its friday morning and i still havent told anybody about the texts i saw. i plan on telling alejandro in art class today, and maybe even alvaro and xi. after i do my morning routine, i decide to wear a cropped royal blue sweater with a white shirt underneath, covering my belly. i wear a light blue pair of jeans that are semi-ripped. i put on my basic adidas. i part my hair down the side and wear a bright red lipstick. this is what i look like
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i go to starbucks and order my usual pumpkin spice latte and cornbread muffin. i drive to school and pack up my leftover cornbread muffin. i go to school and wait in the courtyard to be let in. i see zach get out of his car so i go up to him.
'hey babe' he says, kissing my forehead. 'hey!' i say, softly hugging him. ugh what is wrong with me? i let him cheat on me and walk all over me but part of me still loves him. i dont want to let him go.
we walk around the yard for a while, hand in hand while talking. he then tells hes gonna go talk to talissa. i saw ximena in the group of girls we made friends with. 'hey atlas!' she shouts at me, waving me over. i greet all the girls, hugging them all.
i had a personal bond with all of them, like a sisterhood almost. 'we were gonna go to the mall to buy outfits for homecoming tomorrow. do you wanna come?' ximena asks. 'of course! i'd love to!' i say. the girls cheer in excitement. we were also gonna get our nails done, if you'd like to come.' alissa says. i had only known alissa for a few weeks but she felt like a sister to me. 'sure!' i say. a few moments later i drift off to talk to some other friends. the bell rings allowing us inside.
i felt someone grab my arm. 'hey!' alejandro says. 'oh hi!' i say walking over to my locker. 'you excited for homecoming?' he says, leaning onto the locker next to mine. 'yea, im going with zach, and i know its gonna be special. are you going with anybody?' i ask. 'nope, im probably just gonna hang with the boys since almost none of them have dates.' he responds.
'well i will see if me and zach can hang with you guys, but who knows. he might just want it to be us two.' i say. 'i'm just gonna say what everyone else is saying, you should drop zach. hes honestly really toxic and takes advantage of you.' he says. i didnt really get a grip on what hes saying.
'hello? atlas?' he says. 'okay, dont freak out, but zach is staring at you. i think hes jealous.' i say. he turns around and looks zach dead in the eye, then grabs me. we walk to homeroom. 'that was very weird.' he says.
'alejandro, i have to tell you something.' i say, as we're playing fireboy and watergirl on my laptop in homeroom. 'okay, im listening.' he says, dividing his attention between the game and me. 'this stays between you and me' i say, as i explain what happened at the date.
'why havent you confronted him about it?' he asks, completely focused on me this time. 'i just want to forget it happened but i also wanted to tell somebody. but i could be wrong. what if it was a huge misunderstanding?' i say, looking down, not wanting to believe it.
'i cant just sit here and listen to you make up excuses about your toxic boyfriend. atlas avalos you know you deserve way better than him, right?' he says, using his index finger to lift my chin, making me look into his eyes. 'i just.... i dont want to lose him. he was the first person i met in new jersey. i have a good connection with him and i'd be devastated if i lost him.' i say, my eyes noticeably tearing up. he pulls me into his arms, yet again allowing me to cry into his shoulder.
the rest of the day i played things off but was a little distant with talissa and zach. alejandro noticed that i was off, especially since now he knew about what happened.
after school i got a text from xi.
ximena 🥳🥰
hey girl! were right around the corner from your house, so be ready!
kk see you 😚 Read 5:14 PM
i get back home to be greeted by my mom. she told me she likes my nails. she helped me try on my dress and zipped it up for me. 'you look beautiful, mija.' she says. she gives me some of her jewelry that i've been asking for, for a while. 'take care of this jewelry, im passing it down to you.
i spend the rest of the night watching netflix and on facetime with the girls, even talissa.
