Flaws || A.I

Chapter ten

A few days later, Brielle was still locked up in her room. She only came out to go to class and cook for everyone else while she lived off of water and cup a soups.
One night after Brielle had cooked dinner and disappeared into her room with a cup a soup, I took a bowl of the salad she'd made and left the chicken, not being too hungry. I sat in the living room but got up a few minutes later when I heard Riley in the kitchen.
"What the fuck?" she asked. I stood up and walked into the kitchen to put my plate in the sink and saw Leia and her boyfriend flushing as he had her sort of pinned against the counter. I figured they had been in the middle of a make out session when Riley found them.
"You know, you guys really suck at this sneaking around shit," I said casually, sliding my plate into the sink.
"Wait, you knew?" Riley asked me. I nodded. "I walked in on them making out in the living room. They made me, Brielle, Luke and Ashton swear not to tell so, sorry."
"Please don't say anything," Leia begged Riley. She shrugged casually.
"Sure, whatever," she said, taking a bottle of Propel and sitting at the kitchen table. "Just tell me how it started." I sat at the table, curious too as to how my roommate started dating her teacher. Leia and Mr. Di Caprio sat down across from us and started their story.
"Um, well my first day I saw him when I walked in the room," Leia started. "And he was so handsome. I didn't dare make a move though because, well it was the first freaking day. So I waited a week before putting on my sweggy charm."
"I thought she was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen," Leo interjected. "But, she was a student and I couldn't get involved in that because not only was it illegal, but I didn't even know if she felt the same way. Until a week later when she stayed after class and kissed me."
"Wait, you straight up kissed him?" I asked her. She smiled and nodded.
"In all fairness, he did kiss back," Leia said casually, kissing Leo's cheek. Leo blushed. "That I did."
"Anyway," Leia continued, "Leo panicked and told me we couldn't be together. Three weeks later he was my boyfriend."
"Well it was hard to stay away from you when you'd show up to class early and stay late just to try and kiss me," he replied. Leia just rolled her eyes and said, "Stop playing. You loved it."
"Maybe a little," he admitted before they both started laughing.
"Okay, so let me get this straight," Riley said. "Leia's dating her teacher, Claire's dating a drummer from a band that every girl on campus loves and Brielle is using a member from that same band. This is just a big screw up."
"What about Darren?" Leo asked and Riley started to blush.
"What?" Leia and I asked.
"I always see her holding hands and kissing this kid on campus named Darren. He takes acting with her or something," Leo replied.
"You're taking acting classes?" I asked.
"Better than you all thinking I was a drug dealer right?" Riley joked.
"No. Not better. Drugs are awesome," Leia said and we started laughing. Just then my phone started to ring. Ashton was calling.
"Oh, I gotta take this," I said, walking outside and sitting in this little rocking chair type thing we had on our front lawn.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Have you seen Luke?" Ashton replied in a panic.
"Um, no. Why?" I asked.
"He's not home and hasn't been for a few hours. Before he left he kept mumbling about Brielle not answering his calls or texts. Please tell me he's in her room," he said quickly. I ran inside and down to Brielle's room before flinging open the door. She was sitting in a corner of her room, listening to music softly and staring off into space.
"Where's Luke?" I asked her quickly. She shrugged.
"Why haven't you been answering his calls and texts?" I asked, trying a different tactic. She shrugged again.
"Brielle would you stop being a selfish bastard and tell me where he is!" I shouted.
"I don't know!" she sobbed back. "I tried to stay away but he kept calling and texting and I stopped answering and I don't know!" She buried her face in her knees and wailed.
"Jesus Christ," Ashton said. "Where the fuck did he go?"
"I don't know," I said, leaning against Brielle's door frame, ignoring the wailing coming from her in the corner.
"The cliff," she choked out. "Check the cliff."
"What'd she say?" Ash asked.
"Something about the cliff. Brielle, what's the cliff?"
"Oh God please don't let him be at the cliff," Ash murmured.
"What cliff? What's going on?" I asked in confusion.
"Claire, meet me at my house in five minutes and bring Brielle," Ashton commanded before hanging up.
"Brielle, let's go," I said, pulling her up by her arm.
"No," she whined. I groaned and kept dragging her up.
"Stop touching me," she snapped.
"Ashton needs us," I said. That didn't work so I tried something else.
"Luke needs you." She slumped down on the floor and groaned.
"It's been five years since he died and you can't help but fall apart when you hear his name. Imagine the guilt you'd have to live with knowing you were the reason Luke died tonight?" Brielle sighed and stood up. "Let me get some shoes."
Brielle rejoined me at my car a couple of minutes later wearing an oversized cardigan and some black vans with a pair of sweatpants and a tank top. We got in and stopped at Ashton's house for a minute to let him get in.
I'm sure if anyone stopped us we would've looked like the weirdest trio ever. Brielle was sitting in the back seat looking like a rebellious teenager with dyed hair up in a messy bun, headphones on listening to what sounded like a heavy metal song but was actually 'Hercules' by Sara Bareilles. I looked like some weird hipster mom who became a mom too early with a 'Fault' tee shirt and denim shorts, and Ashton looked like a punk rock dad with his tattoos and sleeveless shirt.
"Where am I going?" I asked Ash.
"The big cliff you can see from that crack whore teachers room," Brielle muttered and I knew she was talking about our art teacher. I nodded and kept driving for a few minutes until we saw Luke sitting on a rock, staring at the edge of the cliff. Ashton hopped out of the car before I'd even stopped it. He raced over to Luke while I followed, Brielle dragging in the rear.
"What are you doing here?" Ash asked him. Luke just shrugged.
Brielle just stopped and sat on the ground, pulling her knees to her chest and refusing to go further. I gave Ashton a curious look, wondering why he wanted me to bring Brielle.
"Look at what she's done," he said quietly, nodding towards Brielle. Luke turned around and almost cried when he saw her sitting there. Brielle looked up at him before looking down, her cheeks burning in shame.
"Brielle," Luke said quietly. He stood up and walked over to her, taking her hands gently and helping her up. He pulled her in for a hug but she sort of pushed him off.
"I can't do this," she said quietly. He gave her a confused look.
"Can't do what?" he asked her.
"This. Us. We're not together and I'm sorry Luke, I can't be with you," Brielle said quietly. "I can't do this to you or me anymore. I'm done." Luke looked pained and she gave him a thin smile. "I promise you, it's for the best."
"Did you do it again?" Luke asked softly. Brielle shook her head but he didn't believe her. He pushed the sleeves of the cardigan up and saw that not only did she have fresh cuts, some were still bleeding and other still had little pieces of glass sticking out of them.
"Jesus Christ," Ashton said, pulling Brielle over to the car. "You have to go to a hospital."
"No I don't," she said, trying to tug her arm out of his grasp. Brielle is fairly strong so she should have been able to free herself, but it was like she just didn't have the will to do it anymore.
"Ash," Luke said softly. "Don't. You know if we take her to a hospital they'll lock her away. Don't do it." Ashton stopped and sighed. Brielle climbed in the front seat and said, "I want to go home." I got into the drivers seat and Ash and Luke got into the back. I dropped the boys off at their house first before going home with Brielle.
"Happy?" she asked me before walking inside and locking herself in her room. I just sighed and rested my head on the steering wheel. Sometimes Brielle really sucked.