After Death, Love Unveiled

Chapter 19

On the forum, the gossip was still flying, with people saying Elara was no angel. The story of how shed dealt with Lizzie wo spreading like wildfire.

Faced with such obvious provocation, Elara couldn't help but be amused. Maybe to these people, seeing a girl wrapped up in scandal was exactly the kind of drama they craved

She didn't bother getting angry, instead, she calmly asked, "So, you're Crispin Kennedy!

Crispin blinked in surprise, stumbling over his words. "W-what? You know who I am! I, uh, heard you used to you know, take care of Asher Blackwood. Is that true? Shit, you don't have a thing for me, do you? I'm not up for being someone's sugar baby!" He clutched his chest dramatically, like her knowing his name meant she was about to declare her undying love

Elara couldn't hold back her laughter. "Wow. If you don't have a mirror at home, try finding a puddle. Take a good, long look at yourself-me, interested in you? That's a fucking joke" With t

that, she slung her backpack over her shoulder and walked away without another word.

Crispin, clearly offended, stood there trying to save face. "Hey! You don't have to be so damn mean! Im not exactly hard on the eyes, right?"

She didn't even look back as she climbed into her car and drove of

Left standing there, Crispin's wounded pride slowly turned into a cocky grin. Elara Kensington, huh? Dissing me like that? I'll remember you, sweetheart, he thought grimly.

When Elara got home, she found Lysander already there. After disappearing for a few days, he'd finally decided to show up. Cotton was practically glued to his side, showering him with affection after the long absence.

Elara raised an eyebrow, "So, you're finally done with work?"

Lysander, towering over her, gave a small nod. "Yeah."

She crossed her arms, teasing him. "I was starting to think you'd had enough of tutoring me and were bailing for good." She'd tried a few other tutors lately, but none came close to Lysander's knack for explaining things. Lysander shrugged, brushing off her comment. "No way. I've just been slammed with-

"You don't need to explain." Elara interrupted. "I'm just glad you're still helping me out. If you've got other things to handle. I

get it"

stuck by her, even making sure someone was there to look after her body when everything went down. A few days

lesson, smiled. "Alright then, let's get to

with Lysander, her mind was a whirlwind of questions that had been piling up for days. She needed answers, and she

on it, Lysander just stood there, watching her

fine, actually. All the shit he was

and saw a text from Crispin: Yo,

Cupter 19

last minute, even though he'd already committed. But it wasn't totally unreasonable-Lysander was known to be unpredictable sometimes. He shot back a quick reply: [Yeah, I'm

up. Lysander broke the silence. Tll be

looked up, clearly

a basketball game," he said, like it was no big

gym. Elara's eyes lit up the second she heard that. "Oh my god! I'll

he felt a rush of something

like Lysander didn't even exist. Now, hearing her

was set for Thursday afternoon, and by the time the day rolled around, the whole school was buzzing. Oakridge High School's team was no joke, and everyone was talking about it.

hold a

perfection poster-straight A's, top athlete, and

in a bit of a funk. Elara had mentioned something about Asher's dad being a gambler, and

how that shit could mess up lives. But hearing everyone go on about Asher now? That kind of soothed her nerves. After all, a father's fuck-ups didn't define

god, and being linked to him was still a major badge of honor for

was lost in her book, completely tuning out the

the first to rally the troops to cheer

looking back, it felt almost

Back then, she was

support

she was involved with some older guy, and before she knew

in the crowd, someone was gushing, "I heard Lysander went to Oakridge High too! Think he'll show up?" Everyone knew Lysander because he always outperformed Asher in everything-especially exams-always snagging that top spot "I doubt it. He never shows up to these things. Would be a shocker if he did." another voice