Chapter 767 - Seven Hundred And Sixty-seven: Neon Is Heartless
The third point of view:
Ailee couldn't tell the number of times she slipped in and out of consciousness, however, she always felt a strong grip on her hand as if whoever was holding onto her didn't want to let go.
Finally, her eyes fluttered open and the disturbing sounds of machines beeping made her head spin. The sensation of dizziness was overwhelming.
Ailee tried to speak but she couldn't and came to discover that it was all thanks to the oxygen mask that she was wearing.
Thankfully, her movements woke whoever was by her bedside, and Ailee was shocked to see that it was no one else but her brother, Allen.
"Ailee?" Relief broke out across his face, "Thank God, you're awake,"
Ailee bet Allen would have hugged her but he first worked on her oxygen mask. Pulling the strap from over her head till she was free, "You needed oxygen in your lungs after the amount of smoke you took in since you were in a much worse state than the others," Allen explained with the softest voice she had ever heard. Ailee almost thought she was dreaming.
"The o-others?" She croaked, her throat quite dry.
Allen didn't answer immediately, rather he filled the glass on the nightstand with water and brought it for her to drink. Ailee accepted the drink seeing she was parched and didn't leave a single liquid in the cup.
And it was while she was drinking that Allen answered her question, "Very one escaped the fire and is doing well. Our parents were here a few hours ago, no, mom has been attached to your side for over a week that dad had to literally drag her -"
"Wait a minute, did you just say a week?" Ailee sat up with speed only to hiss out as pain cut across her belly.
"You shouldn't move around carelessly, you were operated on, you know?" Allen reminded her, trying to goad her back to bed but she was done with lying down.
"I've been lying here for a week?" Ailee was still trying to digest that piece of information.
"It's a miracle you survived having lost quite a lot of blood from that bullet wound. I'm sure everyone would be delighted with Joy when they hear that you're awake," Allen was still speaking when Ailee realized a certain person was missing and the fact her twin had tactically not brought him up which was quite strange.
"What about Neon? Where is he?"
At once, the expression dropped from Allen's face and she knew something was not right.
"Allen?" There was an edge to Ailee's voice as if warning him not to dare lie to her because she could sense that was what he was about to do. Call it the twins' bond or something or the years she spent studying her brother enough to know his response in a situation like this "What happened to Neon?"
"He left," Allen said with no details causing his sister's brows to rise questioningly. So he added, "With his mother, Jennifer,"
Fury like no other filled Ailee, "You let Jennifer take him away? How could you?!`` The look in her eyes told Allen he would have gotten it from her if she could move freely.
"Jennifer didn't take him away, Neon was the one who choose to go with her,"
"No, that can't be possible. Jennifer's crazy and could hurt -"
"Jennifer won't hurt her son, at least Neon's old enough to prevent that from happening. And honestly, I think she's realized how much Neon means to her and would do everything to make him happy,"
Yet Ailee shook her head in disagreement, "Even at that, Jennifer is still unwell -"
"And who other than Neon is in the right position to help her recover?" Asked Allen holding her gaze and seeing the defeat in her eyes.
Ailee leaned back to the bed with an unexplainable feeling gnawing at her chest.
Guilt.
She felt like she was responsible for him leaving. That stupid fool was trying to make it easier on her by giving her the space she wanted after what happened between them.
At that discovery, Ailee didn't know whether to laugh or just cry. Neon was really heartless. He didn't even wait for her to wake up so she could bid him a proper goodbye. Why was he making her feel this suffocated? He was a really bad person.
"Hey, I know how much Neon meant to you and I-"
"No, you don't because if you knew how much Neon meant to me, you wouldn't have treated him that way!" Ailee snapped at him without even wincing when the sharp pain shot across her belly again.
"Which is why I'm sorry, alright!" Allen snapped back, "I was just jealous of him, of the two of you! With the way you two were so close, I thought he had stolen my place in your heart," he confessed.
"How could you be so stupid? Neon never took your place, you're always my brother for Christ's sake," Ailee felt like smacking him on the back of the head.
"I'm your brother, yet,?you spent more time with him," Allen accused her.
"Because you were so mean to him, to the both of us and I thought to give you space. Moreover, I always tried to make sure you were with us anytime we hung out," Ailee explained herself.
"Exactly, that's the problem. There was no time for twin bonding! Just a moment for the two of us," Allen said and Ailee saw the truth in his words. There was never a time for the twins to share a secret, just the both of them, because Neon - the outsider in Allen's mind - was always there.
"I thought you didn't need me anymore and Neon was more interesting than I was. I even thought you must be wishing Neon should have been your twin, instead of me. It had always been the both of us together before he came along and you forsake those times, Ailee. You forsook me,"
Ailee's mouth hung open for over a minute until she could finally form words," Oh. I'm so sorry, Allen. I didn't realize how much my unintentional negligence affected you. I just thought it was wise to widen our circle, I didn't mean to abandon you, "
"Yeah," Allen nodded, "I know. You showed me that when you took that bullet for me and you won't be doing it ever again," He warned her.
"Moreover," Allen went on, "I shouldn't have been jealous of Neon when he had completely different feelings for you,"
At first, Ailee ignored her brother's statement, however, when his words became clear to her, she went beet red in the face and glared at him, "You're talking nonsense," She said, while turning her face the other way.
"It's quite obvious that Neon feels something for you,"?Allen went on, ignoring her glares and all, "You should have seen the look on his face when the bullet got you. He took that gun and shot the man who shot you and the others. He looked so murderous at that moment that for a while, I thought he would turn around and shoot me for always picking on him,"
"Good for you," She mocked him.
"However, there was something about his look,"
"What?"
"It was the same look our father, Niklaus has in his eyes anytime mother got into trouble. The need to murder anyone that dares lays a hand on the love of his life," Allen said holding her gaze.
Ailee awkwardly dragged her gaze away, however, she had completely gone red in the face.
"So it's been confirmed Neon has feelings for you, then what about you? What's the problem? Don't you like him too?" Allen prodded her, she shot him an annoyed look.
"Oh, you do like him," He nodded his head with amusement in his eyes.
"I don't like him!" Ailee defended herself.
"Keep on lying to yourself, Ailee and you won't be able to tell apart the truth anymore…" He leaned closer, "So tell me, do you like him or not?"
"I don't know!" Ailee shouted at him, chest heaving, "I don't know what I feel anymore. One day he's a brother I depend the most on and the next day, he's not! You can't just expect me to switch feelings like that. Also, even if I do feel something for him, it's all wrong!"
"All wrong?" Allen wrapped his arm across his chest with a raised brow, "How so? Tell me, I'm your brother,"
Ailee wanted to laugh in disbelief, to think that she was actually about to tell her worst secret to a twin brother she hasn't been on good terms with until today.
"Everyone knows Neon as our brother, how do you think they would feel when they suddenly see the both of us being lovey-dovey with each other?" Ailee asked, expecting an answer to her question.
But Allen laughed as if what she said was a joke, "I don't know what you're thinking, Ailee, but ninety-nine percent of students at our school know Neon's surname isn't Spencer. The only reason why it seems as if the world sees Neon as our sibling is only because we took him under our roof so he doesn't get bullied. What person in his right mind would touch a person under our family's cover? "
Ailee was dumbfounded. So she had been thinking much of what she shouldn't have been thinking in the first place?
"But then mom!" Ailee was adamant that this was a bad idea, "Remember Neon is Jennifer's son, mother would never allow the both of us together. Just imagine the both of them being in-laws,"
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