I'm Still Here

Ch. 29

When we were leaving prom the other night, Natalie caught up with me and asked if she could speak to me for a second. I told Hudson I'd meet him by the doors and went over to the side to talk to Natalie. Not gonna lie, I was a little interested in what she had to say to me.

"Hey, so I heard something and I wanted to give you a heads up. You know, trying to be a better person and all," she gave me a little smile referring back to our last conversation.

"Okay...what is it?"

She looked to her left and right to make sure no one was listening.

"I heard that it's going to come out soon what really happened to you the night of your accident."

I tried not to show my surprise or fidget too much. "What do you mean?"

"People are saying you didn't slip and that you were actually pushed."

"Who knows if what they're saying is even true."

"There's talk about who did it and that there's proof. Video evidence."

"Really?"

She nodded. "I don't know if you already know who it is, but if you don't I think we can both safely assume who it is. I don't know if the reveal is good or bad for you, but I thought you should know."

I nodded, "Thanks for letting me know."

Natalie nodded in acknowledgement and started to walk away.

"Wait," I called out. "It means a lot to me that you wanted to come to me to give me a heads up."

She shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. "I figured you've been through a lot lately. The last thing you need is to be blindsided by the news that your best friend tried to kill you."

"Well, I'm really grateful. And see, doesn't it feel good to be a good person?"

"It's literally killing my soul," she said dryly before breaking into a smirk. She gave me a wink and then walked away.

Maybe we could actually be friends one day.

That was a few days ago and the news hasn't broken yet, so maybe there wasn't really proof or maybe they changed their mind about the big reveal.

I avoided Grant and Belle as much as I could at school. There's only a week left til graduation and I want to make it as drama free as possible. Hudson and I sit together at lunch and sometimes Kyra and Finn join us. I'm sure they think the change in seating is just due to me and Grant breaking up and that's fine with me. Hudson and I still haven't put a label on our relationship, but that's also fine with me. We both know how we feel and with so much going on the label doesn't really mean that much to me.

Despite not being officially boyfriend and girlfriend we spend most of our free time together and I never tire of seeing him. We hang out after school and talk on the phone til we fall asleep. It's that sweet honeymoon phase of a new relationship when everything is all so new and exciting, but it's more than that. It just feels right and easy and comfortable. It doesn't like the shiny new toy that would lose its appeal and luster eventually. It felt like something classic that would never get old.

"Just 3 days left to high school. Can you believe it?" Hudson asked me as we talked on the phone before bed.

"No, it all happened so fast," I replied while twirling my hair around my index finger.

"It must feel even faster to you since you missed a month of school."

"Yes and no. Like, it was weird to come back and only have a little bit of time left to senior year. On the other hand, I was basically awake 24/7 when I was in the coma in my out-of-body experience so it felt like the past 6 weeks have gone by at a snail's pace."