Swiping Right | Completed

Twenty One

          Avoiding him was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do, and each day made the task more challenging. Every time he was mentioned, it felt like I was swallowing acid. His name burning its way down my throat, the same way it burnt itself into my heart the first time I met him. Being back at school was the toughest, with Katie and her bitchfest staring in my direction constantly, each day reminding me of her words. They swam laps around my head constantly, making me question Brodie's loyalty.

It was Wednesday lunchtime, three days had passed, and I was sat at the same table I always sat at, with the same people. I'd barely eaten since the news came out, only picking at whatever I had or shoving it around on my plate. I wasn't sure what was wrong with me, but I was bored. I was bored of the questions that constantly played over in my head. I was bored of my heart hurting whenever his name sat banging against my head like a woodpecker. I was bored of food being tasteless and my friends trying to make it better. I was bored of my friends. But most of all, I was bored of my sad, sorry life.

          I bid goodbye to my friends before standing and walking out of the cafeteria. I had no idea where I was headed, but I needed to go somewhere different. I couldn't stand those four walls any longer. I made my way up to the library, a hand on my arm stopping me in my tracks as I reached the stairwell.

My head snapped to face the person halting me, and my heart dropped instantly when I realised it was one of Katie's closest friends. My mind instantly began working overtime, trying to picture ways to escape, or at least some excuse to quickly leave.

"Can we talk?" My eyes widened in shock. The only words I had heard from her friendship group recently had all began with his name, and had all conveniently started whenever I walked past. I mentally scanned the brunette, trying to decipher her genuinity.

"I don't know if that's a good idea." I quickly glanced around, trying to see if there was anywhere Katie would be hiding. Arabella was one of the most caring out of them, if caring was even a word that could be linked; even loosely, to that friendship group.

"Katherine isn't here, it's just me. I just want to talk to you." Her face showed signs of honesty as I realised she must have noticed me glancing around the corridors. I didn't know of anyone calling her Katherine, so she must have really pissed off Arabella. I nodded slowly, immediately wondering whether or not it was a smart decision to make. "Library?"

          We took one of the study rooms in the back corner, an area where Arabella was sure none of her friends would even think of looking for her. I sat one side of the desk, my backpack slung over my shoulder, ready for a quick escape if need be. I was 98% sure I knew the library better than her and already had my escape route planned. She sat opposite me, clearly making herself comfortable as she threw her bag onto the floor and slung her jacket over the back of the chair.

I listened to every word she had said carefully, occasionally repeating to make sure I had the correct information. My heart raced the entire time, her words came smoothly, and every so often she'd pull some 'evidence' from her bag.

"So, he didn't sleep with her?" I asked, the lump sitting firmly in my throat as I begged myself to not let my emotions get the better of me. The last thing I needed was for her to report it all back to her friends. Arabella looked around the room, as if trying to find answers from the walls.

"I don't know, not that I'm aware of." She answered; and for some reason, I believed her. "But I do know that if he did, he isn't the one who gave her chlamydia, or got her pregnant, or forced her to get an abortion, or hit her." I looked at her, a confused expression sitting on my face as I silently begged her to tell me more about Katie. "Those are just some of the things she's told people." My mouth dropped open, whether it was in shock, or disgust I didn't know. But even for Katie, those were big accusations to make. "She told Marianne Polton that Jason Riviera tried to rape her. Marianne obviously broke up with Jason, as you would if that accusation came out, and she hasn't spoken to him since. That was six months ago. That was when I decided it had gone too far." Arabella sunk further down in her chair, sighing. How could anyone be friends with someone who did that? My heart instantly went out to Marianne. Neither her or Jason were popular, in fact, I regularly saw Marianne hiding away in the library. Coming to think of it, it had been more frequently in the past six months. Nobody deserved that. I felt like Arabella was waiting for me to fill in some gaps, to fill the silence, to have a say, but I had no words left, so she carried on.