Grade11 crush | ✓

27

"Friends are like stars. You cant always see them but they're always there,"

***

Try stabbing me with a knife and it would hurt less than to see Katie like this. I've always seen her as the strongest people I've ever met. With all that shit being thrown at her and still being able to stand up, she's amazing. But now.

Now, amazing is an understatement. She is so much more than that, in fact, she's my role model.

I approach Aaron who's standing in the window while her surgery is being performed. Turns out she had a broken bone in her arm, and because of all the pain that stroke to her body she didn't see any difference. The doctors were shocked to see her when we drove her to the hospital. The police was immediately contacted and all the proof was back in the house so while Katie is in surgery, her dad is at the police station.

Between the three of us, Aaron is the one who was affected the most. He was the first one to find her after she had been beaten up and he was the one she told everything to. There's no doubt there's some type of hidden chemistry between the two of them but I refrain from saying anything of that right no.

Asher is downstairs getting us some food from the cafeteria. He insisted he'd get them instead of us following him. I guess everything that has been going on, and on top of that, one of his closest friends being physically abused, he needed some time for his own and I gladly gave it to him.

I place my hand on Aaron's shoulder and he jumps under my touch. When he looks down at me, his eyes softens but the surface of them is filled with mixed emotions that I can't comprehend. "How are you?"

He inhales deeply, "C, we noticed weeks ago that she had bruises on her body, but we didn't do anything about it. How long has she been hiding his from us?"

I sigh, "I really don't know, Aaron."

I'm scared to think about her not being here because of something we didn't do. What if Aaron had never followed her home. Would she be gone? By seeing at the bruises and wounds on her body, it looked like she couldn't take anymore than that.

If things kept happening as it did, would Katie be gone? Would the cafe be the last time we saw and spoke to her? I shook my head, but my waterline was filled with tears.

"I'm disappointed in myself for not being able to protect her. We're her friends, C. I'm her friend," he says fading away at the last word.

"We both know you don't see her as a friend, Aaron." I squeeze his shoulder. He narrows his eyes at me, "What do you mean?"

"You like her."

His eyes widens and he takes a turn to look at me face to face. "What?" He shakes his head, "No, that can't be. I like Maya,"

I shake my head, "No, you don't." I place both of my hands on his broad shoulders "Aaron, you don't know Maya."

"Yes I do,"

I cock an eyebrow, "Ask yourself, have you ever cared about anyone as much as you care for Katie? You even followed her home to check up on her." I release my grip on his shoulder and let my hands fall to my sides. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't the girls come to you?"