Chapter 52

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Hi, so this is a chapter I wrote very quickly, and I feel like I need to explain it. It's from John's point of view, and basically you'll get to find out why he did what he did. The majority of the chapter is a flashback of when he met Beth. 

Chapter 52- John's POV

"Ella!" I heard Edward yell. The sound of doors opening, cars screeching and goodness knows what else emerge. I knew that no one cared about me, but I would have appreciated if someone had come to help me out of the car. I was too weak to do it on my own. Ella and I had both been seriously hurt by the impact. I didn't deserve anyone's help. I deserved what I was getting for all I had done to them. The truth was, I put on a tough shell but I was a coward, the main reason being that I was scared of my brother. He had assigned me to do what I had and I know I should not have. I had hurt too many people along the way, even innocent ones who had nothing to do with my brother's revenge.

My head started spinning and I felt myself falling, down, down into a black hole, and I landed with a thud. 

Flashback 

I sighed as I made my way through the crowd. It was Wednesday, a school night, and I started work early the next day. So you might ask, why the hell is he out at 11pm, risking to look deprived of sleep the next day in front of his students? 

Easy. I'd just found out that Edward and Ella were officially a couple. I shouldn't actually know yet, because they did not tell me. But I had my own ways of finding out, shameful ways which did not shame me much at all anymore. The camera I had installed in the art room had worked wonders. So had the camera showing Edward's living room. Through them, I knew everything. 

I sound like a freak... and I probably am. But no one knows what I've been through, so no one can really judge. The pink flashing light in the club moved to my eyes, momentarily blinding me. I glared at it and made my way to the bar, sitting down on a vacant stool. I ordered a whisky shot and downed it within its arrival. I sighed, feeling sweat on my arms immediately. I couldn't drink much, I had to drive myself home and prepare tomorrow's lessons. 

This wasn't like me at all, actually. I rarely went out, especially by myself, or when I had to work the next morning, and I rarely drank. Clubs were not really my thing, but I'd found myself in an uncomfortable situation and wanted to go someplace unfamiliar. Because the truth was, even though hidden under a mask of lies and a sick mind, I had fallen for Ella, majorly.

I had known her for ages because of her father, but I didn't really know her. I observed her during her art classes, and soon realized that I too was, in a way, attracted to her, just like Edward. And I was in a conflict with myself about it, because she was the daughter of a person who had died because of my brother. And it was because of her father that my brother was back in jail. So in a way, I hated her. Then, on that day when I'd spoken to her and driven her to the cemetery, I thought, why not spite Edward, since I knew he liked her. And I kissed her. And it was those few moments that I spent with her that made me fall for her. But then she hadn't chosen me. She had chosen Edward.

In all of this, I'd somehow managed to get a stalker of my own. The photo with Ella scared me for a while, because I did not want to be fired from the college, which had taken me so long to get into, or Edward to stop speaking to me after he found out. I needed Edward to be my closest friend. I needed him to trust me. It didn't take me long to find out that the photo had been taken and sent by Nathan. So now, I was keeping an eye on him. Hopefully someday, he would start helping me out. 

I took a deep breath, understanding what a load of baggage I had taken when I accepted my brother's request to help him out. I ignored the feeling of annoyance that was circling inside of me, and ordered a shot of tequila this time. And another. My brother had not only taken away his own freedom, but he had stripped me off of mine. And it was slowly driving me crazy. I either had to quit, or have someone help me out.

But if I did quit, my brother would probably instruct someone to kill me

I took a good look around me. Drunk people dancing to crap songs, wearing way too short or tight attire,  and flirting with everyone that passed by. What the hell was I doing here? Even with a couple of drinks in my head, I thought of these people as idiots. I should have chosen a bar rather than a club. I stood up to leave, but a wave of black hair caught my eye near the lounge area. I squinted. A pale girl wearing dark red lipstick and a matching knee length dress had just made her way into the club, on her own. I raised an eyebrow. She looked just like a co-worker of mine. Coincidentally Edward's ex. I wasn't sure if this was real or if it was just the drinks. Maybe a little bit of both. But she was hot, who cares whether she was Beth or not. In fact, if it weren't her, it would be better, because for one moment, I just wanted to forget about Edward. I made my way towards her. 

