Happy Everly After

Chapter 18

My words caught in my throat, and I stayed silent instead. I could feel his eyes burning into me. Giving him a meaningful look, I gestured for him to continue. Without invitation, Owen took a seat opposite me at the table. His presence felt heavy, like a fist tightened around me.

"You obviously want me to apologise for bringing Cassie", he said, "so I'm sorry".

I leaned closer to him, trying to keep my voice low. "No, Owen. I want you to genuinely understand why bringing Cassie was wrong. But it's clear that you don't care, so your apologies are meaningless".

He shook his head in frustration. "You can't just disappear from my life and then come back and dictate who I can and can't invite places".

"It's not about places, Owen. This was our thing. Our group thing".

He scoffed. "Our thing? You mean mine, Charlie's, and Riley's thing. You haven't been around, Everly". His voice was strained.

"You have no idea what's been going on in my life and why I've been distant", I snapped back. "But here's one thing: Cassie has been spreading nasty rumours about us. And yet you still defend her".

Owen took a deep breath and stood up from his chair, slamming both hands on the desk in front of me. He towered over me like a feral cat ready to pounce.

"I asked her about those rumours, and she told me it's nothing to with her", he spat out.

"And you believed her?" I snickered sarcastically, crossing my arms over my chest. "You're a joke".

he seethed before angrily pacing around the desk until he was right in front of me again. Despite feeling small and insignificant compared to him, I refused to back down and locked eyes with him.

"I actually feel sorry for you" he scolded.

I desperately searched his eyes for that kindness and couldn't find a trace. My heart ached at the coldness in his gaze. For once, I was speechless.

"You know what? Let's just go back to ignoring each other's existence", Owen said, straightening himself up. "Because Everly, those months you were gone were the best months of my life. Just do us all a favour and fade into the background".

I was blindsided. If he'd picked up a knife and stabbed me in the heart, it wouldn't have felt any worse than I felt at that moment.

He raked a hand through his hair, although his face conveyed regret. He said nothing. My mouth felt dry, and I realised it'd been agape.

I looked away as my eyes betrayed me and began to blur with tears.

Don't you dare cry, I berated myself inwardly, but it was no use. To save whatever dignity I had left, I quickly grabbed my backpack and fled.

Owen called after me, reaching out as if he wanted to stop me, but I kept running. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I burst through the double doors and into the hallway. I could feel people staring at me, but I didn't care. All I wanted was to get away.

Ignoring the curious looks and whispers around me, I ran into an empty stall in the bathroom and collapsed onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. Two faint figures that I vaguely recognized entered the bathroom but quickly retreated when they saw my emotional state.

I slammed the door and buried my head in my hands as Owen's hurtful words echoed in my mind, taunting me. A part of me wanted to hate him for what he said, but deep down, I knew that wasn't possible. Despite our argument, my feelings towards him remained unchanged.

I heard the door open, and I held my breath at the thought it could be him.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the stall door and Miss Levine's voice calling out to me. I desperately tried to compose myself before answering, knowing that she had come to check on me. Obviously, it wasn't going to be him, since he didn't make a habit of going into the girls' toilets.

"I'm fine", I managed to choke out, but we both knew it was a lie.

I heard her approach, the click-clack of her patent heels echoing off the tiled floor and towards the cubicles. "You don't have to open the door, but which one are you in?" she asked.

"The second one", I replied, my voice shaky and barely audible. Then, I saw her black heels through the small gap between the floor and the bottom of the door.

"Is everything okay? You ran past me, and I saw you crying", she said with concern lacing her words.

"I'm fine", I repeated stubbornly, not wanting to admit my vulnerability.

"Do you want me to call your mum?" she offered with genuine care in her voice.

"No, please can you just leave me alone. It's nothing", I insisted, trying to push her away.

"Whatever is going on right now, I promise you that you won't feel this way forever. I was young once too, and I know how intense everything feels in the moment. But trust me, in a few days, weeks, maybe even months from now, you'll look back at this and feel differently about it".

Maybe she was right, but it felt crushing and overwhelming right now.

"Thank you, Miss Levine", I managed to utter through my tears, grateful for her attempt at comforting me.

"You're very welcome. And remember, I'm here if you ever need to talk", she reminded me before leaving. Alone once again, I let out a loud sob as the weight of my emotions crashed over me like a tidal wave.