CHAPTER 19

There was no point standing outside the house, Mina thought. The street was empty, lights flickered, and the wind blew harshly. Mina hated everything that night. Not even the stars that were spread out beautifully in the night sky can comfort her misery. 

With slow heavy steps, she entered the house. Mina had no intention greeting anyone, even her parents, who were sitting at the dining table. She walked pass them, although it irked her that her parents weren’t asking any questions like they would always do. It made her think that they knew what had happen, which added fuel to the fire when Mina knew that her parents are rejoicing at the moment. 

Mina wanted to stop the tears flowing down her cheeks, but she didn’t have any strength to control her emotions. She sat at the floor, beside her bed, hugging her whole existence. The pictures on her phone only brought pain and sadness. Even id she wanted to feel angry to Alex, she couldn’t bring herself to feel that way. She just couldn’t. 

It wasn’t easy for Alex, not at all, but she had to do it. Unlike Mina, there weren’t any tears running down her cheek, she wasn’t a sobbing mess. She continued walking, clearly not in the right mind at the moment for she almost tripped from a huge rock, which she almost wondered how it got there. Hand in her pocket, she walked slowly, eyes never leaving the ground. Alex didn’t even noticed that she was standing at Jennie’s house.

She didn’t even bother to ring the doorbell. Alex entered the 6 digit code, she pulled open the door when the door clicked. 

Alex walked quietly, immediately taking notice of Jennie, who was on her laptop, watching videos with her earphones on. She walked over and sat beside the girl, causing the latter to jump in surprise when she felt someone sitting beside her. 

“Yah. You should've at least made a noise or something so I would know that you’re here.” Jennie took off her earphones. She was going to annoy the other girl, but she instantly noticed that there was something wrong. Jennie frowned as she guessed that it has something to do with Mina. It always had something to do with the girl.

Jennie engulfed her in a hug, showing that she’s there for Alex when she needs her. Letting Alex know that she has a friend to lean on at times when she’s down. 

The slow tapping at her back, and the comfortable hug from her best friend made Alex breakdown. She couldn’t hold back the tears anymore and just cried out her heart, while Jennie shut her eyes tightly, wishing that Alex never had to cry like that again. She’s willing to give everything up just so Alex wouldn’t feel any pain again. Alex chose to walk on the dangerous road with Mina, instead of choosing the clear and bright road with Jennie, and the latter couldn’t do anything about it but just support her friend for walking the dangerous road.

“Ugh. I’m such a mess.” Alex chuckled, after crying her whole heart out. The burden on her shoulders do feel a little lighter than before, but it wasn’t gone. 

“Yeah. You sure do look like a mess,” Jennie teased, earning a playful glare from her friend. 

There was a silence between them, which Jennie decided to break. “You know there’s nothing wrong in crying. You didn’t have to hold it in.” Jennie looked straight ahead, eyes darted at the television. She couldn’t look Alex in the eye since she, herself, couldn’t cry in front of Alex. She would just hold it all in and bottle up her emotions. It’s the best thing she could do, Jennie thought.

Alex played with her fingers. “I just feel so weak whenever I cry,” 

“There’s nothing weak about crying. It actually makes you strong because when you cry in front of someone, it means you’re opening up to them and you’re sharing your weakness or your problem with them. There’s no point in holding in your tears. Just let it all out. That’s why I keep telling you that if you need someone, I’ll be there in a flash.”

“You’re making me cry again.”

“Tch.” Jennie rolled her eyes, pushing the girl beside her lightly.

Tuesday was torture for Alex and Mina. The former had been ignoring Mina, as a sign that they’re already over, that their relationship really ended last night. It wasn’t an easy task for Alex to ignore mina, especially when the girl kept on trying to talk to her and she was seated just in front of Alex. 

Mina couldn’t take it anymore and dragged Alex from the canteen. Alex could only sigh as she follow behind Mina, stopping when they reached the hallway on the east wing. Why not a single student was there, Alex didn’t know.

“Why are you doing this to me? To us?” The look in mina’s face is too much for Alex to handle, making her look away. She suddenly couldn’t utter a word. She was searching for the right words, carefully formulating a sentence, but none came out of . 

“Can we just forget about