Chapter 68 - Rachael

Present (2018)

RACHAEL'S POV

"Come on, Rach, there has to be some place you know about!" Elijah begged, and I looked down, not knowing what to say. "She hasn't even contacted you in over a month. She could be in trouble. You say he loves her, he wouldn't hurt her and all that shit, but how would you know for sure? He freaking kidnapped her, Rach! He aimed a gun at her head. We can't just sit here hoping he'll let her go out of the kindness of his heart!"

"He's right, Rachael," my Uncle, Aliza's father sighed. "We need to know if she's fine. We need to find her Rachael, I can't lose my daughter like that. Especially when I'm not even sure if she loves him! You need to tell us."

"Rachael, I'm begging you," Liza's mother sobbed, taking my hands into hers. "I want my daughter back. I need her back."

Tears escaped my own eyes, with the guilt weighing me down. I had to do something. They were right. I knew Shadrach would never hurt Liza, but it was high time now. I had thought he'd return her by now, but he wasn't making any such moves. I had to tell them what I knew.

"Look," I started, tears rolling down my cheek, "he owns a lot of places, and as Liza always mentioned, they were always impenetrable. I only know about one farmhouse, that he took Liza to five years ago. I can tell you the address, or take you guys there. But you guys won't be able to fight off his personal army."

"Leave that to me," Elijah replied, looking extremely determined.

"You can't hurt him, alright?" I said.

"Why not?" Elijah raised an eyebrow.

"Because..." I gulped, not knowing how to tell Liza's family the truth. "She... Liza loves him. She never admitted it, but she does. She loves him more than she has loved anyone else, and she's never going to forgive you if something were to happen to him. Other than that, you have no idea how strong Maxon's family is. If something were to happen to him, his father is going to destroy us. He'll literally erase us from the face of the earth, without leaving a single trace of even our existence. So please, don't hurt him."

"Alright," Elijah nodded, allowing me to heave a sigh of relief.

- - - -

Two Years Ago (2016)

ALIZABETH'S POV

"Hey Hon," Rachael smiled at me.

"Hey," I smiled back, rubbing my sleepy eyes before I took a seat on the kitchen counter. "What you cooking?"

"Your favorite," she replied in a duh tone. "Can't you smell the pancakes?"

"My nose is blocked," I smiled.

"Oh," she frowned.

"No need to worry, just a cold," I replied.

"Are you sure you didn't cry last night?" She asked.

"I didn't," I shook my head, offering her a smile.

"You know, Aliza," she said, wiping her hands with a hand towel. "There's something I wanna talk to you about." She walked over to me, and took my hands in hers.

"What is it?" I asked.

"You remember Elijah?" She asked.

"Um obviously?" I nodded.

"Well I spoke to him yesterday, and he really wants to talk to you. So I kinda gave him your new number," she said sheepishly.

"Rach," I said in disbelief, jumping off the counter. "Are you kidding me?"

"I wish I was," she gave me a timid smile. "Look, I'm sorry I did that without your permission, but I just didn't see any harm in it. Plus we've been away from home a long time, and it didn't seem risky anymore."

"That's not the point, Rach. I just don't wanna talk to anyone," I shrugged.

"Aliza, it's been years now. You need to at least start talking to new boys now. And I don't even mean in a romantic way, just become friends with him. You guys used to enjoy each other's company when you were children, what's the harm in reigniting that spark? Of friendship, I mean."

"We were good friends till we were thirteen, Rach. After which we stopped talking because he got really busy with his life. Then we all we met was at awkward family get-togethers! What makes you think I'll suddenly want him back in my life?"

"He's a good guy, Liza. And I don't recall you being so against him a few years ago," she replied, crossing her arms.

Right. She was talking about when I wanted to go out with Sha... Him. When I wanted to go out with him on New Year's Eve, and I had suggested Rachael to bring Elijah along. But that did not mean I particularly wanted anything to do with him.

"I said that because you guys were always good friends," I replied. "Even though he was my age, you two still got along and stuff. Didn't mean I wanted anything to do with him. I know he's a good guy, but I don't wanna talk to anyone," I replied.

"Come on, Aliza. You're saying he's a good guy, but you don't even wanna give it a try? Just talk to him once," she insisted, and I saw how hopeful she looked.

Finally, I sighed in defeat.

"I'll... I'll think about it," I replied.

"Great!" She almost jumped in excitement. "He's gonna text you in around an hour."

