Lust Next Door - S01 E64

Story 4 months ago

Lust Next Door - S01 E64

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 64

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Serena hadn't slept properly since before the party. Actually, nothing has felt normal since before the party. She had stepped through a portal at some point and was now operating in the twilight zone. Here, the ghost of Peter's face was haunting her nearly every time she closed her eyes. The pain her heart wreaked all over her when she thought of the shattered betrayal across Connor's face was debilitating. It all was keeping her up, making her restless, and stacked with guilt.

She sat in her house for the past two days, with all the lights off, frozen in her little capsule of lonesome safety. She watched the world go by in muted colors of pewter gray and molasses. Just watching it all pass her by like she used to. She hadn't felt this defeated since she first escaped Peter. Now, all these years later, she still gets rendered defenseless by the mere sight of him.

She had no idea why he was there that night, but she connected the dots after her body and mind calmed down. Liam and Peter shared the same last name. Usually, that wouldn't immediately make them related, Feller was a pretty common last name, but all things considered, it was a safe assumption to make.

She felt awful all-day Saturday, mulling over the idea of going to his house and apologizing for her assumption. But the more she pondered it, the worse the idea seemed.

Not only did the idea of facing him as Serena but also now as Skylyn make her whole body shake with anxiety. She also couldn't stop seeing the disappointment on his face, the way his eyes were drowned in anger; he didn't want it to be her. She couldn't blame him.

All of it kept her from going over there Saturday, every time she got close to touching the cold door handle. Her body seemed to freeze, and her breathing got so shallow she could barely feel the dull inflation of her lungs anymore. Then she gave up.

Watching his game only poured stinging salt on the fresh wound. She couldn't even finish it. Seeing him so out of it, knowing that she was the cause of it.

Tears filled her eyes the minute she clicked the tv off. Loving Conor Deluca had spoiled her. Knowing someone who breathed life into her, brightened the gray world she used to exist in, and made her smile so freely turned the life she thought she was content living into a cruel reality.

The couch she sat on felt awkward without the added dip of Connor's body on it. She no longer felt okay never leaving the walls of her solitude. Her body craved the man who ripped her out of her comfort zone constantly.

He was not hers, maybe never truly was. The tears welled in her eyes and spilled viciously down her face, stabbing pains in her broken heart made her chest heave so terribly it took her breath away.

Her head hung, and she stared at a spot on the sofa until her vision grew too blurry to see through the tears.

She just wanted to go to bed, wincing her eyes shut hard she forced the wall of water from her eyes. She stormed off the sofa and up to her room, it was still the mess she left it, maybe even more so.

She kept the lights off and stumbled over into her bed, pulling the comforters over her sullen body. She wished that the covers would magically turn into his arms, that they would wrap around her and whisper the warmth and safety he always promised her back into her cold limbs.

For a little while though, she was able to pretend, and she slowly drifted off to sleep under the comfort of her delusion.

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When Serena woke up, she had about twenty sweet minutes of naive bliss. The second her eyes opened up to the searing sunlight she let out a sigh. The sadness came back in drowning waves as she laid there, hidden beneath the blankets, letting steady numbing breaths fill her body.

When her phone started to ring, she didn't immediately think anything of it. She just slowly reached for the buzzing rectangle and pressed it against her ear.

"Hello?"

"Are you okay...?" It was Melody, her breathing was shaky and words sounded careful. Like she was about to defuse a bomb.

Every alarm in her body started going off, her chest hammering as the memories of Peter came flooding back.

She opened her mouth to fire off about the party, but Mel kept going before she could.

"I don't know how this happened, my people are looking into everyone avenue but none of it makes sense. I was the only one who knew, it was in our contracts that the publishing company went through me to get to you so it couldn't have been them. The news source that released-"

Serena shot up in bed, pressing the phone harder against her ear as the terrible realization set in, "What...Melody what are you talking about."

She could hear her pause from behind the camera, "Have you looked at the headlines? Your identity was revealed, someone came forward with evidence, some sort of concrete evidence viable enough for the New York Times to publish an article revealing you."

Serena could feel the rapid rush of her blood draining from her system, her mouth fell open, and her eyes widened as her brain desperately tried not to come to the shining conclusion she was drawing up. A soft shake of her head was all she could muster through her disbelief.

