I Broke The Girl I Loved

Where Were You?

I awoke to the repetitive sound of someone pounding on my door. A groan involuntary left my mouth as I reluctantly got up and unlocked it in order to cease the incessant knocking that was starting to give me a headache. Who would be knocking this much at the early hour of 8:20am? My question was answered as the culprit of the knocking came into view.

Molly was standing on the other end of the door looking disheveled with her hand raised in a knocking position; her eyes were puffy and her hair was a mess. She pulled me into a hug as soon as the door was fully open. At first I did not want to hug her back but I knew she was going to apologize for a mistake she did not make and I felt bad so I reluctantly wrapped my arms around her. When we broke apart her eyes were glossy.

"I'm so sorry Aydrian. I don't know what is wrong with your father but don't listen to him," she said, I cringed at what she called John. "Keep hanging out with Jayce. I see how happy he makes you and I am so happy for you."

What she said about Jayce warmed my heart and a smile broke out on my lips at her kind words. I nodded my head and whispered a quick 'thank you' before I hugged her again, this time it was genuine. Molly has always tried the hardest to make me feel included in the family and even though it doesn't always work, I will forever be grateful to her for trying. I pulled away from the hug and Molly told me I should head to school, saying that she'd write me a note about being at the doctors so that my tardy would be excused.

I collected my things, throwing on a t-shirt, before grabbing the note and starting my walk to school. As soon as I opened the door a cold gust of wind caused goosebumps to form on my skin. I did not feel a need for a hoodie as I welcomed the chilly air, embracing the refreshing feeling it provided me after being stuck with breathing in the stuffy air from the house. I walked slowly, feeling no need to rush to school since I had the"doctors'" note. I just enjoyed the way each breeze ruffled the lose strands of hair from my high ponytail.

By the time I made it to school it was only period two. I walked to the office, presenting my note to the woman sitting behind the front desk. She wordlessly took it from me before typing in her computer and then passing me a freshly printed tardy pass.

"The time you checked in to the office is on that paper so you better head straight to class," she scolded.

I nodded and quickly made my way to Physics. All heads turned in my direction, as everyone stopped what they were doing to see who had entered the classroom. My eyes briefly locked with Jayce's and I looked away to prevent any butterflies from fluttering in my stomach. I silently handed Mrs. Abel the sheet of paper and she glanced at its contents before telling me to take my seat.

As soon as I sat down I could sense Jayce's stare. He shifted slightly, most likely trying to catch my attention but I rested and continued to keep my eyes locked on the black desk. I studied the carved words and pencil marks that teenagers had left scribbled on the desks throughout the years. I studied then as if they were the most fascinating pieces of literature. I studied the different ways people wrote their letters and the varying words that had been written, trying my hardest to avoid folding under Jayce's gaze. He made it difficult though as he kept shifting in his seat, tapping his pencil in front of me, clearing his throat; doing anything he could to get my attention without directly speaking to me, probably fearing that he would interrupt the class. I did not give in.

He sighed, a long and drawled out sigh that I was almost able to avoid smirking at until Mrs. Abel called him out for it and he shut up. I smiled at the way I could see his back straighten out of the corner of my eye when he got yelled at. Jayce noticed I had smiled and I quickly wiped the smirk off my face but it was too late.

"I saw that," he whispered.

I rolled my eyes and his childish antics and silently nodded towards Mrs. Abel as if telling him to listen and stop distracting me. His hesitation to my request was clear in the way that he messed with his hands, willing himself not to speak again. Jayce managed to not utter another word or making any weird gestures for the rest of the period which I was secretly impressed by. However that quickly faded when he bombarded me with questions as soon as the bell rang and we stepped through the classroom door.

"Where were you? Why are you late? Are you hurt? Is everything okay?" He questioned as he lifted my arms up and searched the parts of exposed parts of my body for any bruises or marks.

A pout took over his features as I moved my hands back to my sides, effectively getting him to stop examining me. I made no effect to hide the annoyance on my face and it was clear that he noticed it because after a few seconds of me staring at him with a bored expression he looked down. Guilt was written on his face, the fake pout now a real frown, and I couldn't help but feel bad.

I lifted his chin up with my fingers so his eyes would meet mine again. As soon as they did there was an emotion in them that I couldn't read but it was gone before I had any time to study it.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have gotten upset," I said.

"It's ok-"

"Seriously Aydrian?!"

I looked to my left where the voice came from and saw a furious Kevin. After our date he texted me about how he was sorry for intruding on my personal life and he promised not to press me into telling him anything about my cuts if I did not want to. Like any normal person, I opened the texts and didn't believe a word he said so I told him that he was a great friend but that's all that we could be. Initially he said he understood but now I'm thinking he doesn't.