"Wait, what? I said I'll think about it. I didn't say I'm ready!" I whined.

"Yeah well, an hour is enough time for you to think," she smiled sweetly. "If you decide you don't want anything to do with him, you can just take his number from me and block him before hand. Okay? Simple."

"Fine," I literally face palmed.

"Also, you might wanna see this," she smiled, scrunching up her nose. She brought her cell phone from the table and unlocked it. "He's all grown up now. We could say he looks hot," she winked.

She showed me his picture, and I nodded.

"Yeah," I agreed. "He looks good. When did he get so tall? He looked so different when we last saw him, like, three years ago?" I frowned.

"Puberty hit him pretty hard, and sudden," she smirked. "Now, you're talking to him, right?"

"I don't care about his looks, Rach," I laughed. "I'll see. It depends on how he talks to me."

"Okay. Great," she smiled happily.

An hour passed by, and just as Rachael and I had expected, I received a message from Elijah. It was a casual 'hey', followed by him introducing himself. I replied to his messages being as polite as possible. After all he was the son of my father's old family friends, and we had been great friends during our childhood.

I was not really that interested in talking to him, but he had a good sense of humour, and quite a likeable personality. Talking to him brought back memories of the good times, something I really needed. And thus I decided it was a good thing, something new added to my dull, empty life. He tried to flirt a couple of times, but I gave snarky or dumb replies, shutting him down completely. He stopped after that, and we continued to talk like friends.

A few months passed by, with him being the only entertainment of my life. We would talk quite a lot, turning into good friends, yet absolutely platonic. Rachael would often try to tease me about him, but I'd always turn it around, teasing her instead. She would then get pissed off, scold me and leave the topic alone, while I would laugh my ass off.

"You know?" Rachael said to me one day, when we sitting together, having tea.

"Nope," I replied, smiling.

"You look better. Elijah has made you feel a little better, hasn't he?" She asked.

"I don't know, I guess? He's a good distraction," I shrugged.

"Tell me something. What if... What if he asks you out?"

"I'll turn him down," I replied instantly.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because, Rach, he'll be stupid to ask me out. And I don't wanna date a stupid guy," I smiled.

"Come on, Liza. Tell me," she rolled her eyes.

"I'm not interested in him, Rach. You've taking this thing way too seriously. I care about him and all, but I don't feel anything else for him. It's just friendship. And trust me when I say this, no matter how much I talk to him, I don't feel any kind of pull towards him. I don't even feel like I couldn't go a day without talking to him. To me, he's just like a good friend, existing, making me laugh. I know I probably sound extremely selfish, but he could stop talking to me forever, and I would not really care," I explained. Rachael stared at me silently for a few moments, before she spoke up.

"You mean you're using him as a rebound?" She asked.

"No," I shook my head, scrunching up my nose at her words. "I'm not leading him on, if that's what you mean. I've made it perfectly clear that friends are what we'll always be. Nothing more."

"But you've always cared about friends too, Liza. You literally just said that you don't give a shit whether he's in your life or not," she retorted.

I bit my lip, trying to find the right words to say to her.

"Look, Rach," I said, putting down the cup of tea on the table. "The thing is, I've detached myself from people. After everything that had happened, I think what hurt me more than my feelings for him was the attachment I had with him. And I think as a defense feature, my heart and mind has stopped letting me get attached to people. I don't want to think that someone is so important in my life, that their presence or absence would become too noticeable to me. I have changed, Rachael. He... He changed me," I said softly, and a traitorous tear slipped out of my eye. I quickly wiped it away, shifting my gaze to the floor.

"I understand, Liza," Rachael held onto my hands. "I understand. I understand you. And I love you. No matter how much you change, whatever kind of person you turn into, you will always have my support, and I will stand by you in whatever decision you make. You are the most important person in my life, and I will always be here for you."

"And I for you, I promise. You are the only thing, the only person in my life who is keeping me sane right now, and I know I do not express it more often, but I am so, so grateful to you, for everything you've done for me. You left your life behind for me, just so I could have a sister even in another country, and I can never explain-" my voice cracked and tears rolled out my eyes, making me stop and take a deep breath. Rachael quickly pulled me into a tight hug, and I hugged her back. "I can never explain how important you are to me. I love you so much, Rach. Please don't ever leave me."

"Never, baby. You're my sister. I'm always with you, and I love you more than you could ever imagine."

"Thank you," I whispered.

"Shh," she replied, rubbing my back.

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