Erika Heart always thought that she was going to save herself and wait to find love until she wasn't in school. But could that all change when she meets her brother's new friend?
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"Erika. Jane. This is my new friend Conner Bakely." I looked up...
The next day, I woke up and immediately groaned. After two weeks of getting to stay home, I had to go back to school and I was not looking forward to any of it. Not the stares and the whispers. Not the rumors I knew had started. And I was especially not looking forward to seeing Veronica and Jonathon.
I slowly rolled out of bed before getting ready. I took a shower and did my makeup before choosing my outfit. I was tired of being told I wasn't good enough and I didn't try hard enough. I wanted to put an end to it. So I chose an outfit I never would've worn before.
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I had gotten the outfit as a present a few months before. I had never worn it before, not even with different items, but yet I liked it. I felt like a different person. Because I felt that way, I decided to be extra with my makeup.
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I looked in the mirror and smiled at my reflection. For the first time in years, I actually felt good about my appearance. I felt like I could actually see people and not feel ashamed for who I was. of course, that didn't last long though as Jane soon entered the room.
"What are you wearing?" She questioned bursting out laughing. "You look so terrible. Do you really think that just because you're wearing different clothes people will like you? People will never like you, and it doesn't matter what you wear." She took one last look at me, still laughing, before walking out of the room. I dropped my head and let a few tears escape my eyes.
It took a few minutes for me to compose myself before I walked down to the kitchen. Everyone was already sitting down and eating. I stood in the doorway for a few seconds, though not looking forward to some of their reactions. As soon as I pulled out my seat and sat down, Cody was behind me.
"What are you wearing?" He questioned roughly.
"Clothes," I muttered piling food onto my plate. he glared at me before Jane asked him a question making him turn his attention to her. As I started eating, I felt the burn of a gaze. I turned my head and saw Conner staring at me. I tried to meet his gaze, but he immediately looked away when he noticed I had caught him staring.
"Jane, when you get back from school, you're father and I need to talk to you about something." My mother commented when it had finally gotten quiet.
"I actually had plans with friends after school. Maybe we could reschedule our conversation to a time when I don't have friends?" She asked. I rolled my eyes knowing that comment was focused on me.
"Cancel your plans. Your father and I never told you that you could go anywhere, and you're still grounded." My mother commented rolling her eyes.
"But mom!" She whined. "I have friends who want to go do things, and how am I supposed to stay friends with them if I'm not allowed to go out?!" She argued crossing her arms. I wanted to laugh at how stupid she looked.
"You can stay friends with them by talking to them at school." My father commented not bothering to look up from his newspaper.
"That's not fair!" She yelled abruptly standing up. "You never say anything about Cody going out and hanging out with his friends! Conner has been here for so long and you haven't said anything!" She yelled.
"There is a reason that Conner has been here so long. And he will be here even longer so you better get used to him." I had stopped listening, but as soon as Conner's name was thrown into the mix, my head shot up. I had wondered why he was always around, but I had never spent too much time on it.
"Whatever!" She yelled before storming out of the house. Cody rolled his eyes before standing up to go after her.
"Conner, can you drive Erika and yourself to school today?" He questioned throwing him the car keys.
"Yeah of course." I felt my heart stop as I thought of all the possible conversations that could happen in the car.
"I can walk. It's not that big of a deal." I muttered stabbing the strawberry on my plate.
"You are not walking! You just got out of the hospital and now you want to walk to school?! Not happening. See you at school." Cody rushed out before sprinting out of the house. I turned to Conner to see him already looking at me.
"Should we go then?" He questioned. I nodded and we made our way to the car. I was dreading that car ride.
