Scarred Beauty [Completed]

Chapter Thirty Four

After teasing Bri about Cody, she (reluctantly) admitted that she still liked him. I was confused, until I learn that her twin sister was the one flirting with Cody's brother. Unfortunately, she had died in a car crash later on, so no evidence was proven then until Bri told me. I found it sad that Cody also didn't know she had a twin sister, because her sister was usually in Paris with their uncle.

"If she were alive right now," Bri whispered in a small voice, "things might've been.. different." Her eyes looked up at the sky, staring blankly.

I gave her a hug, and she hugged me back gratefully. "It's okay," I murmured quietly.

Her eyes filled with tears, and she began crying silently from the pain. I could understand why. Her sister's boyfriend blamed her for her sister's death, her boyfriend broke up with her because of her sister, and she couldn't do anything because her sister was dead. Her parents now forced her sister's weight onto Bri, making her shift her life inside out, as if she was holding the sky.

She was almost like me, in a way.

~~~

"Let's go to the beach!" Jen exclaimed when the squad came over to Alex's house.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" I replied, smiling.

Bri's eyes widened with giddy excitement. "The beach..?! I've never been there before!"

"What?" Cody turned around to look at her. "Are you fucking serious?" Bri nodded, confused as to why Cody was freaking out. "Okay, we are DEFINITELY going to the beach now." She blushed quietly at his strong reaction.

Jen added in, "Kevin and Felicity are already packing anyways."

Alex remained quiet, a blank look on his face. Bri looked at me and mouthed, 'Talk to him'. I sighed and nodded. I looked at the others and said, "I need to talk to Alex. We'll meet you guys later!"

Before they could reply, I headed out, grabbing Alex's hand while dragging him along with me. We walked outside, and I let go of his hand and turned to face him. He still had a blank face.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing's wrong," he replied, looking back into my eyes. I knew he was lying when he said that. His blue eyes seemed dull at the moment.

"Don't lie to me." I said, crossing my arms. "Something is obviously bothering you." He remained silent, not uttering a word. I averted my gaze, letting out a reluctant sigh. Quietly, I asked, "Is it because of the last time we went to the beach together?"

"No," he answered bluntly. I turned and gave him a look, and he mumbled softly, "Yes.. it is..."

"Honestly, it's fine," I replied cheekily, giving him a small smile.

He sighed with frustration. "It's not fine, Olivia. Nothing I did was fine." He looked at me and added, "I'm not fine. This whole.. thing is because of me."

I pulled my hand towards his face and lightly pinched his cheek, making him wince a little. I let go of his cheek. "Did that hurt?" He nodded. "Then I guess you're not fine."

"I don't understand your point in—"

He cut his sentence short when I wrapped my arms around his torso, giving him a gentle hug. "Does this hurt?" He rested his head on mine and shook it, saying no.

"It actually feels nice to hug you again," he murmured quietly. "Then again, what was your point in all of this anyway?"

"There wasn't a point," I replied with a small laugh. I added in shortly, "I just wanted to hug you."

"It made me feel better anyway," he mumbled, and I could feel his heartbeat racing at an inhuman pace.

~~~

Alex James

I was in the back of the car, sitting to the left with Olivia in the middle. Bri sat next to her, and we managed to squeeze in Cody next to her, and in front of her was Jen and Kevin. My heart was still beating after Olivia had hugged me, since it was unexpected. Her touch is medicine.

We were driving to the beach, and so far, traffic was cursing us. I was listening to music, Olivia and Bri were playing a card game, and Cody was having a chat with Kevin, who was helping Jen sleep. Beside Jen was a bunch of surfboards and a beach ball, along with other accessories. The card game ended soon, and Cody and Bri started talking. Olivia was half asleep, just until the sound of a motorcycle engine came along.

"Oh shut up!" Bri complained, even though she knew they couldn't hear her. "That's so inhumanly loud!"

Olivia covered her ears, and I knew it was because she was tired. She wasn't a fan of loud noises either. She pulled her knees to her chest and hugged herself. The motorcycle was unbelievably loud, especially since it had stopped running around. I wrapped my arms around her without a second thought, and she opened her eyes to see me embracing her. She moved a little closer to me, and my blood began rushing wildly.

I saw Bri give me a look, as if saying "you're in looooove". I glared at her, and she ignored me, making a heart with her hands as she grinned. Cody was too busy staring at the birds flying overhead to notice. I took off an earbud and handed it to Olivia. She looked at it for a while, then back at me. I nodded towards it, and she took it, putting it into her ear. The car ride continued with Olivia in my arms as we listened to music.