Last Kiss Goodbye • Teenage Juice Ortiz

83 - Mind Like A Battlefield

THE PAST

It felt like she could feel Beth's eyes burn on her back all day long. Her former friend's behavior shocked her, she had never expected her to be so... maniacal. The relationship with Beth had always been a bit harder than those with Shawna and June, especially because Beth liked to keep herself to herself. Nevertheless, she had always involved Beth in every activity, knowing how much the loss of her sister weighted on her. They were all scarred, having a hard time at home; Shawna because of her parents who were always in a fight and burdened her with the care for her autistic brother, June because of her sick mom and her father who'd left their family, and she herself had suffered a great deal too. She had always believed that they could support each other, be there for one another, because they all knew what it felt like to be part of dysfunctional families. For a long time they indeed had a strong bond... until June started to fall for Juan and the memory of Mateo called up Beth's hatred. Ever since, things had became tougher every week, up to a point that Jordy realized that their friendship would never heal. She knew June still hoped for a reunion and Shawna was still spending time with Beth, but the minute Beth assaulted June, Jordy had enough of her. That Beth felt no remorse and was really insane, was proven by the fact that she started to threaten her after Jordy had refused to hang out with her. 

The threat never left her mind. When she confessed the horrible things that happened to her when she was little, she'd never expected anyone would hold it against her one day. Why would she? Beth had been her friend, she had loved her, trusted her. What had happened to her was horrible and she couldn't think of a reason why anyone would ever expose her secret or hurt her intentionally with it. 

Oh, how wrong she had been. After what Beth did to June, she believed that bitch was capable of anything. Her eyes fluttered to the side of the lunch room, where Beth was sitting with her new friends. Jordy liked some of them, but some certainly not. 

It weren't exactly nice stories that were told about Selma and her best friend; that they organized witch meetings in which they cursed their classmates. Not something she believed in herself, but the fact that doing something like that crossed their minds in the first place, proved how mentally ill they were. Not exactly people an unstable person like Beth should hang out with. 

As if Beth was able to hear her thoughts, she cocked her head to the side and glared at Jordy, her lips forming a sinister grin. The sight of it gave Jordy goosebumps and she quickly looked away. It felt like her intestines were freezing. She was scared. She just knew something was going to happen soon and that Beth would carry out her threat. 

June caught her glance when she aimed her attention back to her lunch. She wasn't hungry; she wasn't for days. Her friend had picked up on it. With her eyes she asked Jordy what was going on, but she gave her a reassuring smile. She didn't want to upset June. If her secret came out, they couldn't do anything about it anyway.

. . .

For a couple of days, nothing happened. Hesitantly Jordy started to hope that Beth's threat would stay nothing but a threat, and that Beth didn't hate her that much. 

However, when she was putting her books in her locker, she noticed someone was standing behind her. Since Emilio had a habit of sneaking behind her to spook her and he had just left class with her, she wasn't immediately alarmed. She was, when a shadow was cast on both sides of her. 

Wildly, she looked over her shoulder, recognizing Johnny and Bob. She didn't know the twins all too well, they always gave her the creeps. They were a head taller than she, making her feel trapped immediately. As if somebody gave them a sign, they leaned with one hand against the lockers, closing her in by putting their other arm around her shoulders.