Remembering Chloe

Chapter 17

**unedited**

Chapter 17

 

May 16

12:56a.m.

 

I took a nervous glance around the cafeteria before following after Natalie. She pushed her way, shoulders and elbows, through the crowd with ease. I, on the other hand, paused before taking each step. The white tiles on the ground were covered in strewn litter and feet, both left and right were piled high with barricades of bodies and in front of me, there was a sea of football players and cheerleaders.

It seemed like the only way out was up. And, as hard as I tried, I most certainly couldn’t sprout a pair of wings and fly away.

A slender hand grabbed out and looped around my forearm. It yanked me forward. I stumbled but was grateful when I saw that I escaped the mass.

“Thanks,” I said.

I couldn’t even make out the door across the room from where Natalie sat and I smiled. No one would be able to find me here. Not Chase, not Samara, and definitely not Brad.

The seat next to Natalie was empty so I sat down slowly, hoping not to alarm anyone at her table. Who knew what kind of terrible things I’d done to anyone there. At first, they each sized me up and then peered back down at their food when they saw that I wasn’t a threat. Like a pack of animals protecting their young. I guess they accepted my presence more than Natalie had at first, but that wasn’t saying much.

I nibbled on my food as the rest of my peers that sat around us eased into a comfortable conversation about their classes and their marks.

It didn’t feel like I could really contribute, you know, so I stayed moderately unmoving and swallowed down little bits of dry bread so that I had an excuse not to speak.

Her friends seemed very nice compared to my own. One boy – I didn’t know his name – was always making jokes even if they weren’t terribly funny. I enjoyed his company though and laughed along even if everyone else told him that he was horrible. This other girl, who sat beside him, would push him on the shoulder every time that he said something stupid. I think she had a crush on him.

My phone buzzed in my pocket and I huffed, dropping the crumbs from between my fingers back onto the plastic wrap. My lips suddenly felt too dry so I licked them, already knowing what I would find.

I pulled it out from my pocket and dropped my jaw open when I saw the screen.

Two missed calls. 7 new messages.

What? How did I miss all of those? I hadn’t even felt my phone vibrate. In math class and all throughout English, it felt like pinpricks in my hips.  

I scrolled down the menu and into my inbox and deleted the messages as quickly as I could. It was sort of embarrassing to have so much attention on me, someone waiting for my forgiveness because they wanted it, needed it. Even if no one else could see it, I still blushed. I wish Ryan would just leave me alone. I needed time to myself; time to breathe, to think.

A whoosh of hot air made my back shudder against my own will. I twitched as I turned my head and came face to face with the boy sitting beside me. He was looking at my phone with a curious expression but quickly turned back to his lunch when I noticed his sandy hair hovering over my shoulder.

“Your boyfriend must really love you a lot,” said Natalie. She took another bite of her sandwich, “if he keeps sending you all those messages.”