Where Life Takes Us

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

W A D E

"That biology test for Mr. Shannon's class was harder than I thought it was," Avery confessed, turning to face me. "What'd you get on yours?"

Avery and I were walking down the school hallways after getting our biology tests back in the beginning of November. I had to agree with her, though; biology wasn't my strongest subject. I was just lucky that I did good enough with an eighty-four, but it wasn't like I planned to tell Avery the truth.

Before I could respond to Avery, my shoulder bumped into someone which made me lose the grip I had on my binder. A couple papers that I didn't bother to pile in my binder spilled out and scattered on the floor.

I cursed under my breath, crouching down to pick them up as Avery did the same. With my papers out in the open, my breath suddenly hitched when Avery extended her arm out, reaching out for my test.

"You got an eighty-four, just like I did!" Avery exclaimed, a smile on her face as she glanced down at my test. "Wade, this is great news!"

"Really? I didn't check," I nervously chuckled, as we both stood up. "That's weird."

"I'm just glad I did good. Hopefully, it's enough.." Avery admitted, whispering her last sentence as we continued walking down the hall. "I'm guessing you decided to study for this?"

The truth was, I tried my hardest to study for a test that I really didn't wanna take. I doubted that I would actually use what was on the test in real life, but I made a promise long ago to prioritize my schoolwork after everything instantly changed.

Honestly, I did try staying awake the night before the test to get some more studying in while at the dining table. It wasn't long after only twenty minutes of studying when I heard a piercing cry that belonged to Charlie.

Turns out, she had a nightmare; I was only able to comfort Charlie for so long until Grandpa told me he would make sure my sisters would fall asleep. I couldn't just leave my family at that time; I was worried about them. Grandpa convinced me otherwise to head to bed so that I'd have the energy to concentrate on my test the next morning.

So, I did what I was told and went to bed. However, there was only so much sleep I could get while worrying about Charlie. And no, they weren't the regular nightmares about monsters under her bed.

Charlie's nightmares were exactly like her flashbacks, filled with awful memories that my sisters and I were trying to forget about for years.

"Just a bit," I tried casually replying, shrugging my shoulders. "Wanna hang out later?"

Avery suddenly stopped walking to glance at me, but before she could say anything, her head snapped to her left. Not realizing it, my eyes landed on Calvin. Somehow, Calvin found Avery and I at the right moment in the busy halls because he began rushing towards us.

This guy is always popping up everywhere.

"Hey, Wade," Calvin greeted, nodding with a smile before focusing his eyes back to Avery. "So, Avery. Are we still hanging out later?"

Furrowing my eyebrows, I glanced at both Avery and Calvin for an answer.

"Wade, I'm sorry," Avery apologized, pursing her lips. "I was just gonna tell you I'm hanging out with Calvin today. Maybe next time?"

All I could do was nod in response, trying to take in what happened. I still didn't understand how Calvin was acting nice in front of me after our not-so-friendly incident.