Cupcake Kisses

Fondant

I sit at my bay window till the early hours of the morning. The sky turned a beautiful shade of silvery grey, with the slightest cracks of the night letting the day in. I hear a car roll up the curb, only to be disappointed, realising it was Alex. I listen to him trudge up the drive and into the house, holding my breath, I pray he doesn't come into my room but of course that's too much to ask for because the next thing you know, my door hinges creak slowly and I catch my brothers dirty blonde hair, stick his head in. Surprise crosses his features.

"Hey, I thought you'd be asleep by now." I shrugged, contemplating telling him the truth or brushing him off. He stared at me expectantly waiting for an answer. I let out a breath of air.

"I'm waiting for Asher." His mouth slowly quirks up in a condescending grin before setting into a hard, straight line.

"You know he looked really bummed that you weren't there to celebrate with him." Guilt gnawed at my stomach hearing my brother say that.

"Am I a terrible person?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper. I felt so bad all of the sudden. His eyes looked empathetic.

"Of course not, Lia. I just think even if you'd gone for five minutes, he would have been happier, you know?" He shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. It was then I noticed how dishevelled he looked, and with closer inspection, there were bags under his eyes. He looked exhausted.

"Alex...?" I approach hesitantly. "Are you okay?" He physically flinched as his eyes focused back to me. He straightened his shoulders from his slumping position and pasted a careless smile, back onto his face again.

"Course I am, Squirt." He playfully nudges me, before running his hand through his hair, making it unrulier than it already was. His face shut down, letting me know this was as far as a response I would get out of him.

"Anyway, I'll let you get back to your expert stalking." He teased, but it didn't have his usual enthusiasm to it. "Goodnight, Lia."

"Night." I respond, distractedly, worried about what was going on with him. My eyes followed by brother out before focusing back to the window.

The night air was warm, a light breeze weaving through my hair, crickets chirped softly in the background and my eyes started to shut, unwilling and sleep dragging me down, the next thing I know, I'm walking to the sound of slamming doors coming from down below. I sit up so fast I get whiplash. Asher's voice drifts through the air. I read the time on my phone, two-thirty. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I straighten out my P. J's before quickly, but still silently, slipping out of the house.

The cool, rough, driveway, grates my bare-feet. A smile covers my mouth unconsciously as Carson's and I's conversation floats back into my mind. I was going to tell him; I think to myself. It's now or never A.J. The smile drops from my face almost instantly as Asher comes into view and he's not alone.

Emily, a girl who goes to school with us, stands there with him, both of them laughing. She's leaning close and whispering in his ear, her hand gripping his bicep. Flashes of emotions go through me all at once. Anger, jealousy, insecurity, pain, anxiety, sadness, dread. I feel like everything around me is spinning so quickly. My arms go around my waist for a sense of security. She was stunning, even at two in the morning, her dark, chocolate, skin looked awake, her curly hair still perfectly in place, while mine was rumpled with sleep. She looked like a runway model and here I am looking like a slob in my teddy bear P.J's. Not that it made a difference to Asher.

He said something to her in a hushed tone, Emily fluttered her eyelashes in response. The worse thing was that everyone knew that these two used to have something going on before Asher's accident. He even took her to prom. What if he still had something with her? What if Carson was wrong? What if I ruin our friendship? Dear god, I think I'm going to be sick.