Chasing Alana

07 | Not Playing Nice

Alana took a deep breath in hopes of calming herself down.

After the little confrontation, she desperately needed a fucking breather. She felt like her head was about to explode with so many emotions fueling inside of her, mainly the feelings of resentment and anger.

She was dumbfounded at the way Tiffany came at her, spewing a bunch of bullshit at her in hopes of knocking her down. What game did she think she was playing? And did she really think she could win this?

In all honestly, she thought she handled the situation quite well. Everything she said was the truth— she really was going to take the case to court.

With the amount of evidence that she and Leanne had gathered this past year, both Tiffany and her father were going to spend a long time in jail. From her hospital records to the confession her attackers had given to the statements the other girls had given, everything was recorded and turned into authorities.

Alana was going to take this to the very end and she just hoped this would all just quietly go away. Then, she could move on and finally gain a sense of peace.

After the confrontation, she immediately found herself hiding away in the kitchen, sipping on a glass of wine.

Alana had to fight the urge to punch Tiffany in the face, but like she had promised Marianne, she was going to play nice. She was almost at the tipping point where the smallest irritant was going to make her lash out.

Her mind was constantly swarming with thoughts of her upcoming album that she had spent the past few months preparing for. She also had to make a tough decision of whether or not she wanted to sign the damn contract with Limitless Talent. In a couple of days, she would be meeting with both brothers at their label, yet she still had no idea if she wanted to go for the opportunity.

On top of that, she had to deal with the whole Tiffany situation and she just didn't know how she would be able to handle everything mentally. She still had interviews, photoshoots, and rehearsals scheduled— she desperately wished she had some time to just breathe. The stress was piling up and weighing down heavily on her shoulders.

She put the glass of wine down on the counter and looked down at her wrist, staring at the tattoo with a heavy heart. She just needed to remember to breathe and everything would be alright.

Alana was so consumed with her thoughts that she did not notice the figure that had entered the kitchen and was now standing right behind her.

A throat clearing caused her to jump and turn around with surprise. Her heart was beating fast because of the sudden interruption. Alana's eyes widened at the familiar face before masking her face expressionless, something she was great at doing after 3 years in the public eye.

Asher couldn't help but stare at the beauty in front of him. Alana had always been stubborn, even when they were younger. He knew it would be difficult to get her to forgive him, but he would keep trying regardless of her effort to push him away.

"I-" he began before pausing to clear his throat again. "I saw you here and I just— how are you, princess?"

Princess.

She felt a tug in her heart at the mention of his nickname for her, but at the same time, she remembered the sadness she felt when he abandoned her and raised her guards up even higher. She hadn't been called that since the last time she had held a conversation with him 6 years ago.

All she wanted to do was escape. After being riled up due to the earlier confrontation, she already knew that this conversation was quickly going to go south.