Torn

Chapter 15 - Selflessness At Its Finest

Chapter 15
Selflessness At Its Finest

The Monday afternoon following Frank’s funeral hit me like a stage of déjà vu.

I suddenly felt like I was thrown back into the year my mother left, when I decided that talking didn’t make much sense anymore. The stares burned holes into the back of my head and back, leaving me with confusion as to why I was the center of attention again. I figured it had something to do with that fact that Frank had died and most of the town knew who he was. But most of the kids eyeballing me as I walked down the hall to English class were at the funeral, the same ones who didn’t pay me or the priest an ounce of attention. Why was it such a big deal now?

I was just about to turn the corner and arrive to class when I was stopped by a familiar, too pretty face that was standing in front of the door. Before I could ask what she was doing here, she took me by the arm and pulled me aside so the kids behind me could go in. I raised my eyebrows at her, clutching my books tighter to my chest. Talking was just starting to become an everyday thing, but talking to Olivia wasn’t something I was comfortable with yet.

“I was trying to find you all day!” she exasperated, flinging her golden brown hair over a shoulder.

I watched all of the kids go in class behind me, the nervousness rising in my belly. “Why?” I whispered, having difficulty finding my voice.

“What’s going on with you and Flynn?” she deadpanned, not taking her eyes off of mine when they returned to her.

I clutched my books tighter to my chest than before, slinging my bag further up my shoulder. My mind ran in a marathon of flashbacks, picturing me against Flynn’s kitchen counter with his lips brushing against mine and my hands pulling at his shirt. Then the image of us in my closet the first night my mother came home, the utility closet and the times at my house. I gulped, thinking back to all of the times we spoke about my secrets and did things Olivia had no idea about.

Or so I thought before this conversation happened.

“What do you mean?” I stuttered, tripping over every word while the idea of Flynn on my lips was at the forefront of my mind.

She glared at me, her light eyebrows bunched together. “You know what I’m talking about.”

“I’m not really sure I-…” I went to say, but she cut me off with a perfectly manicured hand.

“I know you guys are friends, Willow!” she said, her voice raising a few decibels so that it caught the attention of the few people still wandering in the halls. “What the hell happened?”

I still wasn’t sure how this was going. For one, she claimed that we were friends…merely friends. That meant that she probably didn’t know about all those incidents between us, especially the one where I woke up in his clothes while he made me breakfast. For all I knew, she was just checking up on us to make sure that nothing was happening. There’s no way she would know what was happening between us…right?

“Olivia, I really don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re friends…” I trailed off, my voice dropping as my eyes ran around the now empty halls. The bell rang around us and caused me to jump in my spot in front of the door.

“If you guys are friends, than why haven’t you spoken to each other for days?” she questioned, hands on her hips for dramatic effect. She twisted her lips while waiting for my response and I almost felt scared.

How had she even caught on to that? By now, I figured that Flynn had forgotten all about me and focused all of his attention on his perfect girlfriend. He couldn’t even look at me in the halls or in class when he walked past me to get to his seat. Olivia always seemed like the type of girl who was more self-involved than focused on those around her. I never would have pegged her for the ‘helping someone for no personal benefit’ type of girl.