Oblivious to Him - Part II

Chapter 21 - Who Knew?

I stood there, watching her watch the clip, trying to figure out what she was thinking. Her face hasn't moved in over 3 minutes; I was beginning to worry I broke her. When the clip finished, she looked back up at me, face completely void of expression. 

Without explanation, she walked closer to me, and I flinched, thinking I was about to get slapped in the face or something. Then I heard the click of the lock again, and my head snapped back up to look at Brynn. 

One second she was a statue, and the next, she was slumped against the wall, slowly crumpling to the floor. With tears beginning to stream down her tan face, she replayed the clip and skipped ahead to the part where Austin and Sarah started talking. 

I stood there silently, unsure if I should console her or leave, but she had my phone, and I wouldn't know how to get it back from her. When she replayed the clip a third time, I made up my mind. Bending down, I gently pried my phone from her manicured grasp and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. 

"You've probably watched it enough," I sighed, fully committing to the moment by sitting down on the floor in front of her. 

She hadn't looked up at me yet, but I could see the mascara running down her face, covering her red cheeks in the process. 

Right before I thought I couldn't take the tear-filled silence any longer, Brynn whispered, "how could he?"

I didn't know how to respond, so I stayed quiet. 

She looked up at me, eyes rimmed with red, "where did you get that video?"

"My friend Mia and I took it yesterday while we were at the park." There was no way I was admitted to the fact that we stalked Austin to get it. 

"Yesterday?" she questioned. I nodded my head. 

"And did you show it to anyone else?" she asked.

I shook my head no. 

She nodded, nibbling on the bottom of her lip, deep in thought. 

I stood up and grabbed a handful of paper towels before joining her back on the floor. Handing her a couple, I motioned to my cheeks, "you've got a little, uh."

"Thanks," she squeaked, trying to wipe away the streams of black ink without luck. 

"Sorry," I took a breath. 

"For what?" she huffed. 

"Well, showing you the video without any warning," I shrugged my shoulders, "and running into you at the coffee shop on picture day."

A look of recognition flashed across her face, and she stared at me. "I should be the one saying sorry," she finally broke the silence. 

"I'm just so lost," she muttered, tucking her legs into her chest and resting her chin on her knees. I didn't have to respond before she continued, "I hate myself," she whispered, "I hate the person I've become. And I really, really hate Austin for doing that to me." 

Her sad hazel doe eyes met mine, and she grimaced, "I should be the one apologizing. Not just to you either, but like, the entire school." She looked me over and asked, "you're new here, right?"

I nodded my head. 

"Well, just so you know, I didn't always use to act like, well, let's face it, a complete bitch," she chuckled sadly. 

"Then why do you?" I questioned, handing her a few more paper towels at the sight of more tears beginning to fall. 

"Ugh," she grunted, "For so many stupid reasons, I'm almost too ashamed to admit out loud," she looked at me. "But, I think I'm done."