This Means War (The Virgin Wars Contest)

Chapter Sixteen

The smooth black phone slipped right through my fingers, the cord causing it to dangle as the flat tone reciprocated. She doesn't care about me. She plans on leaving me here to rot for a crime that is only misunderstood. I had been hoping that this was only temporary, but her voice tells me otherwise. It was so lifeless and cold. She doesn't love me...she never did.

How could I've been so blind? She was neglectful, cold, hardly even a mother. We had always been like virtual strangers, but I never thought much of it because I thought she always loved me. Well, if she loves me, she sure has a funny way of showing it. Is this what people considered "tough love"? No, who am I fooling? I don't blame her... I don't like me either. "Everything alright?"

I was startled back into the real world, and out of the one that came crumbling down around me. It was hard not to breathe in the smoke left from the fires. The ashes swirling around, debris littering the bottom of my brain, clouding my thoughts.

"Yeah, everything's fine." I lied quietly. "Can you just take me back to my cell, please?" The guard was perplexed, and then her features softened. She doesn't care either. That look is out of pity, not concern. Nodding, she opened the door and waited for me to walk. I dropped my gaze to the floor and ambled out of the room, feeling the hotness of tears still gliding down my cheeks.

Once back in my new home, I barely minded Widell locking me in with a somber expression. I plopped onto the rotten, urine smelling mattress. A let out a long, laborious sigh. "Hey, um Brookelyn, was it?" I numbly moved my head to say yes. "Are you sure you're alright," she wondered gently.

"No," I answered flatly and honestly. And that was all I had to say. I wasn't alright. I wasn't going to lie again. I wasn't going to be able to stay strong too much longer. This may have been a fate worse than death itself. Having nothing left to live for. My father was dead, my mother wants me to disappear, my old friends didn't even notice when I did disappear, Cole hated me, Alex too.... Who did I have to confide in? To help me and comfort, and hold me, and tell me that things would get better.

You always had Cole, my inner-self told me. Ever since that night, he'd always been there for you. When Trevor tried to force himself on you, when your parents reminded you of the past, when your mother remained silent for all of those years. He was there while you cried, and when you smiled. That day at the coffee shop, too. He cared about you. He was there, even when all the others weren't. Remember that night on the roof?

A small laugh escaped me as I recollected the memories swarming inside my mind. "We didn't even have any music," I said to myself with a faint smile. "And everything was perfect for a moment. I was so nervous, and I can't help but remember how badly I wanted him to kiss me...."

I stood up and closed my eyes slowly, watching the bland grey walls around me transform into the blackness of the sky. The raven colored sight began to brighten with small dots of silver - stars. I turned and saw the moon, shining brilliantly over the world, making everything seem fuzzy and faultless. Glancing down at my feet, I noticed the shingles beneath me. I was back on the roof like that night.

The night I fell in love with a guy named Cole.

He was the boy who gave me butterflies. Who let me occupy his bed while he slept on the couch. He painted nothing, and yet, it was something more than just marks on a canvas. In a way, Cole had saved me in more ways than one. I can't believe it took me this long to realize it.

I gasped as I saw Cole standing before me, the moonlight illuminating the once dark world. Everything was beautiful, and peaceful, and bright. It was like a beacon of hope right before me. My heart was speaking to me, and for once, I was listening.