ALANA'S MISTAKE ✔

Chapter 27

Alana spun around, a small cry catching in her throat. She heard the sound of fast feet against the pavement. She couldn't see anyone at first. She turned back around and started to sprint towards her house.

'Why are you running?'

The voice was loud, mocking. She halted and looked back, a feeling of overwhelming sickness creeping up on her as soon as she did. Elias was there, on the pavement, her pavement, hands stuffed into the pockets of his grey leather jacket.

'How the hell did you get here?' she growled.

'I have my methods,' he said, narrowing his eyes. 'I've been here before, remember? When you threw me out of your house, because I didn't fit into your life.'

She almost burst with frustration and fear. In that moment she hated him, more than she had hated anyone in her entire life. It was an unfamiliar feeling to her: disgust, a desire to be rid of him, to never have to be near him again. The feelings strangled at her throat, consumed every thought and made it almost impossible to even look at this floppy-haired guy in front of her. If someone were to walk by right now they'd think he was a normal young man - attractive and harmless. That's what she had thought of him, wasn't it? They might wonder why he was out on the street this late but they'd guess that she wanted to be with him. Who wouldn't?

'I didn't throw you out,' she said. 'I explained to you as politely as I could - although now I don't see why I bothered - that what we had couldn't go anywhere. I apologised. Sometimes things just don't work out. Everyone else in the entire world seems to know that, but you!'

'Why did you come home with me that night? If you didn't want anything? Of course you wanted me. You're the one that doesn't get it. You think you can toss me away like a can you've finished drinking from?'

'No,' she answered. 'But I reserve the right to say no. I can always say no.'

'Oh you reserve the right?' he spat, imitating her voice. 'You reserve the right to hurt and abuse people?'

'Oh my god. We can't do this. You can't do this. I live here. You need to get off my street and go home, and never come back.'

His lips curled a little.

'You reserve the right to say no and whatever else you want but you presume it's ok to tell me where to go, which street I can walk on, who I can talk to.'

'It's not that...'

She almost screamed with frustration.

'Just get out of my life!'

She turned on her heel and walked fast towards her house. She knew he was following her from the sound of his footsteps. She clung to her handbag, her knuckles white with the strain. They got closer and closer until they were both right outside her garden.

'Go away,' she hissed as he stopped next to her.

'This is a public area and I have every right to be here.'

'Shut up.'

He stood there, holding his ground, arms crossed over his chest.

'You need to get yourself a life, Elias,' she said. 'Find someone who wants to be with you. Don't waste your time on this - we will never, ever go anywhere. Ever.'

He said nothing to that, just blew a strand of hair up from out of his eyes.

'I wonder what your husband would say if he saw us out here?' he said, a sly smile on his face.

She didn't answer that, instead she glanced towards the house and saw that the lights were all off, just darkness at the windows of Snow's room and her and Noah's room. The thought of her daughter up there made Alana want to rip out Elias' throat. This was too close, far too close. But she wasn't stupid. She knew that if she even so much as touched him he would be sure to twist it into something horrendous, like go to the police or frame her for something worse ... who knows what he is capable of? She stared at him, without saying another word. He stared right back until eventually he nodded slowly.

'I get it, I get it,' he said, raising his hands in surrender. 'No need to lose your head, Alana. I'll go home, like a good boy. Let you warm up that husband of yours. You don't need me in your way, do you? How thoughtless of me. Goodnight, sweet angel. Goodnight!'

With that, he disappeared into the night just as quickly he had arrived.