Elena's POV:

I wiped away my tears from my face and entered the house. I found my parent's in the living room, sitting on the couch and discussing something.

"Good morning," I said, averting my eyes to avoid eye contact. I didn't want them to notice my red eyes.

My parents looked up at me and watched me with a questioning gaze.

"Good morning. I thought you were sleeping so I didn't wake you up for breakfast, " Mom said.

"I woke up early and went out for a walk then decided to have breakfast," I said.

My mom nodded, however, she didn't look convinced.

"Come here, princess. Your mom and I need help in selecting the decor color for tonight's dinner, " Dad said.

"Dinner? Why nobody told me we were having dinner tonight?" I asked them.

"Madeline parents will be leaving for New York tomorrow. Your mom believes we should arrange a farewell dinner before they leave. And it's tonight, you're invited too, " Dad said with a smile.

Did I tell you how much I adore my dad and his habit of cracking ridiculous jokes?

I smiled and sat down on the couch beside my dad. He handed me the booklet to choose the color combination for decor. I tried to act cheerful about the whole dinner thing but I knew my facade was dropping.

"I think this color combination will look good, champagne and white. What do you say, mom?" I asked her.

"Yes, this looks pretty nice. Definitely, my choice of theme," Mom said with the smug smile and dad rolled his eyes.

"I'm going to my room, you guys carry on," I said and got up to leave.

"Do you want to eat something?" Mom asked.

"No, I am good," I said and went to my room.

I slumped down on my bed and touched my lips.

Shit! I kissed him! I kissed Jake Carter, my brother's best friend.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Everything was replaying in my head like a movie.

And he pushed you away. My mind reminded me.

The tears again burned my eyes and I let them fell freely. He pushed me away because he called it a mistake. Maybe despite everything he still saw me as Brandon's little sister.

I heard the knock at my door and yelled. "Come in!"

Eric entered my room, wearing grey sweat pants and a black shirt.

"Mom told me to check on you, she believes your mood is off," He said, slumping on the bed beside me.

"No, I'm fine. I just need some rest, I guess."

"I told her that your mood swing is natural. Your brother is happily married and on the other hand, you don't even have a boyfriend. Single life makes people depressed, "He said laughing at his own stupid joke.

I stayed silent, feeling too tired to argue with his hormonal teenage brain.

He looked at me in bewilderment.

"Is there something on your mind? You know you can tell me anything," he said.

"Eric, I think you were right, " I said absentmindedly.

"I was right about what?" He asked.

"About something. I'm tired and going to take a nap so you better leave my room," I said pushing my brother out from my room and locking the door.

I fell on the bed and shut my eyes to get some sleep.

                                            ***

An hour later, I woke up and my mom gave me a few chores that consumed the rest of the day.

I went to my room to get a change for dinner and pulled out my sleeveless peach color cocktail dress. I left my hair open and curled the ends of my long to give them some volume. Then I did my makeup and got changed into my dress. I sprayed my favorite perfume of roses and put my diamond studs on which was a gift from my dad.

I went downstairs to find my parents speaking with Madeline's parents while my brothers were busy chatting about someplace they want to visit next summer.

Alyssa was silent and looking around awkwardly so I made my way towards her.

"Hi, my gorgeous sister in law, " I said hugging her.

"Thank God, you come earlier than I expected. I was getting so anxious," Alyssa said and took the hold of my hand.

"Don't be nervous. I'll stay with you," I said and squeezed her hand lightly.

Alyssa felt uncomfortable around people. But after what she went through, it wasn't easy for her to trust people again but she had been working on defeating her fears.

"Why don't we say hello to some people? Let's start with Madeline's parents because they're nice and super friendly," Alyssa said looking confident.

"Okay, let's go," I said dragging her with me to meet them.

"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Russell Emerson," I said.

They smiled at us.

"Hello, Elena. Mr. and Mrs. Russell Emerson is quite a mouthful. Why don't you girls call me Bella and him Gabriel? We don't mind."

"Sure, Bella. You're looking beautiful," I complimented Mrs. Russell.

She was wearing a wine red color dress, it was floor length and her hair was set in a sleek bun. Her makeup was natural and she looked glamorous.

Alyssa nodded her head with a smile.

"Thank you, darling. I hope I still look like Madeline's mom. I thought this dress was conspicuous for tonight's dinner," Mrs. Russell said.

"It looks good," Alyssa said in her gentle voice. Mrs. Russell squares her arm in gratitude.

"You both look gorgeous too. I love this color on you, Elena," She said.

"Thanks, " I said shyly.

We started chatting and Alyssa was warming up to Mrs. Russell.

Noah smiled at me, mouthing thank you. I smiled back at my brother but my smile vanished when the man standing with my brother turned to face me.

I stared at the wine glass in his hand and his clench jaw when his eyes met with mine.

I blinked, hoping he would disappear but nothing happened and he stayed where he was standing, chatting with my brother.

He glanced at me again and gave me a sly smile.

My heart stopped beating for a moment. His smile was so captivating, but his eyes were intimating like he was here to seek some answers.

I decided to escape from the dinner venue and go back to my room when someone captured my wrist.

