The Crystal 2 by Jones M (reading cloud ebooks .txt) 📕

cousin were those who didn't dare to help.   

No, it was much worse than high school. It was my reality, and I had no way of escaping it.

At the moment, I didn't want to go back to the tour bus. I didn't want anything to do with the boys. I didn't want to be near Selena. I didn't want to be back in Crystalia. I didn't want to be back on tour. I didn't want to be an outcast.

But then, I was already an outcast.

After a while, the sadness went away and was replaced with exhaustion. I was tired.

I was tired of trying to prove my innocence to the people who I thought had cared about me.

They didn't love me or care for me anymore...

The thought hurt, but I couldn't cry. I felt like I had exhausted all of my tears. 

It took a while for something to dawn on me.

I was losing myself to the lies being spread about me.

The realization made me shocked, and anger surged into my form.

The same thing had happened when the boys had bullied me in high school. They had called me names, and those names kept resurfacing in my mind when I was depressed.

No, not again.

I was done.

I was freaking done.

The anger then dissipated, and I was left to feel nothing. 

No more. Just, no more. 

I was done pleading innocence to people who were too stubborn to open their eyes. I would just let everyone think what they wanted to think. 

I was just done. I gave up. I wouldn't try to let the boys see Bianca's true colors. She could drain their money for all I cared. She could even kill them if she wanted to. I wouldn't even feel anything if they were to realize I was right. It wouldn't matter especially after what they had told me.

The guys and my cousin, the only true member of my family that was left, hated me. All the while, I was feeling the same for them. At the moment, I didn't feel anything.

I didn't care. All I cared about was getting out of the tour as soon as possible. The erwich attacks were the only reason I was there in the first place.

Well, no more. I realized I didn't belong anywhere. I didn't even belong in Crystalia.

I needed to get away, and in order to do that, I had to deal with the erwiches. I had to figure out a way to kill them.

All of them.

The sooner they perished, the sooner I could be free from the obligation of being around the ones who hated me. That would just make it easy for me to disappear.

The thought of leaving brought a sense of calmness to my form. My mind drifted back to everyone who hated me.

I did not feel anything. 

I could have smiled, but my emotionless state prevented me from doing so.

The erwiches needed to disappear, and there was only one person I knew I could trust with the plans that were already forming in my mind.

 

 

CHAPTER TEN

 

Emery's P.O.V

The tour bus had left.

I was left standing in the parking lot in the late night where I thought the bus was, but I did not see it anywhere.

Maybe the guys wanted to avoid me. Or maybe, they didn't know. 

I thought I would feel something, but I didn't. After all the crying I had done in the recent hour, I still felt numb.

I stood for a moment, trying to think of what to do. I thought of calling the guys and telling them they had forgotten me.

But then, I dismissed the idea. I did not need to be around them. It was already the weekend, and the boys did not have a scheduled performance. 

I decided then to teleport to my house in Crystalia. It didn't take me more than a minute to find the bed and to pass out instantly.

***********************************************************************************************

"Ashley, we need to talk," I began the conversation with a serious tone. It was almost midday, and the both of us were in my home in Crystalia. 

Ashley had been on the couch, typing on her laptop when I spoke. She faced me in question.

"What is it?" she asked, placing her laptop on the mahogany table in front of her. I sighed, walking to her and sitting beside her.

"You need to stop hanging out with me," I said.

Ashley furrowed her eyebrows in shock. "What?"

I sighed again, running a hand through my hair.

"You know the thing about the hacker incident," I said, and she nodded. "Well, people are reacting to it."

Ashley nodded again.

"Selena and the Ordinary Brothers don't believe me. I don't know, but I'm guessing Bianca fed into their minds that I got an innocent guy arrested."

"What? That's crazy!"

"I know."

"There is evidence against him!"

"It doesn't matter. They still believe her."

There was a moment of silence in the room. I felt Ashley tensing in a fury.

"Those good for nothing--"

"Just stop," I told Ashley. It was nice that she was angry for me, but she did not need to do that. "There is nothing we can do about it."

"But I don't get it!" Ashley stated in confusion.

"They trust her more than they trust me. I found out yesterday through an argument that we had."

Ashley stared at me in confusion.

"We had a fight last night. I had recorded Bianca confessing every dirty thing she did to me. I told the guys I had the video proof, but they said they didn't want to see it."

I felt tears threatening to leave my eyes.

Well, so much for being emotionless.

"Emery..." my only friend trailed off.

