How to Steal a Happy Ending

~ Interlude: why ~

~~~ OCTOBER, Junior Year.~~~

Half buried in my sheets, I watched as my phone vibrated precariously close to the edge of my night stand. If it falls I'll pick up, and if it doesn't I'll go back to sleep. As if on cue, the phone wobbled twice before embarking on a potentially screen-cracking journey towards the wooden floorboards. I caught it just in time and, as if all my energy had been used up in that save, I took it near my ear as lethargically as I could manage. "Hello?"

"Hey!" Nate's unnecessarily peppy tone made me cringe. "So I was thinking I'd come over tonight and we could have a Netflix marathon?" I sighed; the guy was trying too hard. "Who wants to watch Evil Dead?" he exclaimed TV host style. Way too hard.

"I'm not in the mood. Not today." I replied monotonously as I rearranged my gray comforter to form a cocoon around my body. The sun still hadn't quite set. But, as someone that's been in bed since the sun rose, that didn't really deter me from taking the millionth nap of the day. "I'll talk to you later alright."

A long sigh of disappointment traveled though the line. "Claire, you haven't come to school this whole week. You missed most of last week. And you didn't even show up at my game. I mean, I get why, but this is not the way to deal with shit. Okay?"

A deep frown rippled across my forehead as he continued. "People can't run away and hide forever. You know, they need to face things."

I scoffed and shot out, "I'm obviously not going to sit at home forever. I'm obviously going to go to school. I'm just," I paused. Just scared? I shook my head. I'd be last person to admit that. "I'm sick okay? It's not about that. I'm sick alright," I nearly yelled the last sentence through the phone.

"We can still have a movie night. It'll be fun Claire, come on." he pleaded. My feeling of worthlessness increased with every word he said because all it sounded like was 'You need help. You've lost.' I clenched my jaw. "Claire? Please say yes."

"No. Go to some party, that'll be fun as well. I can't tell you which one because I'm not invited to those kind of things anymore. So just have your pick, Nate. Hang out with your football team. You know the one you finally got a promotion in. Water boy to half-back. What'd you have to do get there, huh? Probably just bitch about me, right?"

I was a snake spitting venom at everything that dared touch me. Viper 2.0: armed with malice.

"That's not true," he replied quickly. Too quickly. "Yeah, I'm on the team now. But that doesn't mean- Claire, come on, don't be like that. I'm obviously on your side."

"Yeah, obviously." My fangs dripped with the deadly cocktail of derision and disdain.

A long pause followed my delirious hissing; stretching to cover the distance that now separated the two of us.

Regret is a slow runner; he's always ten seconds behind Present. But he sure as hell has a way with dramatic entrances. My lower lip trembled as a steady supply of tears was ferried from my eyes down to the pillow. Who's gonna to be your friend now, you slut?

I hoisted myself up on my elbow and hurled the phone at the wall. The dozen pieces it broke into looked up at me asking why.

I flopped back and cried to the ceiling. Because you're destined for this, that's why.