Blood Obsidian

Issue 27

The unbearable weight of waiting ... - Part 3

Even as Kyle grinned at her look of shock, Caitlyn heard a disturbance coming their way. As she looked around, faces turned toward her, all holding their cell phones. Fingers pointed her way and expressions from wild amusement to pure, unadulterated hate crossed features. One of those faces belonged to Alaina, and Caitlyn began to open her mouth, about to ask her best friend what was wrong. She had no time, as Alaina slapped her, tears running down her face.

"How could you?" Another slap failed to hit as Kyle deflected it away. Alaina glared at him, then held up her phone in front of Caitlyn's face. "I've been your friend for years and you do this?"

Caitlyn had no words, her mouth opened and closed as she looked at the screen of Alaina's phone and saw an image of herself in a paused video. Alaina stared at Caitlyn, hurt lining every part of her features as she tapped the screen to play the video. As it started, Caitlyn couldn't see who she was talking to on the video. In fact, she couldn't remember this happening at all.

"Oh, yeah, she's a total slut." The Caitlyn on the screen laughed as she spoke to someone to the side, out of sight of the camera. "She's slept with most of the football team. In fact, Alaina told me she had the quarterback and the running back at the same time. Sometimes, she disgusts me."

The video paused and then began to loop, starting from the beginning. Off to the side, she heard laughter, whispers, people hissing 'slut' and 'bitch'. Caitlyn hadn't said those things. Not ever and she knew for a fact that Alaina was a virgin. It was all lies spouted out of her mouth, but it couldn't be her mouth. Despite knowing that, Caitlyn could see that Alaina believed she had said it. How could she not? It was right there, before her eyes.

"That isn't me! I would never say such horrible things! Such lies!" She shouted that, looking at everyone else behind Alaina. "You have to believe me!"

"It's right there! Everyone has seen it!" Alaina stepped away and turned into the arms of Rayna. The accusation in Rayna's eyes was almost painful. "And after everything I've kept secret."

Rayna led Alaina away, looking over her shoulder at Caitlyn and the crowds began to walk away. To her side, Kyle began tapping furiously on the screen of his own phone and found the video. He looked to Caitlyn, sadness in eyes that his hair almost covered. Even as he began to say something, Caitlyn saw other people walking toward them and she almost curled into a ball. Principle Wolfman and Caitlyn's physics teacher, Ms Whitmore, and neither looked happy.

"Miss Carter? We're going to need you to open your locker." The Principle waved a hand, urging Caitlyn to head toward the lockers. "It seems like you're having a bad day."

Caitlyn looked around, but Kyle had disappeared, leaving her alone, accused of something she didn't do, could never do, and now it appeared even worse things were ahead.

-+-

Later, at Aunt Mary's apartment ...

She couldn't look at Aunt Mary. Sat at the kitchen table, Caitlyn picked at the skin at the edge of her fingernails as Aunt Mary looked at the papers sent from the school, in silence. That she hadn't said a thing made it all the worse. The papers crackled as Aunt Mary looked at the second sheet once again before laying them down on the table and still Caitlyn couldn't look at her.

"Suspended. Stealing term papers? Really, Caitlyn?" Aunt Mary almost whispered the words and the disappointment in her voice made Caitlyn's heart ache. "Honey, if you were having problems at school, we could have worked something out, but stealing? What would Richard say?"