Chapter 169 - Jealous

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.

"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.