Accidental Roommate (Being Rewritten)

Chapter 36

'Maybe I should look for her,'Sharon said uncertainly. The silence following Jasmine's exit was deafening. No one talked, not a sound. Everyone was stunned. Especially Jasmine's mother.

'I didn't know. Oh, my baby. She had to go through this all on her own,'she started to murmur. Then she looked at Sharon and for once, her eyes were not angry, accusing nor springing flames. It was the eyes of a mother who thought she'd failed her child. 'Did she talk to you about it?' They were at Sharon's table, separate from the entire hall. People were starting to recover from their shock and talked amongst themselves.

'Yeah. It was during our senior year. The year Dad died. She thought it was one of those vaginal infection that'll just need cream or something. But it was something nastier and more virulent. By the time we went to the doctor, it had damaged her uterus soo bad.  I went with her to the doctor's appointment.  She was soo heartbroken when the doctor broke the news to her. Inconsolable, in fact. She hid in my room for days, crying. And then one day, she stopped crying and acted normal. Went on with her life as usual. But I knew that she wasn't over it. I tried soo hard to get her to talk to an adult. I was too young for that. Even roped in Amelia since she should know the people but she refused every attempt.'

'Yeah. Eventually, the therapist said it's best to let her deal with it in her own ways,'Amelia said, backing her up. Then she frowned, as if recalling something. 'Hey, isn't that when you started losing friends? Like, during that period?'

'Yeah. But that's because I kind of neglected them while I grieved for Dad,'she said, not seeing the significance of the timing.

'Actually, that was when rumors about you started circulating the school,'Tony said. She'd forgotten that he had still been in high school. 'I don't recall what it was but it was pretty damaging. And when one was finally dying out, another one would start.'

'Do you remember any of this?'Cameron asked her. She shook her head, shocked.

'I thought it was my grief along with Mom always dressing me down in public that chased them away,'she said softly.

'I-I got wind of the rumors and believed them,'her mother confessed into the silence. Everyone turned to look at her and she fidgetted under their gaze. 'I asked Jasmine about it and she said it was all true. She looked soo earnest and troubled. She told me she didn't know what to do to help you. That's why I'm soo harsh on you. It was to get you to stop doing all those heinous deeds.'

'Plus you've always resented that Dad championed her. So it didn't take much for Jasmine to convince you that she's bad,'Amelia sneered. It was too much for Sharon. Being told that her best friend's betrayal had gone soo far back as high school, and coming soo close to her father's death, her mind started to crack, her head and heart hurt.

'I need to go to the bathroom,'she said suddenly, standing up. Cameron stood as well, wrapping a supportive arm around her. 'I need to go by myself.'

'I'll go with you. I need to pee as well,'Amelia said, coming to hook her arm with hers. Sharon didn't say anything. She just allowed Amelia to lead her. 'Are you alright? I know this is a lot to take in.'

'I don't know how to feel. How to think. Wait, I know what to think. Why? Why did she do this? Did she hate me soo much? Why?'Sharon shouted to the otherwise empty bathroom. Her body was too restless to stay still, she had to move, to burb off some of the anger and betrayal. 'Why?'

'I don't know, baby sis. I doubt we'd understand even if we asked her. It's like her mind had been twisted. That's my best guess,'Amelia said, pulling her to her side. 'Even so, you've pulled through. You've found a guy who's totally into you. You have a job that has taught you skills that you wouldn't have learnt here. You were able to start over without any prejudices-'