Love Lessons

Chapter Forty-One: It's Always Darkest Before the Dawn

41| Jess

            ~*~It’s always darkest before the dawn ~*~

            I was not exactly the brightest when it came to common sense and unfortunately, today was the day my lack of skill really caught up to me. I was heartbroken after I dropped the small plastic box outside of Cole’s door. It was as if I was finally letting go and saying goodbye; something I didn’t want to face. Once I had placed the box outside his door, I took that time to bolt and walk around downtown to clear my head and enjoy the warm spring breeze. Riley had warned me that I shouldn’t be walking around alone tonight; it was Saturday night and there was nothing but bars surrounding our campus and it wouldn’t be uncommon if a group of drunken guys harassed me. I declined her offer to a party and instead spent time by myself. It was what I needed; I couldn’t handle everyone telling me what I should do or what was best to do. I just needed time to myself to figure out how I was going to move past this.

            Cole was avoiding me and luckily, I didn’t mind. It made moving on from him easier but there was no avoiding him when we left our rooms to go to the bathroom or to leave to go to class. I knew I couldn’t ignore him forever but there seemed to be less chances for us to rekindle our relationship. I expected him to move on quickly and to have some model clinging to his hip; but instead, he looked miserable. When I did see him, he had bags under his eyes and he looked less alive each time I passed him. If he looked that miserable did that mean that there was more to this than I thought? Tyler let it slip one night that Cole was handling it just as I was, leaving me more confused. What the hell was going on? I wanted to know why he ended our relationship and if there was something going on why he couldn’t talk to me about it. All of these thoughts were giving me a headache and I knew if I didn’t get out of the dorms I was going to drown.

            I walked to the beach. The sound of the waves crashing to shore was soothing and I was instantly relaxed. If I could stay at the beach forever, I probably would. I stared out at the water wondering what my mother would be like if she was still around. Would she still be ill or would she have gotten help? I wondered what it would be like to have her around, to have girl conversations with or even just to have a mother around. I was too lost in my own thoughts that I didn’t hear someone come up behind me; all I felt was a blow to my head and everything turned dark.

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            I woke up to a buzzing noise. I slowly opened my eyes, wincing as I felt my head throb. Where the hell was I? I didn’t recognize this place at all! I was in a basement of some sort- the old mildew smell and the rotting walls confirmed that I was in not only an old building, but also probably an abandoned one at that. I tried to move but it felt like my body was being weighed down and the only thing I could do was open my eyes. When I finally lifted my head, I found I was staring at a very crazy Mrs. Jefferson.

            I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Mrs. Jefferson smirked at me, circling around me as I struggled to sit up. I wasn’t held down by anything, but my body felt as if it had taken such a beating that it was impossible to move. The bitch looked fantastic- except for her crazy eyes. She had on a pair of skinny jeans, high-heeled black boots and a red leather jacket. Her hair was pulled tight into a bun and her long fake nails were painted black. I tried not to roll my eyes at her extra effort to look like a psycho and swallowed the dry lump in my throat.

            “Well, isn’t it the fat whore who took my son away from me.” She spat, crossing her arms in front of me. His mom was already ridiculous as it was; I didn’t even want to know what was swirling around in that crazy head of hers.