Hold On Forever (A sequel)

forgive and forget?

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MATURE TOPICS THAT HAVE TO DO WITH PEER PRESSURE

hey there lovely readerss!

how's your day going?

if this gets 30 votes i'll post on monday!! (hehe notice how im asking for 30 and not 25 bc i know ya'll can do it!) lol ily all

I spent the night at the LeBlanc's house and wake up beside Caleb. His hair is messed up across his forehead and his breath makes his bangs rise and fall ever so slightly. I turn on my phone to see what time it is. It's 10:00, time to wake up. There are also a few texts from Leila. We planned to hang out on Friday and have a sleepover. I poke Caleb's arm.

"Calebbb," I whisper. He moans and tries to turn over. "Get up bubs! Time for school." He slowly sits up and smiles.

"Good morning," he says.

~

We get to school to see Miss Mandy telling us we're sitting with somebody new today. I'm kinda relived. Sage was nice and all, but kinda annoying. I'm also really, really happy Caleb doesn't need to sit with that boy who was bullying him. I see he's sitting with one of the boys in Sage and Leila's friend group, Julian. I scan the room to see who I'm sitting next to, and I'm overjoyed when I see it's Leila! I run over to her and give her a hug.

"Hey buddie!" She says.

"Hey!"

"What's up? Are you ready for some super fun genetics testing?"

"I honestly don't know what blood type I am, so yeah... Kinda!" Caleb and Sommer come over and we talk until class begins.

"We're going to start in by learning how to read what blood type you are! It's pretty easy!" She says, and demonstrates by pricking her finger with a needle. I wince, I've never been good with blood... Or needles. Once she's done, she tells us to go to the lab stations on the side of the room. I'm about to get up when I look at Leila. She's as white as a ghost and staring at the front of the room, unmoving.

"Lei?" I ask, touching her shoulder. She looks at me.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she says, and then fiddles with her hands. When she looks up at me there are tears glimmering in her eyes. She sniffs and forces a smile, then wipes them away. "Let's go to the lab," she says, getting up. I want to know what's bothering her, but she seems to not feel like talking about it.

There are four people to a station, so naturally I would figure me, Caleb, Leila, and her boyfriend Sommer would all sit with each other but when I offer to go ask Sommer if he'll work with us Leila shakes her head no, so instead Julian works with us. I get the needle and the blood reading kit, but I can't bring myself to prick my finger. My breathing quickens at the thought of injecting this metal toothpick into me and drawing blood. My heart rate goes up and I can tell this is going to grow into a panic attack. I drop the needle and stand up, wanting to back away from the situation.

"Eb?" Says Caleb.

"What's wrong?" Asks Leila. All I can manage to do is part my lips to mutter meaningless words. My stiff hand points to the needle.

"Oh, she's afraid of blood." Caleb explains to Leila and Julian, who look very concerned. He stands up and puts an arm around my shoulders and steers me to the corner of the room.

"Look at me," he says. I look at him. "Deep breaths, like in the hospital." I think back to the hospital when Caleb would soothe me by telling me to match my breathing with his. I look at his chest and follow his breathing pattern until I'm able to breathe properly and speak again.