Butterscotch Backstabber

Chapter 11: Blue raspberry

Zoey is a complex person. I've known this since I've met her. Sometimes she just comes out of nowhere and says random things, like how she wanted to be kissed. Sometimes she doesn't say anything at all. What is going through that girl's head is a mystery to me. I think it might be impossible to figure out.

Zoey is just Zoey.

Just like I am just me.

Looking back I think it should have been obvious that Zoey had a hard home life. I mean sometimes she would just ride her bike to my house and I would let her sneak in. She always looked like she had been crying, but when I asked her about it, she wouldn't say anything she would just curl up next to me in bed. Sometimes Zoey would be out riding her bike all freaking day, just riding circles around the block and doing nothing at all. Sometimes she would want to hang out with me and I would ask if we could hang out at her house, she would always redirect the conversation or just change her mind completely about hanging out.

I feel like an idiot for not seeing it sooner.

All the signs were there, I had just been too blind to see them. According to Alvin, who I forced to tell me everything he knows about Zoey's home life after that complete and utter disaster between us, Zoey's dad is well...

Not a good man.

Their mom died from cancer a few years back, which I also didn't know. She died when Jacky was just going into high school. Ever since their dad went on a downward spiral. Became an acholic, blows all their money on gambling, and occasionally has temper tantrums and abuses his daughters, both verbally and even physically. Jacky takes most of the physical abuse, or so she used to.

But now I'm not so sure.

If Jacky is working at 2 jobs and going to community college then how can she be home to take the physical abuse?

That thought made my guts all twisty in a very bad way.

I felt guilty. I mean yeah if someone had told me that Zoey was pretending to be someone's friend so that the person I love would hate me, I might freak out too. Which brought me to Wes.

The next day at school I grabbed his stupid scrawny asexual arm and dragged him into the gender-neutral bathroom, which was only one stall.

"Ow, hey, easy." He complained.

"What the hell!?" I shouted at him.

"I'm guessing things didn't go well?" he sighed.

"Didn't go well? No! Things definitely did not go well. No thanks to you!" I smacked him in the arm.

"Hey! Sorry, she cornered me, what was I supposed to do?"

"Uh lie, or change the subject, or I don't know, ask her why the heck she's been being a freaking— Anything but what you did would have been better."

"Did you at least tell her how you feel?"

"Yes! And thank you for that, you fucking asshole!" I pushed him before storming out of the restroom.

"Poppy! Poppy, I'm sorry!" He chased after me.

"She said she would never date me in a million years, not even if I paid her, so thank you for that." I wiped my tears and sped walked away from him.

He deflated and stopped chasing me.

"Hey!" Hilary ran up behind me and engulfed me in a hug.

"Not now Hilary," I pushed her away and walked into the cafeteria.

She shrunk in on herself.

"Is this because I kissed you? I'm sorry." She said softly.

I sighed and turned to face her,