Whispers In The Dark

Riley

Riley

I should have known that sitting with Cathy and Jessica at lunch would end badly, but I still had a bit of a reputation to uphold. It was still standing, even if it was on shaky legs.

"Ooo," Jessica dragged the vowel. "Look who's coming."

Cathy and Jessica both smirked, their eyes focused behind me.

I didn't turn around, and I didn't look at Jeremiah when he sat down next to me. I continued to scribble responses to my English homework.

"Looks like the school's hottest couple is back," Cathy cooed.

I rolled my eyes, but didn't say anything.

"Are you still mad?" Jeremiah murmured. He was too close. I scooted to the far edge of my seat.

"No," I answered truthfully. I wasn't mad. I felt numb, again. The only thing I could feel was the faint ache in my chest and stomach, but I had visited Xavier the night before. It was helping me tolerate Jeremiah's presence and keep from running off. Sure, the room was hazy and it was as if people were speaking to me underwater, but it was better than it could have been.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Great," he said. He reached for my hand.

I pulled it away. "No, Jer. We aren't together, remember?"

His face was hurt, but I didn't care. His mouth was moving, but I was losing interest quickly. I didn't want to hear what he had to say. He could apologize for the rest of his life. It didn't matter, anymore.

But he kept talking and talking and talking.

Eventually, the noise became too much. I stood and gathered my bag and binder. He didn't follow me. My feet found me at the table of five other people.

My eyes were watering but I wasn't sure if it was from tears or not. I looked for Victoria's pink head of hair and looked into her eyes, swaying a bit, shoulders slumped.

"Can I sit here?”