Moonlight

Chapter 11 (Missing Pieces)

I decided to skip school the next day. My parents told me I didn't look well and that I should take a day off--and of course I did not argue.

After they left for work that morning I had the house to myself. Being alone with my thoughts is dangerous, so I decided to distract myself by watching tv and cleaning around the house. Around noon I became bored with the show I was watching and I had already cleaned so much that there was practically nothing left to clean up. I didn't want to go lay down on my bed and cry more. That was the last thing I wanted to do, but of course that's what I ended up doing anyways.

I thought all the crying I did last night took all of the pain and sorrow away, but I was wrong. It felt like there was a piece of me missing--like a hole was carved into my heart. Malum and I should have never become so close if he was just going to toss me aside for someone else. He didn't even want to be friends anymore. I thought he and I could try to at least continue our friendship, but I knew that wouldn't work out for either of us. My feelings for him had become too strong. I have never been romantically in love with anyone before, and if this is what love feels like then I don't want it.

Malum left me. The end. I need to get over this heartache, I need to get over him. My emotions are something I try to keep hidden and that wasn't working well at the moment.

I continued to lay in my bed and let my tears flow for a few hours until I noticed the sun setting outside. Did I really spend half of the day crying? Jeez, what a waste of a day. Maybe if I went back to school tomorrow things would become easier. I wouldn't have time to dwell on these negative emotions if I gave my classes my undivided attention. That sounded like a good idea.

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My plan failed. I was sitting in my History class and I still had not removed Malum from my thoughts. The worst part was, he wasn't even in school today. You would think if the object of my torment wasn't present it would make my pain dwindle, but that was not happening.

I let out a light groan. I didn't want to be here--what was I thinking coming to school today? My body was weak and mentally I was feeling weak as well. I hadn't eaten since Monday morning and my stomach kept growling. How annoying. Lunch was only two more hours away, I know I can starve myself a little longer until then.

After History class was finished I began walking towards my locker, trying to kill as much time as I could before my next class began.

The combination of my locker was laughably easy. "Turn the lock clockwise until you reach 1, then turn counter clockwise until you reach 2, then clockwise again until you reach 3." What a joke. My locker opened and I saw something fall onto the floor.

It was a piece of paper in the shape of a square. I picked it up and realized it wasn't paper, it was a polaroid photo. I flipped it over to reveal the image on the front. What I saw made me want to scream and cry at the same time.

Malum and I were sitting in chairs, laughing, under a bright starry sky. This was taken at the Halloween party. I was even wearing his coat in this picture. What the hell was going on? Who took this photo? Why did they take this photo? Was someone stalking me--or him? This didn't make sense.

There was a tap on my shoulder and I jumped. Damn it that scared me. I quickly shoved the polaroid into my pocket and turned around. Katy was standing there with a slight smile on her face.

"Hey Grace, how are you feeling? I noticed you weren't at school yesterday. Did you have a cold or something"?

Like Autumn, Katy was one of my kinder friends. I wish that I could spend more time with her since she is always so caring about everyone. If only I cared that much about other people, then maybe I would be able to focus on someone else instead of Malum.