What Was Left At Camp

Chapter 28. Christian coming undone

"Who the fuck gets engaged in high school? How cliche can you get?" I was acting like a gossiping cheerleader rambling on about William and his new fiance.

I should have gone right home after my fallout with William. I should have gone to the boxing studio to let off some steam. I should be spending time with Christopher, my saving grace. Instead, my pride got the better of me and I convinced myself that leaving would show weakness and I wanted to prove I was strong willed. To whom though? Myself? William didn't care.

It was lunch and I was spending it at our usual spot, the Burger joint. I had joined Rob and a few others. Maria and Mike must have ditched school today and the one decent thing William did was isolate himself with his fiance. It seemed as though it wasn't just me he wanted to cut ties with but our whole group of friends.

His fiance. Ha! What a joke. Could he really have fallen in love with this girl in one night and suddenly become straight. Did he really sleep with her? I won't lie, she was pretty. Her black long wavy hair complimented his raven colored hair. She had blue eyes which I think resembled mine but I didn't want to think too much into that. She was very pale though and a bit pasty in my opinion. She also looked awfully innocent which for some reason annoyed the shit out of me. Her tiny figure and preppy school girl outfit, wearing just enough makeup to enhance her looks but not overdo it. Screw her!

"What's it to you? Who cares what he does with his life. If he loves this girl and wants to marry her, more power to him. Just weird though. What about that girl Heather I thought he was dating. Sucks to be her." Rob commented.

"That girl is from another wealthy as fuck family. I'd put money on it, it's all business. And good for him. Money makes the world go round and the two of them are spinning it." I honestly couldn't tell you who said that. I was still so far deep in my subconscious, I was zoning in and out.

"Christian? Christian? Earth To Christian?!" Rob waved his hands in front of my face.

I slapped his hand away rather aggressively. "What the fuck do you want?" I snapped.

The group stared at me in shock. "Yo Bro. What's your deal? That was seriously uncalled for." Rob snapped back.

I pushed past the group. "I'm out of here." I left giving no explanation for my action.

The rest of the school day was a downward spiral of emotions. I was irritable one moment, depressed the next and often spaced out unaware of what was going on around me. By the end of the day my anger began to subside and the reality of what had been lost started to sink in. I was texting Maria and Mike incessantly with no response. When the final bell of the day rang, I was once again on the verge of a breakdown and sprinted out of the school and to my truck before anyone had a chance to talk to me. I had texted Christina, asking if she could catch a ride home from one of her friends. I had to see Maria as soon as possible and driving my sister home would mean seeing my mom. She would know something was wrong the moment she saw me and I would have been stuck.

Maria had not responded to a single call or text so I drove straight to her house. I was so wrapped up in my own turmoil, I never thought to question why she might be avoiding me. Honestly, the thought that she might be avoiding me never even crossed my mind. That's how delusional I was.

The ride to her house all I did was cry. The aching I felt returned tenfold and the sadness in my heart was unbearable. I had lost the love of my life AGAIN and I felt I still didn't really know why. Could I trust what William told me or was there more to it? All it did was make what I was feeling that much worse.

I pulled into Maria's driveway and almost exited the car without putting it in park. The moment I saw her inviting, royal blue front door, the thought of crying on my best friend's shoulders was all I could think about. She would know what to say and what to do. I know she would. I rang her bell so many times, I thought I had short circuited it when it appeared no one would answer. When the door finally opened, I was so relieved to see Maria that I broke down even harder. I needed her so badly, every ounce of pain I felt came pouring out in sobs.