Tainted Love | ✓

Chapter Twenty-Four

be enough for yourself first

the rest of the world can wait

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　-: ✧ :-゜・．

AS SOON AS I WALKED IN, HUSHED WHISPERS SPREAD LIKE A WILDFIRE.

Never before had I ever felt so self-conscious in my life as I did then. The corridor seemed narrower than it had before as I walked down at a slow pace - Toby at my side. He appeared like my bodyguard, sending a glare to anyone who dared even look at me. However, I knew why they were looking and what they were most likely thinking. The video had been circling around our small town all weekend, most people in disbelief.

"I wonder what she had been wearing."

"She was probably drunk and doesn't even remember it. Who cares?"

"She's obviously lying - Tyler wouldn't ever do that."

"She doesn't even have any proof."

"Look at her - she obviously enjoyed it and just wants her fifteen minutes of fame. What a disgusting bitch."

Cheeks flaming in embarrassment and shame, my head angled itself towards the ground. I couldn't bear listening to their murmurs - speaking low enough to make it seem like they were trying to be secretive, but just loud enough that I could hear. From the window, millions of droplets of rain fell from the sky, the wind howling in a low pitch as it almost tried to get inside. The main doors were rattling and banging - threatening to burst open any second. In the past few days, the air had gotten noticeably icy, with no break in the grayness of the sky above.

However, with a quick glace, Toby's face was reaching a dangerous shade of purple - nostrils flaring. I knew it would only be a matter of seconds before he blew up. With a gentle touch, I reached over and laid my hand on his forearm.

"Breathe," I whispered, "You look like you're about to explode."

"I'm one second away from letting rip into these assholes," he muttered, his voice dark in rage.

"Just ignore them," I pleaded with him, "It's not worth it, Tobes."

"Trust me, it'll be worth it and it'll make me feel better too," he countered with a scoff.

Everyone cleared the path for us - parting like the sea. Yet, they all stood on my left and right, shamelessly staring right at me. My skin crawled like there were thousands of mini bugs on top of me. I tried my hardest to keep my face composed and expressionless, but the squeezing and thundering beat of my heart and the trembling of my hand made it hard to do so.

However, I froze when we strolled towards my locker. There, in red, bold block letters were dozens of insults gratified over the metal. My body felt paralyzed while my eyes gazed over all the words - written by those around me - not giving a second thought to what their words could do to someone. There was a sinking feeling in my heart and it made me question whether or not some of these were true.

"You're ruining his life."

"Liar!"

"She was always flirting and teasing him. What did she expect?"

"Slut."

"Attention seeker."

"Ugly bitch."

And with the thought that it couldn't get any worse than this, my phone began buzzing in my pocket. Toby's attention was immediately snapped over to the illuminating screen, only to see dozens of messages flooding in on my social media pages. There wasn't even a second of a pause, as seemingly hundreds of messages flooded in - some glimpses of names I recognized, while others were completely unknown to me. Somehow, I felt too sad to cry out or wail - instead I just stood there, as still as a statue, while message after message poured in.