Jessa's POV
When I woke up it was dawn. My whole body ached so much..it felt like I was on fire. My head kept pounding. I felt completely awful..I just wanted to sleep. I was so goddamn tired.

But I reminded myself that Drey had been worse. I got up from the glass pieces. After pulling out the shards stuck in my skin, I wiped the fresh tears and got to work.

I had to clean up the mess before he woke up. He wasn't my Alec anymore, he'd changed and I would do well to remember that. I wouldn't retaliate though.

In a way I wanted him to treat me like this...I deserved it. It made me feel like I was paying for abandoning him when I knew he needed me. I completely deserved this and much more.

I couldn't process last night...I didn't want to..I was holding it all in. I hummed a soft tune as I cleaned around the house, trying not to cut myself again on the glass pieces since I was barefoot.

By the time I was done I was exhausted and tired of crying. My eyes burned. I just wanted to sleep but I couldn't. It was almost eight. If I didn't make his breakfast, he'd flip again.

Never would I have imagined that I'd be scared of Alec. But here I was trembling at the thought. The fear jolted me and despite the dizziness, I marched towards the kitchen.

I placed the pancakes and eggs I'd made on a plate and covered it, leaving it on the counter. Pouring a glass of juice, I put it down and put some Tylenol next to it for his hangover.

I wanted to eat but the nausea twisting in my gut told me not to. I didn't mind though..I was used to going days without food. I wasn't anorexic..no.

But back in New Orleans I never had enough money to buy food so I just skipped meals. Over time my stomach got used to it..I could barely eat hence I looked sickly thin.

A harsh pain made me grab my head only to wince when I touched the bandage. I brought my hand down to see it stained with blood.

That can't be good.

I headed up the stairs slowly and trudged to my room. The sun looked beautiful as I stared at it from my window. I collapsed dramatically on the bed and in a couple of minutes, I passed out.

I'd been here for a week and I was already tired. When I woke up again, it was late afternoon, the heat of the sun had dimmed into a comfortable warmth.

Sitting up, the blood stains on the blanket caught my eye. I groaned at the thought of having to wash them. My headache was still there and I still felt lightheaded.

I rushed into the bathroom and took a hot bath, wincing when the hot water hit my cuts. After cleaning the wounds, I bandaged my hands and knees before putting a new bandage on my head.

In the nine years I'd stayed in New Orleans I'd watched people get hurt and die. One time Drey got shot and I had to take care of him. As a result, I studied all I could about how to treat wounds.

I was practically a nurse, hence why I was able to fix myself. I had no one to rely on when Drey beat me up, when one of my clients at the bar beat me up, or some druggie cornered me on the streets and had his way with me.

I had no one so I learnt how to take care of myself. I stood in the mirror yet I avoided looking at myself. I wouldn't recognize myself even if I looked.

I knew what I'd see...the black bags under my eyes, my sunken cheeks, scars littering my body. I hadn't been able to sleep much...the nightmares were too much. I couldn't get the image of my dead roommate out of my mind.

The fact that her death would go unpunished...she'd never get back to her family. It was all too much. I was in the verge of insanity.

Wherever she is right now, she's disappointed in me..in my choices.

I went back into the room. I pulled all the sheets off. They were heavy but I managed to drag then down the stairs and into the laundry room. I stuffed the dirty sheets into the washing machine and left to go find something to eat.

Alec's house was amazing. It was elegant. Every corner screamed money. I'd dreamed of a house like this when I was little. In my fantasies I'd paid for my sister to have surgery.

She'd gained her sight. I could almost see her smiles, her excitement at the sight of colours...then the sight of her dead body would flash through my mind reminding me that my dream would never come true.

And it was all my fault. I was too late. I was supposed to look after her and I failed. I let my baby sister down. The one time I tried to fix my problems instead of running away like a coward, I was too late.

When I entered the kitchen I froze at the sight of Alec furiously kissing an almost naked blonde on the counter. I gasped, so many emotions running through me.

My gasp was loud enough to interrupt them as Alec slowly pulled away from the bimbo and groaned in annoyance before looking at me. He glared, anger in his smouldering blue eyes.

I tried not to let the hurt show but judging by the tears rolling down, I was doing a terrible job.

Alec's POV
"Why the fuck are you crying?" I yelled at her. She had no right to cry and act hurt. We weren't together anymore and she'd made sure I couldn't fall for anyone else. All I could do was fuck around.

She shook her head and furiously wiped her eyes, a frown on her face. My heart clenched at the sight but I forced the guilt down. I owed her nothing. I turned to the girl on the counter.

I didn't even know her name. She bit her lip sexily, all it made me want to do was gag but I needed to get laid so I put up with it.

"Come on baby. Let's go to my room." I suggested. She kissed me and got off the counter before swaying her hips as she walked slowly ahead of me. I rolled my eyes. I didn't have time for this.

I slapped her ass, "faster!" And she jumped and squealed before walking faster. I walked past Jessa and headed upstairs. She didn't matter to me anymore and I hoped she knew that.

When I got to the room, the girl lay naked on the bed, legs spread wide. I stripped and mounted her. She tried to kiss me but I pulled away.

She whined and pouted. I rolled my eyes in annoyance. "I'm not here to kiss you. I wanna let off some steam and you offered. So quit your whining it's getting on my nerves!" I growled.

I closed my eyes trying to forget a certain green eyed girl.

Cece's POV
"Please!! Oh please! I can't believe you're making an old woman beg" I said. I couldn't believe my stubborn as hell nurse was making me beg her in my OWN home to see my daughter.

"No! Not yet. It's a risk to your health. What if you faint again?" She argued, arms crossed as she stared at me from the bed I was laying on.

She was a tough nut to crack but I was tougher. I had to see my daughter, I had to let her know that I'd forgiven her, that I loved her. I was dying...Millie and Alec didn't want to tell me but I knew.

I wanted to spend my last moments with her. Then I could die in peace.

"I won't. I'm alright now. Plus it's the festival of colours. You know how much I love it." I said, giving her puppy dog eyes.

Here I was, a sventy year old woman begging her nurse to allow her to go to a festival so she could see her daughter. She wasn't a nurse. The woman was a prison warden!

Jessa leaving broke me. I mean, I lose one daughter to death's evil clutches and the other runs away? It was almost too much. For the past nine years I'd spiraled into a pit of depression, dragging my health down. I was old and weak with no family.

But Alec, Alec was my saviour. My little angel. I knew what he did for a living and I knew why. He tried to hide it from me but as his mother I knew everything. Alec was like a son to me.

He took care of me when my daughter abandoned me. Jessa coming back was quite a surprise. I never thought I'd be able to see my daughter again. I thought I'd die not knowing where she was...whether she was okay or not.

I was shocked to say the least. When I woke up Millie told me the truth. She told me how Jessa had kept in touch all these years with her, asking about me, sending money every now and then.

When she left I thought I'd failed my job as a mother. But what she told me gave me hope. A few months after Jessa disappeared I found out the reason for her running away.

It hurt. I understood her as a mother but I was disappointed. In her desperation to save her sister she ruined her life. I wanted her to face her problems.

"Cece, no! You can meet her some other time. The festival isn't the right place..too many people. What if you get hurt?" She bit back.

I rolled my eyes in frustration. This woman was too stubborn for her own good.

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Hey! So I read through the book and I realized the descriptions of the people and the places are quite...vague.

Sorry about that. I'm not very good with descriptions but I promise to do some research and I'll make some changes to some of the chapters so you can see what I see vividly.

Don't forget to vote, comment and share. Thanks.

-Daisy