Lifelines

Chapter 29

I stared at the schedule in my hand and sighed when I didn't see any room number that resembled my next class. I huffed in annoyance and stomped my foot in frustration.

It's been three weeks since I've been released from the hospital and it's finally my first day back to school. I wish I could've come back sooner but my doctor told me it was best to not overwhelm my brain at the moment.

I've had a few flashbacks since then and I was slowly piecing together small parts of my life. My mother is dead. I am seventeen years old and have three best friends. Carson Anderson is in love with me and I'm not sure how I feel about him. With these few things floating in my mind and the other twenty things I had remembered in the past weeks, I didn't realize I had turned down a dead end hallway.

"Seriously?" I stared at the plain wall ahead of me and sighed.

"Need some help?" I turned and saw Carson standing there with a sheepish smile on his face.

"Yes, please. Um, apparently I have Mr. Fisher this period. Do you know where room 234 is?" I asked and Carson grinned.

"I walk you there everyday." He said and I smiled back at him.

"That's sweet." I said endearingly and his face flushed.

As we made our way to room 234, my head started to ache and I had to stop myself from spinning out of control.

"Cassie?" Carson dropped his books and was immediately at my side.

"What about Sandy? Why are you asking me? And why are you all of a sudden talking to me? We haven't spoken since middle school." I interrogated James and he looked at the floor guiltily. "I thought you wouldn't want to talk to me after what happened. I was a jerk, I know. Sandy and I weren't working. Turns out she was hooking up with Jimmy Reynolds behind my back. And why wouldn't I ask you? You're gorgeous."

"Cassandra!" Carson yelled and I looked at him with confusion clearly displayed across my face.

"Who's James? Who's Sandy?" I pressed and Carson tensed.

"What did you remember?" He asked, his eyes searching mine.

"Um, this guy uh, James or something asked me out and I didn't seem happy. I seemed annoyed. He called me gorgeous." I said and stared at the ground.

"No one had ever called me gorgeous before." I whispered but Carson heard me.

"I do. I call you gorgeous all the time." He said sadly.

"But I can't remember!" I shouted at him and ran away from him, down the hall and into a random closet. It smelled like bleach and sulfurous water and I was once again hit with another memory.

I was walking to my gym class when I was all of a sudden yanked by my arm and pulled into a janitor's closet. I moved my hands around looking for a light and turned it on. You could barely see anything in the dim lighting so when I first saw a person's silhouette, I was a bit freaked out. "Don't hit! It's just me." The voice called. I squinted a little harder and finally realized who stood in front of me.

I noticed she looked very weak. Not in the whole she can't lift a five pound weight weak, I mean that she looks emotionally drained. "What's wrong Kara?" She sighed, "A couple things actually. Firstly, since this morning everyone has been referring to me as the girl who made Lucas Anderson turn gay. I don't care about the name calling and the whole absurdness to it all. It's just I hate being in a place where people are so mean and hateful. I'm friends with some of these people."

I went to walk out again when I turned back to her for the second time. "By the way, you can leave your so called friends anytime you want. I could use a girl friend." I saw her smile a little and I walked out continuing my way to gym.