I'm Truly Sorry

It was just another normal day at John Stelios High School. Students were bustling about, heading to their first classes for the day. Ray walked into History, quickly pulling out his phone, snapping a photo of an unsuspecting Melissa. Her head snapped up as the camera clicked. Ray laughed as he walked away, Melissa brushing back her blonde hair uncomfortably. Ray sat down behind his buddy Scott, who was laughing quietly as well. Ray bumped his shoulder as he looked at the photo of the girl one last time. Melissa's eyes darted around worriedly, her head looking at her classmates around her, before going back to her textbook. Scott raised his eyebrows, still chuckling quietly to himself as class began.

It was now the afternoon, Scott picking up his little sister Jessica from Junior High. He would do anything to protect his little sister, if anyone hurt her, they'd have hell to pay. Sure, he annoyed her a lot, but he loved her all the same. Jessica was looking at her phone when Scott pulled up. With his phone to his ear, he called her name. She didn't respond, so he pulled the phone away from his ear and called her name, louder. " Jess, come on! Mom needs the car!" He managed to pull her attention away from her phone and she dashed over to the car, climbing into the passenger seat. He sent her a wary look, before pulling away from the curb and driving home.

It was the next day, and Ray and a few of his other friends decided it was the best idea to turn that picture of Melissa, into a meme. The boys chuckled and laughed as he finished typing 'I don't always look in the mirror, but when I do...' over Melissa's shocked face from yesterday. Scott and Ray chuckled at the final image, and Ray saved it to his phone. One of them tapped Ray's arm, and pointed, at the girl walking past. Melissa. Ray made a face, mocking her. Scott was crying with laughter at Ray's antics.
Later that day, the photo was released everywhere. Facebook, messages, Twitter. It was viral, people everywhere was laugh at the image that kept popping up. Melissa had no idea what was going on, but she had some idea when she walked past a group of girls and they laughed and pointed at her, watching her as she walked. She was walking to her locker, when she noticed Scott stuck something to it, his friends cheering him on, before walking off. She walked over, and saw a photo of her. She teared up at the caption, that's what everyone was looking at. She looked back at Scott, who smirked, before walking away. She didn't even bother tearing it down.

Scott went to pick up Jessica, but she wasn't waiting outside like usual. The school was barren. He had been screaming her name, he had to get to his youth group soon. She finally made an appearance, coming out of the front doors, walking past a group of girls. They said something to her, before laughing as she got into the car." Hey, hurry up, get into the carb," he said as she climbed in." Where were you?" He asked her. She didn't answer, instead turning to the window and looking out. He sighed and started the car, driving home. On the way back, Jessica got a text. She looked at her phone, quickly hiding it afterwards. Scott sent a wary glance at her." You Okay?"
" Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. She looked down, her hands clasped over her phone, silently begging for it not to go off again while Scott's around.
They arrived home not to long after, Scott announcing that they were home. He whirled the car keys around his fingers as Jessica silently trudged last him, walking upstairs like a zombie. He waited a few moments for his mother to appear, but she didn't, so he went to his Youth Group, leaving Jessica alone in the house.
Scott and Ray had finished playing UNO with Sam, an older resident of the nursing home. He was a cheeky guy, but he had to go. Ray started shuffling the cards as he packed them up." Hey," Madison's voice sound from behind Scott, and he turned to face her, but she was talking to Ray." Are you the one who made the picture of Melissa?"
He chuckled almost nervously." What picture?" Scott shook his head at his best friend." You made her cry in biology today," Madison continued. Scott's jaw was slack. Had it gone that far? It was only a joke, I didn't want to upset her.
" Look, Um, I was just joking around, so people need to stop taking things so seriously," Ray said. Scott stayed silent, making Madison shake her head at them, before walking away. Scott watched
her, fiddling with his piercing nervously, while Ray gave an awkward chuckle.

Scott came back around 9ish, and his mother still wasn't home. The house was eerily quiet. The lamp flicked on, and Scott called out his younger sister's name. There was no response, like usual, but he had an awful feeling in his gut. He walked up to her room, and opened the door, to find it empty. He ran a hand through his hair, worrying.Her phone was on the bed. He 'casually' walked over and unlocked it, and it was left on messages. Messages filled with hate. His eyes burned with anger. The last three caught his attention most.
Why won't you leave me alone?
U R alone. If I was a loser like you I'd kill myself.
R U Crying?
Jessica hadn't replied, which made the feeling in his gut worsen. He ran from the room, searching for her desperately. He was screaming her name in panic, hoping for a reply. But one never came. He walked into the kitchen, pacing back and forth. He was very worried now. He stopped to text his mother, to ask if she had seen her, when he noticed something in their backyard. He walked over to the window and looked the blinds. He nearly jumped for joy when he saw Jessica on the bench. But he knew something was wrong. He walked out, and realised Jess had been crying, maybe the entire time since he left.
" Hey," he said, and she didn't nrespond, only sniffling." You okay?"
" I uh, I looked at your phone," he said, sitting down beside her." Who wrote that?"
" Who cares? They're right," Jess replied.
" No, no, no, Jess. Come here," he said, pulling her into a tight  side hug." No, there not. They don't know who you really are," he said, and Jess quickly realised he was close to tears. She began to believe he actually cares." They're not... Jess, they're just kidding around," he said.
And she didn't believe he cared anymore.
She shook her head at him, her hair sticking to her tear stained face." You are just like them. Especially at school," she said, before walking back inside. Scott felt wounded, and he knew why. He had screwed up the thing he favoured most. He ruined his relationship with his sister. He vowed to hurt the ones who hurt her, does that mean he should hurt himself? Thoughts like that plagued his mind as he walked up to his bedroom. Was he really that bad a person, that he was alike the people who had hurt Jess?

Scott walked back into school the next day. He had talked to Jess again this morning, and both of them spilled their guts. She admitted everything, how they were bullying her, how she kept it a secret because she didn't want to stir waves. He admitted that even though he like Ray and having a joke, he didn't like the extremes Ray took it to. He never meant to hurt Melissa, it just... happened. They promised each other, that they would tell each other everything from now on, and they would strive to be better people. Scott threw up his hood, walking to his locker. He didn't see the place as the carefree school he used to know. It was bullying hell. Everywhere he looked he saw jerks. He opened his locker, when Ray and the gang came over from tacking another photo to Melissa's locker. He really didn't want to talk to them. Ray tried to say hey, but was dragged away, as Melissa was walking to her locker. Scott shut his locker and went to walk away too as Melissa started crying, but a simple text changed his mind.
Jess
Thanks for listening.
He walked over to the crying girl's locker, ripping off the photo that made her cry again, and tossed it into the trash. She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to hide herself as she faced Scott. He looked at her red face, wishing he could take this back.
" I'm Truly Sorry," he said, and he meant every single word. He apologised profusely, wishing that every apology he made would stop her crying a little less. He was stumbling over his words, he knew Ray was watching, and Melissa smiled. A genuine smile. That one smile, wiped all his concerns about Ray away. He started pulling jokes and striking up conversations with Melissa, and she laughed. He never realised how nice her laugh was. Yes, she wasn't the prettiest girl in the world. But she had other traits that made up for it. Her laugh, her smile, her quirkiness. And that was the type of person he was looking to be friends with to help him get his morals straight. He was Truly Sorry for Hurting Melissa. He was Truly Sorry that he had Let Ray Lead Him Astray. He was Truly Sorry for hurting his baby sister.
He Was Just Sorry.