Love Me | Series Book #1

THIRTY SEVEN

The weight on my chest didn't give when lunch period came around. I exited the line and made eyes with Aly across the cafeteria. She was sitting with them, dead center of the the room, Seth right by her side. And him. Directly across from her.

I backtracked. Rachel was missing, but for good reason obviously. There was no way she could stomach her lunch face to face with him, now that she knew. And it wouldn't be long  until everything else did too.

I couldn't sit with Chase because then I'd have to face what happened earlier in the hallway, and I didn't know if I had the right words to do that...especially in front of Leah.

"Kaya Fischer?" Came a voice from behind me.

I turned around to find Mrs. Peterson, the school's counselor.

"Um, yes?"

She looked hesitant, as if she had laid out her words in front of her, and was critically assessing them to make the right choice.

Her brown eyes met mine.

"Can I see you in my office for a moment? I promise you it won't take long, I'd just like to speak with you."

Rachel.

It was her that was behind this wasn't it? She must've run down there last period right after she swore..she promised that she wouldn't say a word until I was ready. How could she do this to me? I was suddenly livid.

"Why? What's this about?" I asked, even though I already knew.

"In my office," she coaxed. "We'll speak inside."

I looked back towards the table. Aly's attention had since strayed back to her almost-boyfriend, who thought to share his tray of fries with her. It wouldn't matter if I was there or not; she wouldn't even notice I was gone.

I turned back to Mrs. Peterson.

"I'll stay for five minutes," I said, dropping my eyes to my tray. "I need to eat."

She didn't give in so easily.

"Bring your food with you," she offered. "A little crumbs won't bother me."

Looking at my limited options, her office was, in fact, the most appealing. And besides, I didn't have to tell her anything. She couldn't force me. Didn't student confidentiality exist for that reason?

I followed her out of the cafeteria down the hallway to her office.

I'd only been inside a couple of times, once earlier in the year, back in September, to meet with her about college applications. At that time I'd been so torn between following Mason to his dream school or looking into others with a nursing program that I'd been considering. I was willing to sacrifice my own future for him, and merely months later, he started beating me.

I chuckled aloud.

That all felt so far away now as I braced myself for interrogation.

"Kaya, why are you so stupid? Why in the world would you want to be with someone who hurts you?"

"I don't know Mrs. Peterson. Maybe it's because I'm insane. I mean, I have to be right? To stay with him all this time. And that's not even the best part. Did you know that he's purposely poisoning his mother too?

He's going to kill her. And then he's going to kill me next because I was too afraid to say anything. I watched him murder her right in front of my eyes, just letting him do. You might as well put my name on her grave as well because it's all my fault that she's dead in the first place. All of it, actually, is my fault. I deserve it all."