I Fell in Love With my Best Friend

Alexei POV

Lilah never knew me. Not the true me. The person she knew was based off of Jackson. We ran 13 years ago to protect me and I soon fell in love with the girl next door. I loved every single thing about her and we were only 5 years old. As we got older, I just fell deeper in love with her. She was the only thing I ever saw, but I knew that my true personality would be repulsive to her. The truth about me would forever put her in danger. We were 13 when I decided I was never going to tell her anything about before we knew each other. I decided that Jack's personality was more what she was into than mine was so I started acting like him more and more until ultimately the person she knew wasn't me, but that person was him instead.

She was 17 and we had confessed our feelings, however we were never officially dating. It felt wrong since everything about me was a lie. I had decided to tell her about Jackson when we got a call saying that it was time to move again. I hated myself, but I knew mom was right. Li had to be in the car with me. They needed a credible witness to my death and having someone else in the car was the best way to do it. We were in the middle of an argument and I was about to tell her everything, when the government issued SUV came slamming into the passenger side back seat. Lilah was knocked out and had a lot of blood, but I had to get ready to go.

I was there completely disguised when they told her I died. The devastation was obvious and I watched from afar for the next year as she slowly healed and started to become herself again. "Come on, Lilah," Lilly begged from just within hearing in the park.

"I know it's far, but it's Russia! Don't you remember that Alex came from there? Maybe being away from all of your memories here will help make it better. Plus Jase misses us."

I held my breath and silently begged her to go. Jackson And Wolfe were out there. Last time I checked, Jason lived in the same town as them. Jackson would keep her safe and hopefully she could move on. Except this was Lilah we were talking about. She always was the stubbornest girl I've ever known. Which meant I had to give them all a push in the right direction.

After sending several messages to Jackson and Wolfe, I finally knew I had to message her. I tried to get her to ask about what happened 13 years ago, but Jackson shocked me. Instead of telling her, he surprised me by kissing her. Jackson, you freaking i***t! You may have just ruined EVERYTHING!

He texted me asking if I was the one who told her to ask and I told him the truth. It was you.

J: WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT WAS ME?

I mean, she never actually fell in love with me. It was always your personality, Jack.

J: NO SHE DIDN'T.

Yes she did. I guarantee you that when you kiss or touch her, she feels sparks.

J: Dude, she shoved me away. She doesn't want me. All she can think about is YOU.

Jacks, she's confused. We were never officially dating, but we were together when the accident happened. She thinks I died. Of course she's going to be confused. Just wait and keep trying to break that shell. Once she makes a dramatic change. That's when she'll be ready to start trying.

It was hard to think of her with someone else, but I was very grateful it was Jackson if anyone. I sighed and returned to the present. I might as well have been a stalker the way I was watching over her, but she was just so thin and refused to eat. I might have to tell her the truth in order to get her to heal. Yeah, that's not a good idea. The internal argument continued as I fought the urge to race across the cafe and hug her. Of course, being this close to her and my cousins was never a part of my plan.

"What about Jackson," I heard Lilly asking. "What did he do? Do I need to beat him up for you? Did he hurt you? What happened?"

I smiled as she continued to be her usual self asking a million questions without taking the time to let her sister answer them. Lilah answered softly but still loud enough for me to hear, "No. I... actually kind of liked it. When he kissed me-"

"He kissed you!" Lilly exclaimed.

Li smiled softly. "It just felt kind of right, but..."

She shrugged as she trailed off. "Alex?" She nodded. "Li, you have to move on. It's what he would want."

Lilah's next words shocked me to the core. "That's the same think Jackson said. And Jason. And everyone else, but has anyone stopped to ask me what I want?"

I winced. She was right. I never considered that she wouldn't want to move on. Lilly smiled at her before saying, "What is it that you want?" Li shrugged. "Maybe you should stop trying so hard and figure it out, Li."

She sighed. "I know what I want, Lil. I just don't know how to move forward."

Lilly and I both followed her gaze as she looked behind the counter to my cousin. He must have picked up a shift for Wolfe. He was talking to a customer at the counter and smiling away. She blushed as he looked over and caught her watching him. His smile grew brighter and I knew I had done the right thing choosing his personality. Lilly smiled and said, "I think you do know. It just scares you." she nodded towards the counter. "Go talk to him."

Lilah shook her head and looked down. I knew that look. She was ashamed. I looked over at Jackson and I recognized his look as well. He was disappointed that she hadn't went over and said anything to him. He had it bad for her. His expressions said that his world revolved around her. I wonder how that happened so quick? I watched as Lilly went to the bathroom and Jackson walked over to Lilah. He looked so calm and confident, but his hands in his pockets told a completely different story. He was nervous and scared.

He said something I couldn't hear before sitting down across from her. She smiled as he hesitantly tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and said, "How are you? You left class so suddenly."

There was such a tender concern in his eyes. Yes! Maybe you didn't ruin it all! She said, "I'm okay. I just...felt sick after reading that text I guess."

He nodded and ran his hand through his hair, his go to nervous tic. "Listen, Li. About yesterday-"

She shook her head. "It's fine. I overreacted."

He slowly reached out and took her hand. "It's not fine." He paused as Wolfe called for him. "I have to get back to work. Can we finish this afterwards?"

She hesitated and slowly said, "Yeah. Of course."