Selfishly Possessive

Chapter Twenty-Four

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN: SEPTEMBER 11TH, 2016

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

            "I can't believe my brother did that." Carolina says, looking mad. "He totally disrespected our privacy. I mean, I knew he had a thing for you, Cara, but I didn't know he'd go this far."

            I bite my lip and shake my head in confusion and shock. Carolina's brother, Darren, had sent the video apparently. He'd come clean to her last night, but refuses to apologize to me because he's not that sorry about it. Apparently he liked me and was jealous of my friendship with Griff.

            I just can't believe Darren did that.

            It's like the world has tipped upside down and everything is flipping.

            He seemed so cool... and now I'm thinking I'm not a good judge of character.

            Penelope speaks up. "I feel awful, because even though I feel sorry for you... I'm kind of relieved he hadn't posted our secrets too..."

            I shake my head and smile at Penelope. "Don't feel awful. I'm relieved he didn't share you and Alesha's confessions, yet I'm pissed he sent my rant to over half the high school. It's embarrassing for me since I said some awful things, but I can't imagine how Griff must feel."

            Alesha nods, looking sad and pitying as she looks at me. She reaches for my hand and gives it a little squeeze, letting me know she's here. I give her a grateful smile.

            "Well, talk to him then." Carolina says, giving me a start.

            Did she just say something helpful? Wow, the world really is turning upside down.

            "Don't just stand there!" Carolina snaps. She points to where Griffyn is arriving at his locker, putting in his locker combo. "Talk to him if you must."

            I give her a smile and head Griff's way immediately. He looks up and sees me coming, then rolls his eyes. Right in front of me. I almost stop and turn around to head the opposite direction, but shake my head and determinedly keep heading his direction.

            This needs to be done. I need to talk to him and get him to understand where I'm coming from. After all we've gone through in the past few months, this is just another bump in the road. This friendship we have is not ending over my being an idiot. I just won't let it.

            He slams his locker hard and turns to face me as I near his side. I'm actually kind of surprised he didn't just walk off when he saw me approaching.

            "Someone showed me the email. And I'm so so so sorry, Griffyn. I didn't mean to say all those awful things. I just needed to rant and I didn't mean for all of what I said to go public. I just needed to get my feelings off my chest."

            "Okay." He says, adjusting his books in his arms.

            "Oh my God, I'm so relieved you understand." I try to hug him as best as I can with books in his arms. That was easier than I thought... "You don't know how guilty I felt and how much I missed just talking to yo--"

            "Hold up, I didn't say I forgave you." Griff cuts me off, causing my smile to fall and my arms to drop to my sides.

            "What?"

            Griff stares right into my eyes, a serious look on his face. "I'm your best friend, Carson and I was willing to let you hang out with Carolina and her friends even if I thought it was a bad idea, even when I knew it was changing you. I let you cancel our plans and I let you use me when I was useful only to throw me away when I wasn't. I let you come between relationships I could have had. I let you lead me on and then discard me like I'm nothing. I let you get away with a lot of things, Carson, but I'm not going to anymore. So I'm giving you a choice. You need to figure out what you want. Do you want me or do you want Carolina? You only get one choice. And you can't have both."

            I stare at him in complete shock, my jaw hanging to the floor. Did he really just ask me to choose between my friends?

            "You can't possibly ask me to choose between you!" I exclaim, hurt and anger surely in my expression. This doesn't sound like Griffyn at all. He knows that asking me to choose would be a dick move. Yet, he's doing so anyway. I must've really pushed him over the edge.

            He doesn't flinch at my tone or waver at my begging eyes. He remains sure as steel as he shrugs. "Well, I just did."

            "That's not fair, Griffyn, and you know it."

            Griffyn clenches his jaw. "You sure do seem to be fighting this choice. Maybe you should choose your new friends after all. You seem to be fitting the mean girl role just fine."

            He turns and walks off before I can respond.

            My eyes burn as I watch him walk off.

            When he disappears around the corner, down another hallway, I turn back to see Carolina, Alesha, and Penelope watching with curiosity, pity, and worry.

            I shake my head at them, suddenly glad that I drove to school and run towards the school entrance and out into the rain to my car.

            Great, even the world seems to match my mood. It's weeping for me.

            I drive home through blurry sight and run inside, slamming the door to my room. I bury myself in my covers and for the first time since my dad left, my chest racks with sobs and I cry alone in the silence of my room.

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