Crush, No, Crushed

Chapter 40 part 2

            When the bell rang to signal first period, I quickly left the room before anyone could talk to me. I planned on going to my locker to drop off all the notices and then find Nicole to see if we had any classes together.

            Not surprisingly, the whispers didn’t stop as I made my way to my locker. I was starting to feel like I was suffocating and that the walls were closing in on me. Didn’t they know that I could hear them? Didn’t they care about my feelings and that them talking about me was not helping me?

            Finally, I got to my locker and quickly started to turn the lock but after the first failed attempt something hit me. Les was always the one to open my locker because I could never do it. I felt my world crashing as I realized that he would never be there to open it for me again. That’s when I broke down into sobs. Banging the locker with my fist, I slid down to the floor, burying my head into my hands as I cried.

            Who was going to open it for me now?

            The whispers were getting louder but I no longer cared what people thought. The fact that they just stood there while I was having a break down disgusted me.

            “Oh my God, Ruth. Are you okay?” A voice asked crouching down to the floor and putting a hand on my arm.

            I looked up to see Brad looking seriously concerned that something was wrong. He had been solemn lately, completely unlike himself. While he tried to stay his perverted player-self, he was affected from his friend’s death too and often I would catch him staring into space with a blank look on his face. He and Nicole had been spending more time with each other and gradually Brad has been returning to his old self with her help.

            “I- I can’t open my locker.” I croaked, pouting my lips out trying to stop a sob from escaping my lips.

            His eyes lit up with worry as he rubbed my arm to soothe me.

            “Why are you crying about that?” He asked cautiously, trying to not sound insensitive.

            “Les would always open it for me.” I told him, stumbling on his name.

            “Ah.” He nodded understandingly.

            “I just…I just don’t know what I’m going to do without him.” Tears burst from my eyes again and Brad pulled me into a hug, rubbing my back as I cried into his chest.

            After a minute, he pulled me up and wiped my tears away.

            “I know what you need.” He said taking my hand and leading me down the hall.

            “Where are we going?” I sniffled.

            “Skipping.” He answered as he led me out of the front doors of the school.