My Lifeline

17

"Will? This true?" Evie's voice cracks as she motions her head towards me. Her eyes seem to be watering, like she's realised how badly she's messed up. What she doesn't realise is that Will and I are barely even friends.

It was only a couple of weeks ago when we first exchanged words.

It's obvious to the whole table that Will is stuck about what to do next. His brain is probably running a hundred different scenarios in his head as he stares between Evie and I.

I dislike how this is all playing out, especially when I didn't plan ahead. Before going out or speaking to someone, I have to plan the conversation out in my head over and over again until I'm confident enough that it will work in my favour. When conversations are thrown at me out of the blue, I panic and I can't concentrate because I have no idea what to do or what to expect.

This is much worse than anything I expected to happen this lunch.

"Will," Evie says in a sterner voice.

Will grabs my hand from my lap, making me jump slightly from the shock of his unexpected action. His fingers are ice cold, burning at my skin, sending electricity down my arm. I stare at the others, checking if they're seeing the same thing, making sure this is real and not all in my head.

Lola grins, Brains and Beck slap each other and snicker, Ryan raises his eyebrows, and Isla looks approving. I just sit there and gulp as I try to process the physical contact that just took place. Except from my family, I've never experienced this before. I don't know the correct way to act.

"What did you expect?" he snarls at her. "I wasn't just going to wait around for you. I've moved on, you should, too."

Evie's throat bobbles as she stares directly at our hands, her gaze fixated on our fingers that are intertwined. Even though she was the one who broke Will's heart and it was her fault why their relationship was tarnished, she glares into my soul. A sense of awkwardness overcomes me as she just stands there and speaks no words.

I hate that Lola's done this to me. I just tagged along to get lunch with a new friend and his group. I never wanted this unnecessary drama that will play on my mind and send me into a hole of depression.

"You realise you're a replacement, right?" she asks me. Her voice wobbles like she's on the verge of tears, but her eyes are filled with such rage and anger.

I look at the others for help, because this isn't even any of my business and they dragged me into this for no reason.

"You're sat in the seat I used to sit in, dating my ex. They're using you to replace what they lost."

"We didn't lose you, Evie. You lost us," Isla speaks up. "Stop this desperate act and just leave us alone. Please. You're giving me a headache."

"You're throwing away years of friendship over one mistake."

"You hurt Will. You don't do that to the people you love-" Isla begins to say before Lola interrupts to add to the argument.

"You also slagged us off to a bunch of people and blamed it all on us. You take no responsibility whatsoever. At least River doesn't do that." Lola turns to me and reaches her hand over the table to grip onto my free one. "She's the best."

I'm regretting this more and more by the second. I should have gone to the library. None of this would've happened if I had just kept to my original plan and refrained from 'making friends'.

Evie shakes her head and scoffs as she turns on her heel, hiding her tear filled eyes from us.

Will rips our hands apart once Evie disappears around the corner and out of sight. My hand is cold and empty without the feel of another's warm hand in it. I realise that I didn't pull away for that entire time that Will held my hand. I realise that I actually liked it. Not because I have any feelings for Will, but because I've been craving the touch of another person.