H2O | ✔

Chapter Nineteen : Exhausted

Thinking about that day made me want to throw up. The last thing I wanted to be was my mom. I loved her, but....

I pulled a smile onto my face and nodded fervently. "Of course. Everything's great. I, um, actually have to get home so I can help my mom make dinner, so I'll see you tomorrow? Great!" I sped out of there like a cheetah was on my trail. I knew I wasn't very convincing, but as long as I at least tried to pretend like things were fine, they couldn't do anything.

...

I was sketching my shoes on the side of my homework on a bench by the lake when I heard someone nearing my sanctuary. Their feet sunk into the snow so quietly I didn't notice until they got close. Their footsteps were light, which meant they were probably a girl or a child—

"Hey!"

I jumped ten feet into the air when Mesi popped her head out from behind the bushes, and dropped my homework in the lake. Wonderful.

I fished the vocab sheet out of the water and took a deep breath when I saw that the ink had smeared and it was no longer legible.

Mesi stepped closer to me and leaned down so we saw eye to eye. "Sorry about that! I didn't mean to scare you," she giggled.

I really didn't mean to do it, but I was in a bad mood and I. Just. Snapped. "Then you shouldn't have snuck up on me! Maybe then I wouldn't be sitting here with ruined English homework—you know, from the class with the teacher that hates me the most? Now she's going to give me an F and I'm going to have to find some extra credit to make it up! But she probably won't give me any because SHE HATES ME!" My chest was heaving as I fumbled to snatch up all my papers and start walking back home. Of course, Mesi followed.

Mesi placed a hand on my shoulder gently, but quickly retracted it when I glared at her. "I-I'm sorry, Xander. I really didn't mean to do it. I can email your teacher or something if you want? Explain it was my fault?"

Normally, I could pull myself back from a freak-out like this, but I was just so exhausted of everything Sam and Mesi and the lake was my private place that I didn't even know how she found, and all I wanted to do was take my mind off of it all—but then she interrupted me.

"Just leave me alone," I growled, my last-ditch effort at not saying something I would seriously regret. I mean, I already wanted to take back everything I'd screamed at her, but I was worried I'd insult her somehow if I continued.

Mesi stopped walking and stood there on the path as I continued home. I sighed, silently thanking her for not pressing any further. I knew it was selfish, but all I wanted was to be alone.

...

I dropped my keys on a dish near the front door and kicked off my shoes as I entered the house. It was quiet. Either she was passed out or gone.

Venturing around, I discovered no one. That happen occasionally. She would just up and leave for a while. Sometimes it was a day or a week or there was one time where she didn't come back for a month. That was rare, though. I supposed she could return later that night, but it was unlikely—she didn't like driving in the dark and the sun was already going down.

So I microwaved myself some pizza bagels and signed in to Netflix and spent the night watching Vampire Diaries. It was my secret addiction, and just another remnant of all things old-Mesi. She had a knack with getting you obsessed with things you never imagined could peak your interest. And they were usually things like chick-flicks and drawing whiskers on your face because she showed you the gate to the Phandom. It was kind of annoying, but there was nothing you could do. If Mesi wanted to show you something, she got you to the point where you couldn't live without it.

I smiled when I thought about it. But the smile didn't match the growing ache in my chest. I hated finding new things every day that would never be the same without Sam or the old Mesi.

A/N: Okay, so just let me say I'm sorry before you start yelling at me for not updating. I'm sorry. I know it's no excuse but I've been away the last couple weekends and then I had a big project and then I was just really tired and I've had a lot on my mind and a lot to figure out and yeah...sorry again. So here is a new chapter COMPLETELY UNEDITED. I hope you like it even though it's not great, and I'm going to try to get back to the old schedule of posting on Mondays and Fridays. Sound good? Great.

Also, thanks for helping me reach 5k reads! Y'all are AMAZING and I honestly love you so much, no bullshit.

Lastly, you might not know this, but I've written a couple short stories and recently, by story Here. won second place in the YoungAdultReads Spring Break Contest. I think you'd like it if you like H2O, so feel free to check that out. (Or not, it's your decision.)

Okay, that's all I have to say! Keep being amazing and I'll see you soon!

OH YEAH! And I decided to keep the cover the way it is for the time being :) Thanks for all of your input on that decision, it really helped!