The moment Alex gave them a chance, questions were thrown at them, left-right and center, but he was just looking at them like they were ignorant of what they were doing.
There was no way Alex would be able to answer them all at once, they had to organize themselves, and he wouldn't tell them that. So he stayed silent, looking at them while they looked back at him, almost like they were engaging in a staring contest, but the only difference was that they had cameras and microphones, while he had none.
Eventually, they realized what they were doing and decided to be practical, and that's when the untold unfolded.
"We all saw the huge explosion, everyone did, and we thought you guys were dead, and for two years, we have thought so. The wreckage that was left after the explosion was one that anyone couldn't have survived.
Could you tell us how you both survived since we were informed your girlfriend had a bomb strapped on her…thank you," one of the reporters began, and everything went quiet.
Everyone wanted to know what had happened, how they had survived, and even how they had managed to get out of there in time. This was a question that had been eating up the society since they had resurfaced; it was also impossible for anyone to survive, but Alex and survival were partners in crime.
If he could cheat death, then he sure as hell would cheat old age.
Lia held on to Alex tightly; her neck rested on his shoulders as she made herself look vulnerable and weak on the outside, while on the inside, she imagined whether her parents had cheated death, whether they had survived.
However, she knew that would be absurd because they had buried bodies.
She tried to make sense of why the media was always lurking around them, why they always wanted something to announce to the world, why they always were so nosy. Didn't they have better things to do? But maybe she would use this as an opportunity.
Staying beside Alex would just prove useful to her later on, but she had to sit there and be pretty for now.
"yes, there was a bomb strapped n my sister and my girlfriend, but the one on my sister was easily detached, so she was saved, but the one on Lia was strapped in such a way that it would blow up when triggered. That's why it blew up before the ten-minute timer was over. I managed to unstrap her just in time, and the timer went off," Alex said with so much difficulty.
Seeing Lia in that state had broken him, and seeing her give up made him feel like he had failed. He had ruined the life of the very girl he had promised he would keep safe. Alexander felt like he broke his promise in that state, and he didn't know what to do or how to go about it.
With the time bomb determining how long she had to live, Alex was devastated. If he were going to lose, then he would lose himself in the process too. For him, life was never worth living if Lia wasn't a part of it.
He didn't want to be part of a story that would end abruptly without her being in it. They had met in the oddest of circumstances; they had gone through so much together, but they were here, and once again, they were facing another tribulation in his life.
The sight had haunted Alex for so long.
For months he tied to come to terms with the reality that she wasn't dead. For months he kept hoping when he woke up she wouldn't be dead, and for months, he kept hoping that the explosion had been a dread, but how long would his dream last?
How long would he be trapped in a cycle of pain and aspects of a world he didn't quite understand. For how long was she supposed to make promises that he didn't know how to keep?
He was broken, and seeing her beside him had slowly mended his broken heart even though he was unaware that it had all been part of her plan. He was just another pawn in her game of life, but as long as he wasn't aware, she was safe.
As long as he still loved her, he would be safe, and as long as they were together, she would save him, every time, even if it meant saving him from her, she would do it.
"How did you escape?" another journalist asked carefully. They could tell the experience had been an uncomfortable one.
Alex was not ready to do this, and Lia could see that. He wasn't ready to open up wounds that hadn't healed yet. He was still hurting, and while he wanted to show the world how strong he was, he was a traumatized young man.
He was unable to comprehend why or who would want to make his life so miserable. Sure, the world they lived in was riddled with anxiety and danger, but putting the love of his life in danger was something he couldn't comprehend yet.
His sister had also been in that state. The very state that his love had been, but at least for Lex, she was saved just in time. This was a lesson on who would throw the worst punches, and they had just done their part very well. He had lost in that class, and now he was taken back to a time he wanted to forget.
Lia wanted to step in and give the answer, but Alex said he could do it. It was just a press conference, right? He could do this, and he could handle the horrors of the day.
He was Alexander garner, and he was a strong man.
"We had help from an anonymous person. I can't quite remember him because of the mercaptan in the house, but he left after getting us out and into the tunnels. Lia was unconscious by then and in shock because she still couldn't get over having a bomb strapped on her."
On saying that, there were gasps in the crowd.
No one had ever thought that the mercaptan story was real. They had thought it was just a bluff to let Alex and Lia be, but hearing it from them today just confirmed it.
They really were screwed up really bad, and there was a chance they both would like avoid parties for a while.