His realisation truly changed things for him, he found that the less he the possibility of him liking her was, the more his chest ached. Before it fuelled him, now it seemed to break him. The possibility of never having Alisha seemed like a weapon that result in his final breath.
Of course, Alisha remained unaware of his realisation, and even if she knew, she wouldn't change her opinion. One thing about her personality that people around her found lightly frustrating was her unbending stubbornness. She wasn't as flexible as other people, thus she was generally unwilling to accept change caused by others easily, she liked being in control of the situations she would be in.
The last two years of her marriage were the worst of her life, she felt like a puppet being controlled by an evil antagonist, except she was married to the puppeteer. She was married to a scumbag that controlled her, what she wore, what she ate, how she smelled. She was a doll, manufactured to fit him perfectly, he dressed her and played with her like a young girl would. Perhaps that was what drove her to insanity, and the insanity had not yet vanished.
She was dependant on pills, she had a headache that hadn't left her for two years, she had severe insomnia, she could barely keep going. But she had to keep going, for the second she stopped... the result would be too terrifying for her to comprehend.
That night, she felt calm with Fred, in his soft arms and silky suit, she fell asleep while everyone else drank and had fun. It was the first time she felt rested in a long time, she hadn't felt the calmness she felt in this moment in a very long time. It was simply peaceful.
Time passed as it does, an unstoppable force, and Fred shook Alisha awake. His eyes were hazy, as were Eliza's, George's, Bryan's and Annabelle's. She turned to Bruce who hadn't drunk, and found he looked as shocked as her. "I'll take the women and Freddo, you must have brought your own car. I assume George and him have a chauffeur, so we just need to get them there." Bruce nodded and helped grabbed Bryan and George as they leaned on him down the the carpark. Fred was awake enough to bring himself to Alisha's car, but Eliza and Annabelle were dragged to the vehicle by Alisha.
Once they had finally reached their destinations, Alisha nodded and Bruce and they parted ways. Bruce didn't know that he wasn't going to reach home that night, neither did Alisha. No one could have predicted such an incident, but since change had occurred, fate needed to even the scales...
Annabelle felt a burning headache at 3 am, she wasn't aware of where she was until she noticed Eliza passed out underneath her. She felt her heartache, for some reason she simply had a terrible feeling about today. But she couldn't be sure, it could just be a side-effect of her hangover. She wanted to call Bruce, but decided not to because it was 3 am, she turned to her phone but it was out of charge. Why wouldn't it be? She sighed angrily and turned to the nearest phone charger, then she went to the bathroom and almost screamed. Her originally pretty face had black lines caused by mascara, smudged maroon around her lips and patchy foundation decorating her face.
She washed it all off and felt a bit more refreshed, her headache didn't leave, nor did her heartache. Though, she felt like she could perform her normal routine now. Step 1: go back to sleep.
Alisha smiled and breathed out in a silent laugh as she watched her cousin move around, she had a cup of hot milk in her hand and her hair was tied back. She noticed that Annabelle kept grabbing her heart, was something wrong? She quickly called a number, "Hello Ms Thomas, this is Richards daughter 2, Alisha. Code 00004, information wanted on given case."
"Good evening Alisha Richards 00004. Information will be delivered to doorstep in 60... 59... 58..." Alisha arrived at the door of the mansion, the delivery location as per usual. "3... 2... 1..." the voice cut off and a man appeared in front of her, his face covered.
"Name and Code."
"Richards Alisha, 00004."
"Money."
"Transferred."
"Here is the package. Please call on Ms Thomas again." He flashed a smile and disappeared. Her eyes followed him until they couldn't, she turned and slipped into her room. The package opened easily, her eyes widened in anticipation as she turned from the title page.
She gasped as she read his file, his life was truly worse than she thought. It certainly explained many of his behaviours, but it did not justify his actions. Nothing could justify his actions. She flopped onto her bed, deep in thought about how she could use this information. She finally understood Bryan, she understood him better than anyone else in the world.
She opened her phone and scrolled through her friend requests, she accepted both George and Bryan, then she clicked on Bryan's profile. She stared at his face, wondering what she would tell him if she could meet the man that killed her, not the man she was gaping at now. Were they the same person? Were they two different people? How could she change her fate and account for the differences in him? So much trouble.
Bryan had had a rough night. He hated weaknesses, and now he had a gaping hole in his armour. Of course he would keep it hidden, but he couldn't even think about the possibility of the result of anyone finding out about his weakness. In Alisha's past life, Bryan had a similar mindset. He never acknowledged even the possibility of loving Alisha, he simply viewed her as an object. Something that could belong only to him. But now, he found that it was her smile he wanted, he wanted her to be happier than even himself. For he would be happy when she was happy. Before he killed those that could touch what was his, now, he wasn't so sure. He still hated the idea of her being someone else's, or someone else being the reason she smiled. What mattered more? He didn't know. Thus, he drank. Drank until he couldn't think, because thinking was a curse he couldn't get rid of. Thinking might kill him.
Bryan didn't see that she had accepted his friend request until 11 pm the next day, when he stirred out of bed, pain beating in his head. He was delighted to see her acceptance, still confused, but delighted all the same.
Eliza, Annabelle and Fred woke up at 10 pm, their heads hurting but nod badly. Annabelle's heart ache was still present, she felt like something was wrong, now more than ever. She called Bruce, but he didn't pick up. Then, she got a call. Alisha turned to see Annabelle's legs give out, she collapsed onto the ground.
"BellaAnne!" Alisha cried as she ran to her cousin.
"Bruce... car accident... critical condition... phone..." she sobbed. Alisha grabbed the phone and heard the news.
What was happening?