Through different eyes

4.4 Heather

I walked into the hospital, frustrated and angry. Mom said she wanted to talk to me. That it was serious. I guess we all know what that means...
"What are you doing here? Everything okay?"
I looked up to see Becca Lewis. So she was really going for this caring act, was she? Well, alright for me.

"My mom asked me here for a talk" I complained, knowing she would understand my reaction.
"Probably about you-know-what... What are you doing here?"
What was she doing here?
"I just came from my dads office involving you-know-what" she sighed. Silence.
"You think they're coming out?" I asked, fear in my voice, thinking the worst possible scenario.
"Could be" she breathed out and stared at the ground. She didn't want that either.
"Guess there isn't really anything we can do about it at this point..."
"Hmm..." I hummed, agreeing. She did have a point, and more than one. She was actually making a lot of sense lately. Well, some moments, other moments I would question all her actions...

"So how did your talk go? W-was it, you know, uh, awkward?" I asked, she nodded.
"Succes with yours, I guess..."
"Yeah, uhm, w-we'll talk bout this later okay?"
"Sure... See you around"
"Hm, yes, see ya" I muttered as we walked past each other, minding our own business once more. Why let others know when we try to keep it hidden? I walked to the nurses breakroom, hoping to see my mom in there. And I was right.

"Hi sweetie, come, take a seat" she said with a sad smile.
"Hey mom, so what's this all about?" I asked.
"Well, I'm not gonna dance around the subject... I'm seeing another man" she blurted out.
"A-and I know it's soon, so quick after your father a-and believe me I didn't chose this but it just kinda happened and well I-I'm happy again"
I simply stared at her. So she wasn't gonna mention her affair? Like, at all? She wasn't gonna tell me she had actually been seeing him from before dad died? Hmm, guess she wants to save me from the heartbreak.

"D-do I know him?" I chocked out, not wanting to have this conversation.
"He's a doctor here at the hospital, it's how we met" she said with a sad smile. Yeah, totally not cause he was dad's doctor or anything... But I decided to play along, for now, for her.
"Oh, t-that uhm sounds nice" I mumbled. The rest of our talk was just as awkward as the first bit but I shall save you from the cringe of that conversation...

...

"Oh my God, have you seen the news?"
"Yeah, Hunter must be devestated"
"I totally saw him cry by the lockers earlier"
All the gossip in the hallways was confusing. What were they talking about? I walked up to Benji, who was already sitting at our usual table for lunch. He was looking at something on his phone, headphones on.
"Hey!" I shouted and scared the living fuck out of him. I laughed and sat down next to him.
"What's up?"
"Wait... You haven't seen it yet, have you?"
"Seen what?" I asked confused.

"Eric was kipnapped yesterday" Benji stated and gave me his phone. A news article on his screen.

Teenage boy taken by force from public transport.

What the hell?!
"How have I not heard about this?!" I exclaimed, scrolling down.
"Have you been living under a rock or something?! It's all the town has been talking about!" he shouted out.
"Well I had a lot on my mind okay!" I yelled back. I can't believe it... Eric has been taken... And it looked like it wasn't random either, they were actually looking for him... His parents were nowhere to be found, like they were never here, never existed...

I noticed Thomas walking into the canteen, keeping his head down. But I saw his red, puffy eyes... He had been crying, a lot. Argh... No Heather, don't do it... Don't, you'll regret it... And I failed.
"Hunter!"
He glanced my way, surprised to even be called by someone, especially me. A lot of people stared as I waved him over. He slowly walked in our direction while Benjamin was silently praying I hadn't gone mad.
"H-hey Heather..." he whispered, his voice broken.
"Hi Thomas, wanna sit with us during lunch?" I asked with a sad smile. He seemed to be taken aback by the question but nodded anyway, sitting down across from us. He just stared at his food, poking it a bit. Benji stared at me like asking what the hell I was thinking.

"I'm sorry about Eric, I know you two were close" I whispered. He glanced up, giving me a quick smile before looking back down.
"Must be hard on you, losing your only friend" Benji muttered. I hit him on his arm and glared. You don't say something like that you idiot!
"You have no idea..." Thomas whispered, a tear dropping on the table. Oh great, now he was crying! Great job Benjamin!

"Apparently Eric wasn't even his real name..." Thomas sobbed and covered his face with his hands.
"What?" I breathed out.
"Yeah, I read about that" Benji sighed.
"The Eric Smith enrolled in this school doesn't exist. Nobody knows his real name"
"What kind of secrets does that guy have?" I wondered out loud.
"C-can we talk about s-something else, p-please?" Thomas asked while trying to wipe his tears away.
"Of course! Sorry"
"No, it's okay" he said with a weak smile.
"Here" Benji said, handing Thomas a tissue.
"T-Thanks" he whispered, taking it.

"I-I actually thinks it's rather funny how misery can get even us back together... I mean, Eric obviously didn't care about me the way I cared about him..."
He sounded so broken... So hurt... He was laughing with his own misery and suffering, but with such nochalance... like he was used to it, almost. Was there something going on in his life nobody knew about?

Becca approached our table. Why? She said we wouldn't talk in public to avoid commotion!
"H-hey, uhm, Thomas?" she asked quietly, startling the boy a bit.
"Becca! Oh, uh, hey!" he exclaimed and shot up.
"W-what do you want?"
"Just wanted to say I'm sorry for what happened" she stated and looked down.
"A-also, you, uhm, left this yesterday"
She gave him a small keychain, which looked like a fluffy bunny or something.
"Oh, uh, thanks! I-it's my sisters" he said quickly and put it away as quick as possible.
"Yeah, so, see ya" she said and walked away.
"Y-yes, see ya" Thomas muttered and stared back at the table.

"What was that all about? You met up with miss popular yesterday?" Benji asked confused.
"W-we uhm kinda ran into each other" Thomas shrugged.
"Where?" I asked, remembering Becca being at school, immediately after in the hospital and then back home. She didn't leave or go anywhere after that.
"Is that important?" he shot back. Yep, definitely hiding something... But what?
"Defensive" Benji muttered.
"Rude" Thomas reacted on the same tone.

The two glared at each other for a moment. They were never good friends. Not even in the past. Only connected through me, actually. I rolled my eyes.
"Guys, don't go pick a fight"
"What? Me? Never" Thomas stated with a hand over his heart, acting as a pure innocent.
"Says the number one asshole, jerk, dork, moron... Shall I go on?" Benji asked.
"Argh, you're both idiots" I groaned.
"Thanks, love you to" Thomas stated and sighed, looking out the window.

He was lost in thought. I got it. He lost a lot in one day. He needed to progress it. I mean, I knew for only minutes and wasn't nearly over the fact Eric had been taken in a shooting. Plus he was the target and Eric isn't his actual name. But what is his name? The media obviously didn't know...

I scrolled through my feed, seeing pictures pop up from Eric enrolled in other schools with different names. Seeing how he used to have other friends who called him differently. Seeing how he had multiple persona's, the nerd, the jock, the shy guy... He stereotyped all his characters. That way it would be easier to maintain, I guess... But one thing stayed consistent. His last name. Smith. It was always Smith. Always. No matter what. So that must be his real last name, right?

I sighed and put my phone back down. It didn't matter anymore... Eric was gone, kidnapped, and it would surprise me if they found him back alive. I mean, he was obviously hiding from something or someone. But now he was found, he had to bare the consequences... What if he was involved in some kind of illigal business? Or if he was the runaway son of some important people? How long had he been running? Hiding? Praying to God that they wouldn't find him? I sighed and let a hand wander through my hair. Guess we'll never know...