The Beautiful Monster

Alyssa was worried that if she clenched her jaw any tighter that her teeth would crack. She smiled faintly and nodded. At least she didn't have to act proud. She was automatically proud of Elias and all that he had made himself to be.

"I believe I read something about his company in the newspaper. He's certainly made a name for himself," she replied as she flashed Elias a warm look.

She felt bad that he was so tense, but his friend was making things weird by popping up all the time for random reasons.

"I'm no doctor, though," Elias said as he placed his hand on her knee briefly to squeeze it.

Alyssa felt herself blush as she shook her head at him, sharing a warm moment with him.

"Elias was always so humble growing up. He's one of the best guys that I know," Stella spoke up, breaking into their moment, and Alyssa swore that it was on purpose. "I'm glad to know him."

"You guys are too nice. Anyone want something to drink?" Elias asked as he tugged on the collar of his plain black shirt.

He looked a bit flustered as he started to raise himself off the couch.

"No," Alyssa and Stella replied at the same time. Alyssa didn't want him running off anywhere because she knew that he was trying to escape. She didn't want to be left alone with Stella.

Elias sank back down against the couch, looking slightly disappointed by their response.

"I guess I won't take up too much of your time. It was nice catching up with you, Elias. You shouldn't be such a stranger,"

Stella commented as she stood up from the loveseat. She flipped her red hair over her shoulder, flashing him a flirty smile.

Elias stood up, wiping his palms against his black jeans.

"Yeah, sorry about that," he replied, shifting on the spot as he waited for her to make the move to leave.

Alyssa didn't bother to stand up. She knew that Stella didn't care to talk to her. She wanted to talk to Elias and flirt him up.

She crossed her arms over her chest, trying not to look as bothered as she felt. She didn't like feeling this way, especially since Elias wasn't even her boyfriend anymore.

She had no right to be so jealous and possessive of him. She wasn't going to force him to not be with other girls just because she had some lingering feelings for him.

"See you, Alyssa," Stella said, eyeing Alyssa for a few seconds before turning to walk toward the door of the loft.

Her black heels clicked against the wooden floor as Elias followed her to the door to let her out. 

Elias murmured a quick goodbye, holding the door open for her until she stepped out of the loft. He shut the door behind her with a sigh.

"I'm sorry about that. She just knocked on the door and came in," he told Alyssa as he walked back over to her.

"She doesn't really know boundaries," Alyssa commented as she tapped her foot against the rug in front of the couch.

She knew that she sounded possessive, but she couldn't even help it at this point. Stella always just showed up unannounced. That was a bit rude in these times.

Elias sat down beside her, giving her an apologetic look.

"She's just… forward," he replied. "But she's nice."

"It's weird how she keeps popping up," Alyssa said, deciding to bring her concerns to light. She couldn't stop wondering about Stella, who stuck out to Alyssa for some reason.

Maybe it was just because she got under Alyssa's skin when it came to Elias, but what if it was someone else? She did have a history with Elias.

"What are you saying?" Elias questioned her, giving her a confused look.

Alyssa shrugged, wondering if she should back off of the subject or not. It could be a little touchy for him since Stella was his ex-girlfriend.

She didn't want to dredge up any drama, but they had to consider all possibilities.

"It's just weird. I think she still likes you, which will probably make her not like me much," she pointed out.

Maybe it was a stretch, but she still felt like she should bring it up just in case it made sense to him.

It didn't. Elias shook his head with a faint laugh.

"Stella isn't the one doing this to you. She's not vicious or sneaky like that. I've known her for most of my life," he told Alyssa.

Alyssa narrowed her eyes slightly, wondering if Elias was right or if he was blinded by his history with her.

She couldn't be sure, so she was going to go with her gut feeling. Something was up with Stella, whether it was just a little crush and jealousy or something bigger.

"Are you sure about that?" she asked him. She needed him to really think about his old friend and see if there were any red flags that he noticed about her.

She didn't want to turn him against his friend, but she had to if Stella was up to something shady. They were supposed to look out for each other.

Elias narrowed his eyes slightly, realizing that she was set on her opinion.

"Yeah, she isn't that type of person. Besides, we broke up so long ago. She doesn't have feelings for me. She just wants to be friends again," he replied with a shrug.

Alyssa stared at him blankly, wishing that guys weren't so clueless. She sighed and shook her head, still not feeling right about Stella.

However, it seemed like Elias wasn't going to budge on his opinion of his ex-girlfriend.

Maybe Alyssa was overthinking things, but she was going to stand by her gut feeling until it was proven wrong.

"Okay," she merely said before standing up, knowing that this conversation wasn't going to get any further than that.

They stated their opinions, which weren't going to change any time soon.

"Where are you going?" Elias asked her, watching her walk away from the couch with a confused look on his face.

"To my room," Alyssa replied. She didn't feel like watching a movie with him anymore. She couldn't help but feel frustrated with him.

Couldn't he sense the tension in the room? Couldn't he tell how odd Stella was acting toward her? Something was up, and she stood by that, even if he didn't stand with her.

"You don't want to order dinner or talk about your day?" Elias asked her, looking almost a little hurt.

They always talked about their day with each other and ate dinner together.

It was part of the routine that they had fallen into with each other since she started staying at his place.

Alyssa wanted to do all those things, but she knew that her mood was ruined for today.

She just wanted to be alone with her thoughts. Maybe she would feel better later after she thought over everything.

"I'm just tired," she told him before heading to the guest bedroom. She shut the door behind her before plopping down on the queen-sized bed, rippling the dark grey sheets.

She stared up at the ceiling, wondering who was right in this situation. She didn't want to be right, but maybe she did.. Only time would tell.