As soon as I stopped in front of her, I realized that she wasn't a look-alike of Beth... she actually was Beth. I was about to turn away, wanting to make this my evening without anything to do with Edward, when she turned around and her eyes met mine, instantly widening in recognition. I couldn't tell if she were happy or unpleasantly surprised to see me, but I thought of the latter, because she'd always told Edward how much she disliked me. It was quite a surprise when she smiled at me.

I raised an eyebrow. Maybe I was drunk. Maybe it only took me three shots to get drunk. Lightweight, I thought to myself. 

"Uh, hi," I said distractedly. Maybe she was the one who was drunk and that was why she was smiling at me. 

"Fancy seeing you here," she answered, eyeing me up and down. That was the most that she had said to me in like, forever. 

"Um, yeah, I don't usually come here," I replied, still taken aback by her, I guess you could say, friendliness. The song changed to Anaconda by Nicki Minaj and the look of distaste must have been evident on my face. The sound was way too loud. 

"Really? I find places like these fun because you get away from life for a little while. I come here a lot," Beth said. 

"With Edward?" I asked. I didn't recall him ever telling me, or ever seeing his location as being here on his phone, whose GPS was always reported back to me. 

Beth's lips pursed as a teenager made her way past her barefooted, with her high heels in her hand. This really was a skanky place. "There's no Edward and I anymore," Beth answered. 

"Oh." An uneasy silence settled between us, despite the loud noise and song volume. I looked up at her. "Can I get you a drink?" I asked. Might as well make the best of it now that she's actually speaking to me. 

A smile formed on Beth's lips. "Sure," she said. She followed me to the bar. 

I ordered two drinks, and turned to Beth, handing her hers. "So what happened with Edward?" I found myself asking. After all, it was important for me to absorb as much information about him as possible. 

Beth took a sip and shrugged. "Nothing, actually. But a woman can tell when a guy isn't into her anymore. He's interested in someone else. It's not like it matters, we haven't spoken in weeks. It's over, he didn't even need to say it."

I held on to her gaze. "I'm sorry for that," I said. "Do you know who it is?" 

Beth waved her hand. "I don't care. He can do what he wants."

I chuckled. "I wish my attitude was more like yours." 

Beth lifted her eyebrows. "Isn't it?"

"No," I muttered. I had an obsession with Edward's business, so he never did what he wanted without me knowing about it. But I could't say that to Beth. Instead I mentioned Ella. "There's this girl I liked, I thought it was going somewhere but she chose the other guy. I want to know why she chose him." I picked up my glass. 

"Wow, you're almost in the same situation I'm in with Edward," Beth said, sounding genuinely surprised. "Is that why you're here tonight?"

I nodded. "And you?" I asked. 

Beth looked away, then back at me. "I guess," she mumbled. "You and I have quite a bit in common. It's a shame we've never talked much before." 

I leaned forward. "And why is that, exactly? I mean, you're talking to me today, why not at school too?" 

Beth sighed, playing with the straw of her cocktail. "It's nothing," she muttered. 

I chuckled. "Okay," I answered, realizing that for some mysterious reason, she did not want to tell me. Curiosity got the better of me. "Is it somehow related to Edward?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Not really." 

I nodded. "How did you even end up with him, anyway? He's never treated you well," I pointed out. Wow, that was super loyal of me. Well, it wasn't like he really was my friend. 

"As weird as it sounds, it wasn't him I was interested in at first. But when he asked me out, I accepted."

I looked at her, drink in hand, trying to comprehend what she was saying. "So you were interested in someone else then?" I asked. How had I not known this? I usually know so much about everyone.

"Yes. But then I started going out with Edward so it was no use. I started liking Edward, and became clingy. I'm sure he told you so." She eyed me pointedly.

I kept a straight face, trying not to reveal anything. "Why did you become clingy?" I asked. I finished off my drink and glanced at her glass. It too was empty, so I ordered us a couple more.

"I don't know. I guess I just wanted to settle down with someone. But then he changed and became the man he is today. And I ended up on my own again." Beth sounded sorry about the whole situation. 

