The Unforgettable Echoes Of Love

Chapter 16

Isaiah 43:2 says: When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

Those hard times that the Bible talks about, were the exact representation of what I was going through.

At that point, life felt like a never ending circle of disappointment and sadness. I was never going to make it out of it and that feeling was slowly burning its way into my skin.

Between me failing school, having beef with my friends, having arguments with my family and experiencing random hallucinations, life didn't feel like it was worth living anymore.

And then to make it all worse because otherwise it's not funny, my biological mother was still harassing my parents with letters.

Julian's and Lara's mother too and on top of that, because our pasts just didn't seem to want to let us go, Levi's father was stalking him.

During that time, fatigue weighed on me more heavily than ever before and I was unsure of how much more of this I could take before I would fucking burst and kill myself.

******

At school, I had no one.

Bella was still hanging out with Xavi and her weirdo of a boyfriend, Diego.

Dominica and I remained in a silent standoff, and even though the distance between us was painful, I found it harder to keep fake friends who couldn't be honest about the simplest things, choosing to lie under the guise of "protecting me."

Bullshit.

Levi and Dominica clearly weren't on speaking terms because Dommy had found out everything about his unfaithful behavior.

Seated alone, munching on my food, Dominica approached my table. She took a seat in front of me, and it required every ounce of self-control not to give her a punch and just walk away.

"Ray, can we please talk?" She begged. Her eyes were puffy and red and by this, I could tell that she had cried, a lot.

Fresh stains of mascara covered her face and I knew I couldn't let her walk around school like that. I pulled her up by her hand and dragged her to the bathroom.

I wet a tissue and gave it to her. She thanked me before cleaning her face.

As I glanced in the mirror, a cold and dull expression covered my face, indicating that I wasn't pleased to be here.

I had never looked so depressed and lifeless.

"Look, I'm so sorry for not telling you. I just- I thought you wouldn't approve." She explained, sobbing.

My blank stare didn't leave my face, although I was trying. I guess I just didn't have sympathy for liars.

"Why wouldn't I approve? I liked Bella and Isaac together, didn't I? I didn't care when you told me, in my face, that you were fucking Levi, did I?" I boomed.

I grew weary of her feeble excuses. What she was saying didn't add up, and deep down, she was aware of it herself.

She looked down, seemingly ashamed.

"Whatever," I said before heading out. She had nothing more to offer, and frankly, I wasn't in the mood to deal with her or anyone else.

I decided to skip class and go home.

******

"You're home early." Julian remarked as I locked the front door. I walked past him, immediately to the fridge and then to my room.