I took a deep breath and looked up to find Sam.

"Hi, where are you going?" Sam asked me.

Sam was Madeline's younger brother and he was around my age. He was cute and a friendly guy.

"I wasn't going anywhere," I said, looking at him with an awkward smile.

"You look stunning," he said.

"Ah, thanks. I think the credit goes to this dress," I said with a smile.

"I just spoke to Brandon and Madeline a few minutes ago. They're really enjoying their vacations in New Zealand," he said.

"I'm glad they're enjoying. Do you know how Bryan is doing?" I asked him. My nephew was my favorite thing that I got out of the reunion of Madeline and Brandon.

"He's really happy. They uploaded his video on their Instagram account. Did you see it?" He asked me.

"No, I was really busy today arranging dinner with mom. What did they post?" I said.

He pulled out his phone and showed me Bryan's video. Bryan was attempting to skiing on his small snowboard and falling repeatedly, it was funny. We could hear Madeline laughing in the background as she was the one making a video. My brother tried to help his son, but he refused to take any help from his dad and fell down again.

Brandon and Madeline didn't go alone on their honeymoon; they took Bryan with them and told us that it was time for family bonding. We couldn't agree more with them on that.

"My nephew is so cute!" I said, smiling.

"And he is stubborn like your brother," Sam said and I laughed.

I felt like someone was staring at me. I looked around and my eyes caught Jake. He was glaring at us with a sharp and possessive look in his green eyes.

Maybe I imagined it? I said to myself.

Then an idea popped in my head to test my theory. I knew it was wrong but it was the only way to find out what was going inside his head.

I stepped closer to Sam and put my hand on his shoulder. I whispered in his ear. "Do not tell this to my brother that I said it but I agree with you. Brandon is stubborn."

"I will keep it a secret," Sam replied with a laugh.

I glanced at Jake to find him watching us intensely. He didn't remove his eyes once from me. The emotion of anger and betrayal were prominent in his eyes. I thought if I knew what he was feeling it would satisfy me. However, it increased my anxiety and concern.

I made an excuse and went to my room to escape from his intense gaze. I entered my room, closing the door behind and looked at myself in the mirror.

My face looked pale, I felt dizzy and needed to sit down. It happened to me when I get too excited or too worried about something.

There was a knock at my door. I took a deep breath and opened the door to find him standing outside.

"Can I come in?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes opening the door wider. He entered my room and shut the door.

My heart started to beat faster at his presence in my bedroom. He looked drunk and furious.

"What are you actually trying to do? Why are you making things complicated for me? Don't you think I've enough pain and guilt in my plate for a lifetime?" He asked me.

I stared at him in confusion.

"I'm not trying to do anything. I'm not making things complicated for you. I just want you to go back to how you were before everything happened. I want the old Jake back. He was carefree, happy and always smiling. I don't like the new, sad and drunken you," I said looking dead into his eyes.

He strode towards me until my back was pressed on the wall behind. His sexy cologne encircled my head making me swoon.

"Why do you care? And why did you kiss me this morning?" He asked, looking at me with a fierce gaze.

"Why do you care so much that I kissed you? And why did you kiss me back, huh?" I asked him.

"I asked you first so you need to answer me first," he said furiously.

I glared at him and he glared at me back.

"You said you wouldn't have done that if you were not dreaming and drunk...but surprisingly, you kissed me back when you were awake and completely sober. Now, I hope you get it that I kissed you to prove my point," I said.

"And what did you gain after that?" he asked me sarcastically.

"I'm not going to answer you again until you give me an answer," I said stubbornly.

"Any hot-blooded male would have kissed you back, Elena. I did nothing unusual so don't read too much into that," he said stepping away from me.

I laughed at his justification—a full belly laugh. I knew what he was trying to do when he said that it was nothing unusual. He was using that blow to push me away from him but I promised myself that I wouldn't let him do that. Still, it didn't mean his words were not hurting me.

"How would I know that any hot-blooded male had done the same when you're the only one I have kissed?" I asked him.

This time his eyes widened in shock. He looked panicked and regretful at what he said earlier.

"Elena, it was wrong. You're my best friend's little sister," he said.

"And it makes me different from any other girl, how exactly?" I asked him.

"It makes you different from any other girl because I can sleep with them and forget about it next morning but you are not one of them. And try not to become one," he said sharply.

Did his words rip my heart? Yes, his words ripped my heart and shredded into pieces.

I opened my mouth to tell him to get out of my room when my stupid vasovagal syncope disease (occurs when your body overreacts to certain triggers, such as the sight of blood or extreme emotional distress. It causes your heart rate and blood pressure to drop suddenly, resulting in fainting) decided to make its presence known.

My eyes started to close and I began to fall. However, I never felt the hard floor under me.

Jake was shouting my name and it was my last memory before my brain shut down.

Hello, lovelies,

I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. The next one is going to be in Jake POV which you can read on Inkitt without waiting another week.

If you visit me on Inkitt don't forget to write a review and press a tiny heart.

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S.Sonysa_Ivan❤❤

Published: 23/Feb/2018