Dear Darling,
On October 30th, at 4:20 am you came into our lives and changed it for the better. We don't have much to give it except for a leather jacket, from me, a bracelet, from your mother, and a better life, from both of us. I never thought t...
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"Are you just going to stare at me while I eat?" I asked Shawn as I continued to eat my cereal, he had been coming over almost every day since Christmas.
"Cory and Topanga are having this game night thing tonight and I wanted to see if you'd like to tag along," he said to me like he'd been holding it in for a long time. I laughed at him, confused about why he would invite me to their house. His expression fell, "you're right it's dumb."
"That's not why she's laughing," Jill said sitting down with us at the table, she'd been staying at the house lately, "Riley and Maya have been tormenting her since she was a kid."
"What?" He asked us, his voice doing the thing it does when he starts to get emotional, I recognize it because my mom said I do the same thing.
"It's no biggie," I told them quietly, I didn't want the situation to be bigger than it already is, "they don't bother me in anymore.
"But, they did." Jill said in a very serious tone, "and that's what matters."
I stood from the table, "I guess," I said before dumping the milk into the sink. "I gotta get ready for school."
"Don't forget your phone," Jill said holding it behind her head, for me to take.
_
"Is it true?" Lucas asked startling me at my locker, he wore a stone-cold expression.
"Jesus," I said clutching my chest, "a greeting would my nice, I gotta bad heart you know," I told him, his expression softened a little, his baby blues apologizing for his mouth.
"Hey, Cori. Not that that is out of the way is it true?" He asked again, not really helping the situation.
I shrugged, "is what true?" I asked closing my locker and walking towards our first class. "Gotta phone for Christmas by the way!"
He grabbed my arm gently, stopping me in my tracks. "Is Riley's godfather your biological dad?" I was taken back by his question, my mouth opened and closed because I didn't know what to say to him, but I guess that answered his question. "Why did I have to learn that from Derby, the girl in our class and not you?"
"How does she know?" I asked as I resumed my walking.
"It's all anyone is talking about," he told me as we walked through the doorway of the class and everyone's eyes landed on me and mouths closed.
"She doesn't have a family, so she's claiming yours," Maya told Riley before realizing that I was in the room. Everyone held a breath waiting for my reaction, the quietness of the room taunting me. I walked toward Maya and Riley, I could feel my anger pulsating, it felt like my world was shaking. It was like I was on autopilot, watching from a passenger seat. I wasn't in control of myself, I wasn't until I raised my hand to smack Maya and Lucas stopped me.
"Cor, don't." He whispered into my ear, bringing me back into the world. I gasped realizing what I was about to do, I stepped away from everyone as I looked around the room before doing what anyone in my situation would do.
I ran.
_
Lucas
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Everyone was silent after she ran out, no one moving. Except for Riley and Miley of course. "Did you see that she's like totally crazy now," Maya said looking around the classroom, waiting for someone to cosign onto he lies, "Riley you saw that right?"
Riley looked at Maya unsure of what to say before caving under the pressure, "y-yeah, crazy." She said but, I knew that she knew this was wrong.
"Are you serious?" I asked the two people who I used to call 'friend,' "you two are the most insane people that I have ever met, you literally just said out of your mouth that she was trying to steal Riley's family, what is wrong with you?"
Maya rolled her eyes, "it's true, haven't you heard? Shawn is her dad."
"And?" I asked, wondering what the point of that was, "she didn't be asked to be his daughter, she didn't choose to be born. She has never done a thing to you, ever. God, Maya are you just going to be miserable forever? And, you Riley, you need to get your open brain because being friends with is just gonna ruin your life." I said shaking my head at the two, "you two are the ones that are crazy, do me a favor and never talk to me again." I told them before turning to leave the room, behind me stood Mr. Matthews and Shawn.
"What's going on here?" Mr. Matthews asked as I walked past him.
"Ask your daughter," I said to him before going to find Cori, my heart guiding me, I knew where she would be. When I got to the room that she was at, I noticed that the door was already opened, I took a deep breath before going into the room.
"And he said aren't glad I didn't say banana?" Farkle asked Cori as her head leaned onto his shoulder, "get it?" he asked her, but she didn't say anything.
"Cori?" I asked sitting in front of them, the dried of tears on her face layered with wet ones, "are you okay?"
"She doesn't feel like talking," Farkle told me as he dug her face deeper into her shoulder. He had a phone in his hand, they were watching a video on it.
I rolled my eyes at his world because would talk to me, I'm Lucas, I'm Darling, "Cori, it's me, talk to me." I said reaching for her hand, but she pulled away from me.
She just sat there, no words coming out of her mouth. She just sat there, suffocating in the silence "Say something to me," I plead for the thousandth time. After she left the classroom, I followed her, well not before defending her. But I still found at the same place where we found Farkle. And, she was sitting there like she is now, motionless as the tears streamed down her face. "Cor, please say anything."
She looked straight ahead before opening her mouth.
"Take me home, Shawn." She said to the shadow behind me before he walked around Farkle and I and picked her up with no effort. She closed her eyes as she was carried out of the janitors closet like a baby.
