Adapted

Chapter 12

ADAPTED

All Rights Reserved

©️ Emrys Noah 2021

ARCHER ~ Saturday

She said she loved me. How could I possibly believe that? Not after what the first person did. I loved her so much, I was beaming every time I saw her or heard her voice or even a glimpse of her smile. I had loved her so much, did I mention that? I didn't realise that she was using me for cruise. I have rare central heterochromia. I've had it since I was a child apparently and the colours came bursting out last year. Around the same time, she started going out with me. I hated my eyes and the attention it brought. But Mildred took away all the attention from me. Hence, the cruise. I was so blindstruck with her to notice how much hurt she was causing me. When I finally realised it, I locked up my heart. Cheesy, I know.

Venus came along and she struck me too. She was a new student and joined my friend group. I liked her personality and she totally misread that. The stupid friend group paired us together as a couple. I decided playing along wouldn't hurt anyone. I was wrong because Venus got hurt at the end. If I go into a relationship with someone, one of us will get hurt later on and it's best to avoid it. 

I headed home after I left the library. I saw tears in her eyes which hurt me so bad. I didn't understand how. I parked in the driveway next to Ari's car and rushed into the house. I slammed the door loud behind me and went to the kitchen where I saw Ari chopping up some onions with tears in her eyes. I frowned at that before realising it was the onions. "Hey, Archer. How was the competition?" She asked. I hesitated before crossing the distance between us and pulled her into a hug. She was surprised but hugged me back nonetheless. "Was it bad?" She asked as she patted my back. I left her embrace whie wiping a tear that escaped from my eye. "No, we won." 

Ari looked at me which an expression that screamed, 'what the fuck is going on?' I sighed and said, "You might want to sit down." I pulled her to the couch in the living room. I said, "The plan worked." She smiled at me and then stopped when she saw I wasn't smiling back. I started to clarify things. "You remember Mildred?" She nodded . "Oh, those times you wouldn't go to school, and you were always with an hoodie." She ranted. I gave her an annoyed look. "She told me she loved me." I said and waited. "Who did?" Ari asked, confused. "Both did. I believed Mildred and we all know how that turned out. Betty told me she loved me, even after I answered the question she knew the answer to." I stopped, recalling how she sprayed my perfume on her arm. "I don't know how to believe her." I finished. 

Ari was in deep thought before she asked. "What did you say to her Archer?" I froze. "I told her I can't love her." Ari gave me a smack on the head. "Why are you so stupid Archer?" I gave her another annoyed look. "You say you can't love her yet, you can't stop thinking about her. Your eyes lighten up when you see her. I'd say you're in love with her brother. You don't love her, true. You're deeply in love with her, let that sink in."

She stood up briefly, "I have a dinner to cook." I stayed in my spot and chewed on her words. She was right. I was making a mistake. She was leaving the next day and I was here breaking her heart. I stood up and entered the kitchen to kiss Ari on her cheek. "Thank you, Ari." I sprinted back out of the house and into my car. I was heading back to school to tell her everything. At least, I was trying to make things right. I tried not to hurt her but that only hurt her. 

I parked my car in the parking lot and still saw that people were still in school. Probably, the ceremony was ongoing. I headed to the library and saw it locked. I tried the door. It didn't bulge. She wasn't there. I sighed and I ran to the ceremony. I searched for her in the crowds and even spotted my teammates celebrating. I cursed under my breath and went back to the parking lot. She wasn't on school grounds, she must be in the dormitories. I had no access to it so I decided on calling her. I called her once and she didn't pick. I tried her number one more time. Same response as first. Courtesy demanded you call twice, five times if there was an emergency. This was definitely an emergency. 

She picked it on the fourth dial. "Mae speaking." Mae answered. I frowned at that, "I need to speak to Betty." I said. "You've hurt her enough today, Archer." She said and cut the call. I cursed under my breath again as I headed for the dormitories. I was going to get in serious trouble for this. I walked to the gates of the dormitories. I saw the security guards standing by the gate. I tried to walk in as a normal student. I successfully entered until, one took his time to analyse me. My eyes probably gave me away. Not every boarding student has eyes like mine. 

I stopped when I knew I was caught. I turned around slowly and started walking back only to turn around and head for the dormitories. The guard figured out what I did and was hot on my tail. I was definitely in trouble for this. For her. 

The girls' dormitory was farther inside and I was starting to get tired. I felt my speed reducing as I approached the building. Then I saw a familiar figure. I sighed in relief.