THE HEARTACHE REMAINED THE SAME

"What a bitch kissing someone's boyfriend out in the open!"

Laying down in the middle of her bed, those words continued to hit her mind even after the night had long passed and it was three in the morning.

Her eyes were static, staring up at the ceiling. Her lips still could feel his, the taste of him, the excitement she felt in the pit of her stomach...all dampened down when the sight of him leaving with Emily flashbacked in her head.

She rolled to the other side, pulling her knees to her chest as if feeling the pain deep in her heart, and tried to close her eyes, in a way to shut down all the gossip and murmurs that she had heard.

She could only wonder when it happened. Why did it happen or what exactly led to that?

There was no specific answer to any of those questions. As the clock ticked away, the more restless she got thinking about him and also not being able to stop picturing the two of them together.

Were they still together? Or had he gone home?

She rode home together with Maples even though she had arrived at the party with him but left without him.

And it did not stop irking her the entire ride home. If he had escorted her, he was supposed to be the one to also drop her home.

It used to be always like that. But things had for sure changed ever since that gateway.

The ache in her heart was not going to fade away, and five years later, still, the effect of it remained the same.

They looked still the same. Not a daint on their complexions. Whereas in her case, she looked like she had aged a decade.

Time had frozen for them and so it did for her as she stood watching them from afar. But many things have changed ever since.

When he had left with her at that party five years ago leaving her all to herself, she had not walked away and at that moment, standing there, staring at them seemed to do no good at all.

So she turned around to walk away herself. Five years ago, he had done the same and waiting for him was not going to alter anything.

"Adella is that you?"

All her movement halted right away. Her breathing heightened. That voice...only one person in the whole world who still bothered to call her by her full name.

Half a decade later, still had the same effect...she almost felt like going back in time and to the Richmond High corridor.

"Adella is that you?"

She had tried her best to keep away from him the entire day after that night at the party.

And so far, she felt like doing alright. But at the moment, she did not know what to do. She felt like running away and not seeing him ever again.

Not seeing him was not going to help her in any way at all. But it was in a way saving her the pain of watching him and hearing what he had to say for what he did...she was scared that he would utter something that would only hurt her more.

"I know it's you, Adella...turn around now."

Students rushing to and fro in the corridor were silenced when the time transitioned to five years later and she found herself in the same spot.

"No games now Adella...come on...been five years huh."

"Stop the game now Adella...turn around."

Young Della almost felt like turning around and punching his 'oh-so-handsome face' so that his half-working brain would start thinking straight.

Game? Was she playing it?

When it was him...he had gamed her last night...toying with her emotions when he knew how she felt about him...he had always known about it.

The more time passed, the harder it got to just walk away. She should have done it when she had the time because all of a sudden, he was here, right in front of her.

The only difference between the encounters five years before and later was that earlier she was more strong-headed and did not care to cause a scene to avoid him, whereas later, she was no longer unruly, the self-consciousness and insecurity seeping inside of her system as their eyes interlocked.

He held her back when she was about to walk past him, grabbing onto her right wrist and pulling her back, making her fume.

"You heard me."

"Go back to your girlfriend."

She let those words out with so much venom that even the passerby could feel the effect of it.

He let out a laugh of disbelieving stance, shaking his head and it infuriated her more, trying to get her wrist free from his hold. He only tightened his grasp.

"So this is what it is about?"

What did he think? What was it about?

"No, because it is not bloody moon yet."

"It's not going to happen until next year...silly head."

He smiled. She always had a unique sense of humour. And he lived for it.

"Let go of me..."

She said, not wanting to be in her presence anymore.

"I know...I should have told you before..."

It stopped all her movements, making her look up at his evergreen forest eyes, staring back at her.

"...that I and Emily got together...it happened in the summer break."

The walls of her contracted making it hard for her to breathe as she heard him.

Why did she not follow him to his play in the summer?

Maybe this would not have happened then...

But what about the kiss?

What did it mean? If he was with Emily, why lock his lips with hers?

And even five years later, he still did not fail to give her surprises...

"So you have heard...about my and Emily's engagement?"

________________________________________Note: This chapter goes back and forth five years...hopefully you guys could understand.

I will try to be as regular as I can so please support the book with ps, comments and motivate me more...do drop a review...