"There is nothing I can say to make them change their minds. They hate me, and I don't want to be near them anymore. I am just done with them, Ashley. I am sick and tired of receiving blame for things I never did. I just want to go away."

"But, Emery, what about showing them that Bianca is an evil bitch?"

"After last night, it isn't worth it. The bitch can run her filthy hands through their bank accounts if she wanted to, and if they would notice their cash draining, they would still blame me for stealing their money."

I wiped the tears that had escaped my eyes, watching Ashley as she stared at me in disbelief.

"You need to leave. I thought that you being near them will make things better, but it is not working. It is ruining you, Emery."

"I can't leave!" I said with a helpless expression. "The erwiches concern everyone as much as it concerns me. I will only be able to leave when the erwiches wouldn't pose a problem anymore."

There was another moment of silence.

"This brings up what I actually wanted to talk about," I spoke. "Until I deal with the erwich problem and Bianca, I can't be seen around you."

I let the tears glide across my skin.

"B-but... Emery..." Ashley stuttered, also getting teary-eyed.

"They will think that you are my accomplice in crimes I did or something."

"That's stupid of them!"

"They might get you in jail, just like they did to me! My life is in ruins right now, and I don't want to ruin yours."

"I'll leave Crystalia," Ashley said, currently sobbing.

"But if you leave, you won't have your powers," I said. "At least I have my powers. I can't take that away from you. It's a part of you."

I sobbed.

"Ashley, you have a chance in life. You can live without being hated. I can't put that on you."

"Emery..." she trailed off as she sobbed.

Ashley was not making it easy for me. I needed her to stay away from me for a while before Bianca decided to target her.

"Don't you see I'm trying to protect you?" I yelled, my vision now blurred. "I don't want you to hate me too, and I don't want them to have more reasons to hate you. It's bad enough you are seen around me. I can't ruin Crystalia for you. At least you will have a place here. We have to do this. We need to do this."

Ashley cried beside me, and I sobbed my eyes out.

"I understand," Ashley said after a moment of crying. She stood up with her laptop from the couch.

"You'll find me when this is over, right?" Ashley asked, and I nodded frantically with a sad smile.

She gave me her own sad smile before walking towards the door. She turned to face me. We stared at each other for a moment. Then she opened the door and left.

Minutes after she had left, I cried. I lay on the couch and cried my heart out. I sobbed out loud, not caring about the noise I was making.

I couldn't believe I did that. I felt my heart clench and tear apart in sadness over what had just occurred.

I had to do it. It was for the best for Ashley.

Especially since the plan I had for the erwiches could end up with me being killed.

I was alone. I was all alone again.

However, I had to force myself to be strong. I had to force myself to have courage and endure all the crap I could go through until the erwiches were all dead. Then I could be able to leave the tour.

I would be able to leave everyone who had hurt me.

Wiping my tears, my mind went back to what I had planned. I needed to deal with the erwich problem first. 

Getting up from the couch, I went towards my bedroom. I took a change of clothes and then washed my face to get rid of any traces of tears.

I cried again when I was reminded of Ashley, and I was forced to wash my face again.

About an hour of crying had passed. Afterward, I felt sure I could get out of the house without falling on my knees.

***********************************************************************************************

It was minutes later that I found myself walking towards the entrance of the castle. The starry-day sky was exposed, and a few clouds were present, blocking the sun. 

Just as I approached the doors, the castle guards extended their swords, denying me entrance.

"Let me pass!" I commanded, but none of the guards responded. I sighed, impatiently tapping my foot against the marble floor.

It had not been a good week for me. The people who I once cared for didn't trust me, and I had just lost my friend. I was not in the mood to deal with the guards.

"I don't have time for this," I stated, sweeping the guards off their feet with my telekinesis powers. They dropped their swords as they hit the sides of the door, giving me space to pass. 

I walked forwards. Seconds later, I spotted the guards rushing towards me with their swords.

With a raised hand towards their direction, I made quick work of freezing them.

Geez. It's like Erick had banned me from entering the castle.

I stopped walking in the hallway for a moment.

Of course he did.

At the moment, it did not surprise me. 

With a shake of my head, I continued my walk around the castle, looking for the Queen. I spotted other witches in the castle who dispersed when they saw me, but I did my best to not feel anything by their actions. 

I found Erick's mother in one of her study rooms. It seemed to be a new one with orange walls and green marbled floors.

"Emery!" Elizabeth greeted me with a smile.

I noticed that the room had a large window, showing the view of the grasslands