Life of a Mental (No longer writing)

Chapter Seventeen

The second time Riley kissed me, I became sure that he was different- kinder- than Cale.  Cale was a ticking bomb; just a tiny tap could send him into explosion whether it was from anger or passion. When we kissed, it was rough to the core and frigid. His hands were coarse and his actions unsettling.  I knew he wanted me and intended to be gentle, but that’s just not who Cale is. 

From the way Riley cupped my chin in his hand, it became clear he knew what he was doing. The more I thought about him that way, the bigger a strange feeling stirred in my gut. It was a warm, happy, careless emotion that weakened my knees and quickened my heart. It made my face flush and my mind race. I never wanted his grasp on me to end.

But when it finally did, a ding of sorrow travelled through my heart and I instantly wanted to ignore the bell for class to continue kissing him. 

We walked hand in hand into the school. It’s funny that just hours before I was denying any feelings for him, insisting he was simply a friend and now he was...something more, hopefully.

As we entered the classroom together, hushed silences fell over the jittering classroom. All heads turned towards Riley and I. A blush fell across my face as Riley gave my hand a light squeeze.

“Where’s Cale?” A boy, I believe his name was Elliot, called, sitting up.

I sighed. Why do people keep maintaining an interest in my private life? Before I was able to quip a sarcastic remark back to him, Riley interjected, “They broke up.” Riley spoke so simply and straightforward that Elliot, raised his eyebrows with doubt.

“What happened?” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“And you care because...?” I snapped quickly.

Elliot shrugged. “When a couple like Cale and you, break it off, people wanna know why. I always reckoned you’d tie the knot- or get knocked up first.”

Riley, saving me from responding once more, answered, “It’s none of your business.“

“Woah, the new kid’s speaking! Get that shiner from Cale?” Elliot jabbed. The rest of the class snickered behind their hands.

Riley smirked.“ You should see how fucked up his face is.”

Elliot snorted, covering his mouth with his large hand.“ Yeah, sure that’s how it went down.”

Without a verbal response, I rolled my eyes and ignored that last comment. I wanted nothing more than to march up to him and slap him so hard, he would carry my mark upon his face for several weeks after.

I took my usual seat in the back of the class and dumped my notebook on the desk.  Riley followed me with a smirk on his face. Shooting him a questioning look, he nodded to Elliot and whispered, ”I didn’t respond how he wanted me to”.  I nodded my head in understanding; people enjoy nothing more than getting a rise out of others.

History, like usual, numbed my mind as I wrote several lines of class notes in total.  I knew I should have paid more attention, but I couldn’t help it; I just didn’t care that much about the Russian Revolution and whether or not the Tsar lived or died.

My mind was too focused on not crying. I thought I was finally finished with all the crap that Cale dealt but I guess not. He still had me under his thumb just from the simple idea that I would break up with him and shock the whole school. 

When the bell finally rang, I darted out of my last class, too eager to be finished with school for the day.  I didn’t even wait for Riley as I tried to keep the tears contained.  I was nearly successful except for the small little buggers in the corner of my eyes that slipped out. I quickly wiped them away before anybody could see. If anybody had saw me crying, I think I could have slipped further down.