Losing Faith (Hurt and confused)

Chapter Twenty Six

We stood outside the auditorium though. Sam was still with us. "I want to talk to someone, but I don't want to do it alone." He said. "Well, we can come with you." I said. "Would you?" He asked, looking like he really wanted us go with him. "Of course." Said Caitlin. So the three of us headed back in. Erik said he felt uncomfortable with strangers and went to class. 

We sat near the lady who said the prayer. "Hello. My name's Miranda." She said. "Hi. I'm Sam. This is Caitlin and Mandi." Sam introduced. "Hi." we all said. "Let's have a seat." Miranda said. So we all sat on the chairs. "So, you all know Cade well?" She asked. "We all went to school with each other for years." Caitlin said. "Yeah, but we...well... we weren't exactly friends." I added, "Not like Sam here. Sam's his best friend." "So you're Cade's best friend?" Miranda asked. "Yes." Sam replied. "Ok. So this effects you hard." Miranda asked. "Yes." He said, "Plus I saw him last." Sam then told her about that night and how he was the last to see Cade. He blamed himself.

"You mustn't blame yourself. It's not your fault. It was out of your control." She said, "Plus think, if you'd been there, you could of been hurt or taken yourself." "Then he wouldn't be alone." Sam said. The counselor said some stuff and Sam felt a little better. It's true what she said. Sam is not at fault. But he wouldn't of gotten hurt. If he stayed, well Cade would of been fine and I would of found another day to get Cade.  Really I should of waited until summer. Then I could of been able to stay with him and torture him for a few days and then let him go. I seriously didn't think this plan through good.

"What about you two girls?" Miranda asked, "You two have been quiet." "He was a jerk to me. He was all nice and caring, then I don't know what happened. He called me ugly and dumb." I said. I was surprised by the anger in my voice. I could tell Sam, Caitlin and the counselor was too. "No matter where I was or what I did, he was rude to me. I asked him to prom and he said yes. Only it wasn't him who said yes. One of his friends answered yes. Anyway... he was supposed to talk to me about it, but he never did." I replied. "So you're happy he's gone?" She asked. I sighed. "You'd think that, but no. No matter how rude he was and how much of a jerk he was, I can't help it. I still like him." I replied. "Ok." She said, "Sam, do you have any idea why he acted that way to her?" He shook his head no. "It was strange. He never acted that way to anyone. It was like he was a completely different person." "I see. Could anyone you told this to have done this to him to get back at him?" Miranda asked. I sat quietly. This was becoming uncomfortable. I just wanted to get out of here. But I just said, "No. The only people who I told were my friends and mom. She wouldn't do anything like this. Besides half the time she is away at work." "Ok." Miranda said. We ended up talking all of first period and prayed. Then we headed to the second period when the bell rang.

Soon it was lunch time. "I heard there's a talent show tomorrow." Erik said, "I mean it's still going on." "Yeah, our whole day will be that." Caitlin said. "Well, it's a half day and last day. I'm so glad." I said. "Me too. I can't wait until Saturday." Said Caitlin. "I know. Me neither. The beach will be fun." I agreed. "We should go to Erik's uncle's farm. I'd love to ride the horses." Caitlin said. "Yeah, that'd be fun." I said. "Yea. Maybe when you girls come back from the beach, you can come up. Or we can just pick another day." Erik said. "No, we can come up on the way back." Caitlin said. Erik gave us the address and directions. 

"This summer will be fun." Caitlin said. We agreed. 'It will be, but I need to have some free time to get back to Cade.' I thought 'Soon he'll run out of food and water.'

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It was now the last day of school and a half day, but all we were doing was watching the talent show. Alot of students were singing. Some played instruments, while a boy did magic tricks. A girl tapped danced, and another boy juggled. Cole, Jake and Shawn went up and played their guitars and sang. 

Then the day was over and everyone cheered and was talking excitedly. I took my photos out of my locker and put them into the photo album I brought. Then headed outside with Erik and Caitlin. "Awww.... freedom." Said Erik. We laughed. "I agree." I said, "Oh guess what?  Pablo put in a pool for us. I waited to tell you until everything was done. It's an inground pool. It's like 10 feet by 7 feet or so. And it's about 9 feet deep. It's rectangular." "Oh awesome. " Caitlin said. "Yeah, so now we have somewhere to swim." Erik said.  "Yep." I agreed, "Let's go to my house. Or go home and get your swim suits and come. We can swim and hang out." "Sure." they said. 

So later, we were all at my house, swimming, tanning and just hanging out. My mom was soon home from grocery shopping and picking up things for the beach. She also brought a pizza home for supper and bread sticks. I was really excited for the beach. Cade, I was worried a little about him, but I thought he can suffer a little in the basement bathroom for a little. 'Geez, what is wrong with me?' I thought. I hardly recognized myself and really didn't like who I was becoming. 

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It was Friday night and Caitlin was staying over. "So you have everything you need?" My mom asked her. "Yes." She replied. My mom then looked to me. "Have everything packed?" She asked. "All but my deodorant and toothbrush. I need them tomorrow morning." I replied. "Ok. Good." She said. We were leaving tomorrow morning around 5:30am. She wanted an early start. So we all went to bed early. 

The next morning, we got up and put our suitcases and bags into the back of the SUV my mom has and on the passenger side in the back. Caitlin sat behind my mom. I slept most of the way, but when I woke, my mom and I switched. I let her sleep for awhile, while I drove.

Around 10:30am we were there. We parked our car and checked into the hotel. Once we got our key cards, we unloaded the car and took our stuff into the hotel. We had a big bedroom with a view of the ocean. There were also 2 beds in here. Caitlin and I would share one and my mom got the other. We unpacked and put on our swim suits. Grabbed our beach towels and headed to the beach. After laying our towels on the beach, we ran to the ocean and swam. It was so refreshing. Then we laid out and tanned. My mom laid out first and then swam. 

After awhile, we headed back to the hotel and washed off and then back to the boardwalk to eat.