Cravingz [Editing]

Ch.23 (Welcome back)

Ashelyonna's Pov.

I'm alive.
I'm awake.
I'm breathing.

But inside, I feel empty. Nothing makes sense anymore, and the world as I know it has changed. No parents. No family. No love.

I can't keep lying to myself. Just a month ago, I was laughing at the silly names my parents wanted for my brother. Now, here I am, alone in this big house, surrounded by memories of what once was.

Jessica has been distant, and Stefan has been more concerned about my well-being since the accident. Unfortunately, I can't avoid him since he's my teacher.

It's mid-semester, and I have four more months to finish school and put all this behind me. The truth is, I don't want their sympathy or condolences. I just want to get through the day in silence.

I'm the school bookworm, and I'd like to keep it that way—just existing among my peers and their laughter. It should be simple and over quickly. Hopefully.

As I sat in my room quietly, fighting back tears, I was so tired of crying. I knew I had to pull myself together—at least until graduation.

As I approached my locker, I spotted Jessica waiting for me. She looked exhausted, her hair in a messy bun, wearing comfy clothes. When I reached my locker, Jessica pulled me into a warm hug and held me for a moment. After letting go, she glanced at my outfit and asked, "How are you holding up?"

I shrugged faintly and started pulling out my books for Literature. "You look drained, Ash. Like you haven't been sleeping," she observed.

"Well, look who's talking, sweatpants," I teased, shutting the locker door.

"Let's just head to class," I said with a giggle. We held hands and walked toward our classroom.

Just as I expected a peaceful day, a chill ran down my spine. I stopped in my tracks, turning around to see an uproar coming from inside the school.

"What the hell?" Jessica whispered, scanning for intruders.

"Yeaaaahh!" A tall guy with light brown hair yelled, bursting into laughter, followed by six others.

"Talk about an entrance," Jessica muttered as everyone in the hallway stared at them. I looked closer and realized one of the faces was familiar. Then it hit me—weren't those the guys we saw camping in the forest a few months ago?

"This isn't happening," I muttered under my breath, staring intensely at the leader. Our eyes met, and he smirked at me before breaking the gaze.

"Do you know him?" Jessica asked, noticing his attention on me. I wanted to explain what I had learned from Stefan, but I wasn't sure if she was ready for such a shock. Rolling my eyes at the situation, I knew I needed to find Stefan.

"It's a long story. Come on, we need to find Stefan," I said, pulling Jessica along by her wrist.

Jessica followed closely, her eyes darting between me and the group as we navigated the chaotic hall. The tall guy with the smirk unnerved me, and I could sense the atmosphere was charged with something more than just their raucous behavior.

"Okay, spill it," Jessica said, worry creeping into her voice as she kept pace with me. "Who are those people, and why does that guy look like he knows you?"

I hesitated for a moment, trying to find the right words. "It's... complicated. They're from that trip Stefan took me on. You remember, right? The one where we stumbled into some weird stuff?"

Jessica frowned, trying to recall. "Yeah, I remember. But what are they doing here? And why do you look so freaked out?"

I didn't have a good answer. All I knew was their presence here wasn't a coincidence, and the leader's smirk was far from reassuring. Stefan was the one who could shed light on this—he had been keeping tabs on them ever since.