See you again

Chapter 17

"How was your date?" we all asked when Chris was back home."It was good. Luckily for my wallet, she wasn't an expensive eater," he said plopping down onto his bed. "We already have a second date planned for tomorrow."

"Wow, look at you. My baby's all grown up!" Liam said pinching his cheeks before Chris quickly slapped his hand away."I'm older than you," Chris said, glaring at Liam, causing laughter amongst the 7 of us. After a long story of how the date went, Chris brought up something I wasn't necessarily ready to hear about. "Anyways, that Caitlyn was totally all over Aaron, but he seemed to be indifferent. Maybe was he forced to go on a date with her because he definitely wasn't enjoying his dinner." Aaron didn't seem like the type to go on a date because he was forced to. Who could have forced him to go on a date with her? His friends would have mentioned something about it earlier if it was them. I sighed, wondering what Aaron could possibly be doing now. When the weekend quickly ended and Monday came around, Caitlyn was practically prancing around with Aaron dangling on her arm announcing to the whole school that they were officially a couple. Aaron didn't seem like he hated it, but he didn't exactly look like he was ecstatic either. Being the small town we were, the news spread like wild fire throughout the entire school.

There hadn't been much to gossip about lately, so obviously this was huge news to everyone. After so many years, someone was finally able to charm the city boy to be theirs. "Caitlyn? Seriously, what the hell. I mean, yeah sure she's pretty, but I would think that Aaron would be into smarter girls than her..." Olivia said while we were in homeroom. "Do you think he's just using her to get in her pants? You know since he is dying and all..." she said in a whisper.

"He wouldn't do that..." Would he? I was in the same bed as him and he didn't have any bad intentions at all. "Well if he does, we'll find out because Caitlyn isn't really quiet about sleeping with other guys." She was right. Caitlyn didn't announce to the whole school about she was sleeping with. But she would purposely spread it around amongst her friends and they would pass it on to their friends. I inwardly sighed.

Was that what he was looking for? A girl to sleep with? Did I not meet his expectations? I was quickly feeling inferior to all the other girls in the school. I didn't really consider myself as ugly, but my features weren't all that great. I was a rather plain girl. I didn't stand out in the crowd. I was merely just a face in the crowd. A face that Aaron quickly overlooked. Weeks passed. Aaron was still with Caitlyn. Thankfully no word on them sleeping together yet. Aaron and I only talked in class about things regarding class. We'd never talk about something outside of school.

The cute, flirtatious banter was completely gone and our conversations were always on the dryer side. It was upsetting. I really liked Aaron and of course it was hard to see him with Caitlyn holding hands and kissing. Couldn't he at least have the courtesy to do that somewhere that wasn't in front of me? I was sure he knew that I was attracted to him. I hadn't exactly been subtle with my actions. I would have felt so much better if Aaron was with Elina instead. At least then I wouldn't have to see their relationship every single day in person. The guys were worried about me, but I tried my best not to show that I was hurting inside. I shouldn't waste my tears on someone that didn't care about me At least not in front of my friends.

I cried. I cried a lot at home. I told my grandmother that it was because I missed my parents and my brother and she believed me. It's not like I was really lying. Strange that she didn't think anything of my tears. I had been coping with the loss of my family really well for a few years and all of a sudden I randomly break down for weeks? But of course she wouldn't question something like that.

In the home room, Olivia would still talk to me about Aaron. She said that she'd still see him at the hospital every week. She didn't know about his condition at all. But I assumed that he was doing quite well since he was attending school every day. It eased my heart a bit to know that he was doing okay. It hurt a lot seeing him with another girl, but it would hurt so much more if he wasn't even alive. After school my grandmother and I made our way through the cemetery. My grandmother and I sat on the freshly cut grass on our family's plot.

My grandfather, my father, my mother, and my brother were all buried on the same plot. I sat there silently as I listened to my grandmother talk to her husband in tears. I waited patiently for my grandmother as I stared at the tomb stones planted in the ground. I wished so dearly that my family could still be alive. The Monday directly after, I awoke in bed feeling a heavy aura in the air. The sun wasn't shining through my window like it normally did and the house was awfully quiet.

I walked out of my room to find the kitchen and living room barren. My grandmother was always awake before me and the feeling of uneasiness quickly washed over me. I warily made my way to the bathroom to check if she was in there. She wasn't. It was then that I knew something was wrong. Her bedroom door was closed. "Grandma?" I said while knocking. When I heard no answer I took the liberty to open her door. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw her sleeping in her bed. I approached her and tenderly grabbed her hand. She must have been tired from all the cooking and festivities yesterday, I thought. But her hand was cold. "It's just because winter's coming," I said to myself. It was a little chilly and overcast outside, which would explain the lack of sunlight earlier. My eyes scanned up her pale skin towards her chest. It wasn't moving. "I just can't see it through her sweater," I said to myself again. I brought my hand to her face to feel her breath on my hands. There was none...