Mel kept going, "Honey I've been on the phone all morning trying to get whatever they have on you. The only thing I've been able to gather is they have a recording of you basically saying that you were Skylyn, is there anyone in your personal life that you've told? Anyone at all that you've said you're Skylyn to in person or over the phone that wasn't me?"

Serena could barely hear Mel anymore over the aggressive sound of her hollowed out heart beating in her ears. She felt dumbfounded, blindsided, scared, and all of it rounded out to complete anger. She gripped the edges of her phone so tight she thought it might burst, her chest rising and falling faster the longer she listened to the murmur of Melody's voice.

Serena didn't have to listen to it all very much longer, because the sound of Connor's loud ass engine pulling into the driveway lit the fuse in her chest, engulfing her in anger.

"I've...gotta call you back Mel."

"Hey wait-"

She clicked the phone off and shot up out of bed, running to pull on her cardigan and a pair of her shoes.

She ran down the stairs and to the door, letting the anger and panic she felt swirling around her chest fuel the confidence she needed to confront him.

Serena ripped open the door and immediately spied Connor making a sorry trek up to his front door. He stopped though and turned to her as she made a beeline for him, eyes slightly wide and caught off guard.

"I knew you didn't like me Connor, oh trust me I knew that. I even knew you didn't like the fact I was Skylyn, but exposing me to the world, just because your dumb little fantasy didn't turn out the way you wanted is disgusting. That's low, even for you." She stormed right up to him, her face twisted up in anger as she jabbed a finger into his chest.

His face now matched hers, although he looked a little more disheveled now. His beard was growing darker, bags hung decoratively under his blood shot eyes, and he stunk of alcohol.

"What the fuck are you on about." He snarled out.

"Oh don't sit here and act like you don't know."

"Is this about your secret identity?" Connor looked all over her face, and the way she felt her body heating up under the smooth glide of his chocolate gaze only infuriated her more.

"Yes, you were the only person who knew about it besides Melody, my editor. I don't know if this is some petty revenge plot because you lost but I know it was you."

"Oh you know?" He chuckled snarkily, "Maybe you can't trust that editor of yours as much as you think. Now, do me a favor and get out of my face." He went to turn away from her but Serena grabbed on to his arm pulling him back towards him.

"There was a recording, that was the evidence. If my editor wanted to expose me she would have documents upon documents doing so. She wouldn't need some stupid recording of me saying I'm Skylyn. You however, would have exactly that. Friday night, after the shit storm that was your party, I told you. Or more accurately you found out."

A flash of hurt went through his eyes, "You really think I would record you?"

It made her heart falter, her words came out weaker than she wanted them to, "You were the only other person that knew, I know you did." Serena rasped but the words were a barbed wire pulling out of her throat. It hurt the whole way out.

He stared into her eyes for a moment, before his eyebrows pulled his gaze down into a hardened glare. "Serena, you are turning out to be the biggest bitch I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Get a life, one that doesn't involve pinning everything on me."

His words stabbed right through her chest, the weight and sincerity that seemed to seep through them only hitting her harder. She staggered back, holding her glare, "I had a life, then you marched into it and destroyed it all. I didn't pin anything on you, yeah I was wrong for assuming you had something to do with bringing Peter. But you did know how fucked up Liam was, and you still allowed him over. You promised me-" Her voice shattered a bit, and the tears she was fighting to hold back were spilling out. "That you wouldn't hurt me. I finally fixed my life and you came along and ruined it again. I was content, I was safe, I had a stable thing going and I was happy."

"Happy? That's hilarious, I didn't know hiding your whole life was happiness. Maybe if you'd trust me-"

"Trust you! You just proved to me exactly why I was right in not telling you." Serena cried, leaving out the desperate pleas that wanted to add on to her words. That she was terrified she'd disappoint him, or that he'd love her for the wrong reasons.

Connor pursed his lips and shook his head, gazing at her as if he barely recognized the person he was seeing, "I'm gonna find out who the hell exposed you, but not for you Serena. Just to shove it in your face that I wasn't this horrible guy you are trying to make me."

He whipped around and stormed back over to his house, leaving her standing there with her anger, his declaration, and no resolution.

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