I sighed. Beth had only been Edward's rebound to Lauren. He hadn't changed, he had just showed his true characters after being majorly nice to Beth. 

"So that guy you mentioned that you liked," I asked. "Did you still like him during your relationship with Edward?" Beth nodded, looking shame-faced. "And do you still like him now?" 

"Yes... why?" she asked. 

"Then go for it now," I said, my mind wandering over whom she might be referring to.

Beth shrugged again. "I don't know," she said, looking at me distractedly. "What about you?" she asked. 

I chuckled. "What about me?" 

"Are you interested in anyone?" 

"Not really," I replied. I saw her face fall. What was this about? I mused. "Why?" 

She finished off her drink before answering. "Just asking," she said. A high pitched giggle made its way to the club as a group of thirteen year olds entered. I rolled my eyes. Beth noticed this and said, "Do you want to get out of here?" 

"Heck yeah." I took a look at my drink, which was almost empty, and stood up. We made it past the noisy crowd and out of the club. I heaved a sigh of relief. "Phew, there were so many idiots in there," I said. Beth giggled and I put my arm around her waist to guide her to the southern part of the street, where there were different pubs with lounges in them. It was crazy to think how well we were getting on. I felt her flinching by my touch. 

"So, can I ask you something?" I said. "You have to answer me truthfully though." We stopped facing each other on the pavement. 

Beth smiled. "Go on." 

"Why did you always give me the impression that you hate me when we're at school? I mean, here you're nice, but at school..." I trailed off, knowing that she had gotten my message. She looked a bit nervous as she regarded me. 

"Do you really want the truth?" she asked. I nodded and she took a deep breath, locking eyes with me. "It's because you were the guy I liked, not Edward." She paused. "I had to hide it somehow." 

My lips parted in surprise as she uttered those words. Maybe I had really drunk too much. "Really?" I asked. It was her turn to nod. "It certainly didn't seem like it," I continued, my vision getting a bit foggy. It did, kind of make sense, in a weird sort of way, though. 

Beth laughed. "I know. Sorry for that. But I was with Edward, I couldn't show him I was interested in his friend." 

My lips settled into a smile. Finally something positive was happening. "You said you still are interested," I said. 

"And you said you're not interested in anyone," she answered. 

I closed the gap between us. "I lied," I said.

"I don't know if I should trust you if you're already lying," Beth said with a laugh. If only she knew. 

"I guess it's worth a try," I said. She nodded and a second later, our lips touched. We kissed slowly, and then broke apart to look at each other. And for that moment, I had forgotten all about Ella and Edward and the rest of my baggage.

If only I hadn't ruined it by getting Beth to help me out. 

Edward's POV

I paced around the hospital waiting room anxiously. What was taking them so long to tell us what the results were? It had been a couple of hours since we'd arrived by ambulance.

Ella's mother and brother were both present, since I had contacted them immediately after I had gotten Ella out of the car. Nathan too was there, with his girlfriend.

I stopped pacing when I saw the nurse making her way towards us. Everyone stood up. Suddenly I was very scared to know what she had to say.

"Both Miss Campbell and Mr Abbott are going to be fine," she said,  and I immediately heaved a sigh of relief when she mentioned Ella. I hadn't given much thought to John,  but I suppose that I didn't want him to be hurt or for anything to happen to him.

"The impact with the tree caused both of them to become unconscious,  but luckily Miss Campbell has woken up already. We are expecting Mr Abbott to wake up within the next couple of hours."

"Can we see Ella?" I asked impatiently.

The nurse nodded.  "Immediate family only though."

I muttered an "okay" and was about to sit , when I heard someone calling my name. I turned around and found a police officer looking at me.

"The police would like to speak to you."

Hi, so I ended up updating earlier. Stress forces me to write hehe :) I hope you enjoyed the chapter, it's not great but I enjoyed writing it. Hopefully it makes things a bit clearer. 

Please vote and comment, it really is a pleasure to see hard work paying off and people appreciating what I do. 

Sorry for not answering to your comments for chapter 51, I've been busy but I promise I will :-)

Photo: Beth

Dedicated to liziee_yolo ... thank you for your constant support ^-^

Thank you! Take care xxx

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