Flawed Pretense

Chapter 18

My stomach was churning uneasily. What could that possibly mean?

I WARNED YOU.

That was it, nothing else was written on that small note.

A few hours after I was done crying, I found the note taped to my closet door. I had ripped it off as soon as I saw it, but that didn’t stop the uneasiness. It was written in the same scrawl as usual, so I knew it was the same person. But I just didn’t know who.

Today I was eating my cereal quickly, almost as if that would get rid of the anxiety. Chris noticed this too but didn’t comment, knowing I would tell her sometime. But the thing was, was that there were actually two things weighing on my mind.

First one was Ian. Of course he was on my mind. I actually started to rethink if that was the best thing to do―rejecting him. Was that the right decision?

Yes . . . it was. I didn’t want my heart breaking again in the worst of times.

But I didn’t know if I would tell Chris what happened. I knew she had had feelings for him―maybe she still did―but I didn’t want to stir up an unnecessary fight. Chris could hate me for liking him or kissing him even, but I didn’t want to risk it. Call me a horrible friend, but no guy was worth the loss of a friendship. So I wasn’t going to tell her about what happened with Ian.

Anyway, for all I knew, those kisses didn’t mean anything to Ian.

Second thing on my mind was the note. I would definitely not be telling Chris about it. I didn’t need to be getting her into the middle of this―especially since these were getting creepy. Seriously, this was the second time the note appeared in my room.

So I guessed I wouldn’t be spilling anything to Chris. I admit, it made me feel a bit guilty, but this was for her safety. Once I figured out who was sending these, I would tell her, no doubt. Just not right now, I thought. I would just make up that it was the time of the month or something.

When Chris and I got to the school, there was a huge crowd by the front doors. That was strange. Chris noticed at the same time I did, and we cautiously got out of the car.

Ian and Garrett arrived a few moments later and did the same. Unsurprisingly, Ian ignored me and looked the other way.  As if on cue, the crowd turned towards the four of us. Some were in shock, some were sniggering, and some had ‘I knew it’ faces on.

Confused, I stepped forward first and let out a loud gasp. Ian made a move like he wanted to come to me but held himself back. That hurt a little bit. Instead Ian, Garrett, and Chris walked and came to a stop next to me.

Chris gave a faint, “What?”

I turned towards Ian and Garrett with a look a horror. Garrett was white as snow while his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down nervously. He started breathing rapidly like he was about to have a panic attack, and I went to comfort him. Only he didn’t let me.

He gave me an accusing glare that had a mix of confusion. My eyes widened as I froze with my hand hovering above his shoulder. I started to shake my head slowly, but Garrett didn’t have any of it.

Garrett leaned in and whispered, “You promised.”

With one last look, he stormed away but not without grabbing Ian’s keys while Ian was still dumbfounded. My mouth opened and closed with no words coming out. I sneaked a quick peek at Ian and saw that he looked so lost. He started getting paler by the second, so I took his arm and dragged him away from the crowd.

“Are you okay?” I asked tentatively.

Seeming to get out of his stupor, Ian realized I was holding his arm and wrenched it out of my grasp. Again, that hurt a bit, but I guessed I deserved it.