I- I-" Caroline stuttered, shutting her eyes as more tears poured over her eyes, her breathing was ragged, like she was being drowned in cold water.

Paige wrapped her other fingers around the rungs of the chair. She struggled to keep balance when she mouthed, "You.... love her." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

Of course she loved her. How had she been so stupid to believe otherwise? Caroline had lied to all of them - Paige, Kk, Ice, Ines and most importantly, Azzi. But how could Paige not see it in the way her amber eyes flickered with golden shimmer when Azzi walked in the room? There had been a connection that drew them, an unexplainable force that kept them welded together no matter what the other did. The way Caroline always been protective of her. And she was Azzi, she was so easy to fall in love with, Paige had fallen in love with her the moment she met the girl. Maybe she had struggled for so long to deny the obvious that was plastered in front of her.

Caroline let out a breath that struggled within her throat. Again, she appeared so tiny. The muscles that wrapped her body were just little stretches of white skin. Eyes hollowed with agony, she squeezed them shut and pressed her face into her hands with a tremble.

"I-I.. I'm sorry, Paige. She... Azzi was the only person who gave me almost everything I wanted..." she staggered, leaning her back against the door for support, "She's the only person who sees me. For all of me."

"You lied to her." Paige blinked stupidly, remembering Azzi's hatred towards liars. "You lied to me." The crack in her voice echoes the betrayal she felt.

"I tried to fight it, I really did." She cried, although her voice was much steadier this time, "Because I know that she loves you. And I know that even though she gives me almost everything I wanted, she would never love me back the way I want her." She wiped her tears, her eyes darting across the room to meet hers. There was honesty and vulnerability in her amber eyes, acceptance. "I knew her heart belonged to you even before she realized it, before you realized it. I was there, Paige. I tried everything to stop myself from loving her because you're my friend too and I know how much you love her. I didn't want to hurt her, god I didn't want to hurt you, I had no choice."