Once again, I am sorry this update took so long. It's really just been a really crappy month. Probably the only good thing about this month was my daughter turned one. Anyway, here it is though. Enjoy and let me know what you think!
Coach Fowler, the gym coach, excused me from gym early when he found out that I was sick and throwing up. I ran to the nearest bathroom, trying to hold it in until I reached a toilet or a trash can. He insisted that I go to see the nurse. I left the gym, but I didn't go to see the nurse- I didn't need to. I knew what was wrong and if I went to the nurse, she would just want me to go home and rest which wouldn't actually help me any.
I went ahead and walked to my next class. I figured that Miss Paisley wouldn't mind me being early. I sighed as I got closer to the door. How am I going to face this woman, knowing that she knows about us and wants revenge, I thought to myself. I stopped myself dead in my tracks, just before reaching the door. I could hear two voices, a male and a female. I recognized the voices although I couldn't make out every word. But what I could make out felt like a knife through my heart.
"You loved me once, Vincent," I heard Miss Paisley say. Her words rang loud and clear and they repeated over and over in my head.
I remembered back when I asked Vincent if he loved her, he told me NO! Why? Why did he lie to me? I know that it shouldn't matter that he loved her, and it's not so much the fact that he did that hurts. It's the fact that he lied! He lied to me!
"...I really did love you..." I heard somebody say.
My head hurt so much, I couldn't tell who it was that had said it. I gathered up the courage to walk in there. I stood there in the door frame for a moment. I wanted SO BADLY to shout at them, but I felt as if I was paralyzed. Miss Paisley turned around and her eyes seemed to get huge when she saw me. Vincent then turned around and looked at me in shock.
I knew why they seemed so surprised to see me. I wasn't meant to hear that conversation. I didn't hear much of it, but I heard enough.
"Arielle, what are you doing here," he asked me in a nervous tone.
Again, I wanted to speak but couldn't. Tears began to stream down my face. When my body finally decided to cooperate, I ran. I took off as fast as I could and ran into an empty classroom. The only things in there were a few cabinets, stacked up desks and chairs, and boxes. I crouched down beside some boxes and let myself cry. I heard the door open and someone walked in. I tried my best to muffle the sound of my sobs, the last thing I wanted right now was for someone to find me like this.
I didn't do a very good job at muffling the sound and I knew they heard me, so I hid my face in my arms so that they at least would not see that. I heard the foot steps maneuver around the room, making their way through the boxes and desks until finally they were standing right beside me. I still didn't know who it was, I didn't have the courage to look up and I was too embarrassed.
"Arielle..." I heard a soft female voice say. It was soothing and somehow familiar. Whoever it was, she got down on her knees beside me and spoke to me again. "Arielle...it's okay. You can look at me."
Finally, it clicked. But, no! That voice couldn't belong to HER!? It was soft...and kind...
I forced myself to look at her and I was right. It was her!
"I know...you must hate me..." she said.
"I...I..." I couldn't think of what to say. And I didn't know if I really HATED her, but I knew I certainly didn't like her. "Why? Why are you so mean?"
She sighed and sat beside me. "I don't mean to be," she answered. "My whole life, people had always had high expectations of me, so I expect the same." She paused for a moment and looked me in the eyes and smiled. "I don't know if you believe me or not, but I really do believe that you are a special girl. You're not like most teenage brats. You have a good head on your shoulders and a great taste in men." She winked as she said that last part. "And dispite what you think, it wasn't me that wrote the note. I don't like the thought of Vincent being in love with someone else, but if you make him happy then I'm okay with that because I DO love him and that's what I want for him. Besides, I don't want to be with someone if they are thinking of someone else."
I wiped the tears away and smiled at her. "I'm glad it's not you, Miss Paisley," I said and she smiled again at me.
She then looked confused as she thought back for a moment. "So, why did you run off in tears?"
I hugged my knees to my chest. Should I tell her what he said, I thought to myself. I had learned to trust people, but it was still difficult for me, and up until now she had always been so mean. I thought for a moment, going back in forth in my mind about if I should tell her or not.
"He said he didn't love you," I said plainly.
"Yeah, I know he doesn't," she said, appathetically, "he's in love wi..."
"NO," I almost shouted, cutting her off. "He told me a while back that you two used to be together and when I asked if he loved you, he said no. HE LIED TO ME!"
Miss Paisley looked taken aback by my words.
"Wh- What are you talking about?" She asked me.
"I heard you two talking," I told her, coldly.
She gave me an aloof smile, "You didn't hear everything did you?" It sounded more like a statement rather than a question, but I shook my head anyway. "He said he THOUGHT he loved me back then, it hurt actually, but i'm glad he told me."
He THOUGHT he loved her, I thought to myself, What if he only THINKS he loves me?
Miss Paisley seemed to pick up on my thoughts and she gave me a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Arielle. He's in love with you. Anyone who knows about you two could tell."
At first, those words were comforting and made me really smile for a moment, but then I was reminded that there was still someone else who knew about us.
"How about dinner?" She said suddenly, distracting me from my nightmarish thoughts.
I looked at her for a moment. Anger briefly took over as I thought how it would be fine for me to have dinner with her, but if I was caught with Vincent all Hell would break loose.
"As a peace offering," she said, again interrupting my thoughts.
"That sounds...nice," I said to her just as my stomach rumbled. I was starving.
She stood up and smiled, then she held out a hand to help me up.
"You're heavier than you look," she grunted as she pulled me to my feet.
"Thanks," I muttered distastefully.
She basically just called me fat! I took in a deep breath and calmed myself. I'm not fat! I told myself. Sure I had gained a pound here and there due to my crazy appetite, but that wasn't my fault.
...Ok
...Maybe that WAS my fault.
Eventually, I just shrugged it off and I walked with her to class. The bells had already rung and when we walked into the room Vincent was gone and the students were already in their seats.
"Miss Fischer, you may go ahead and take your seat," she said as soon as we had walked into the room.
I took my usual seat beside Meg and instantly noticed the scowl on her face. She was shooting death glares at Miss Paisley. I gave her a gentle nudge with my elbow and just shook my head when she looked at me, she responded with a confused expression.
"It's not her," I whispered.
As I whispered, Miss Paisley looked in our direction. She had caught us whispering but didn't even so much as scold us for it. I guess she knew what it was about. But still- it was weird not being called out when she had caught us.
When class finally ended everybody seemed to be relieved- we had made it through the whole class with out her handing out a single detention!
"I'll catch up with you later," I told Meg as we parted ways.
"You sure you don't need a ride home, Arie," she asked me a second time.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," I said, waving her off.
I turned around and walked back in the room. Miss Paisley was sat at her desk, looking at some papers.
"Why don't you have a seat, Arielle, and study for a few minutes while I finish up here," she instructed, not even glancing up from her work.
Just as I had sat down, Danny walked in with an annoyed look, but when he saw me, he looked surprised.
"Mr. Holt, I've decided to let you off the hook for today," she said, this time she looked up from the papers and she gave him a stern look. "Next time, please be a little more cautious with your words. Do you understand?"
He looked baffled at what she had just told him. "O-kay..." He said cautiously.
She gave him a quick smile before excusing him. He still looked like he didn't believe her as he slowly walked away, giving me one last glance before completely leaving.
Miss Paisley packed a stack of papers in a folder and placed it on her tote bag and pulled her cell phone out. I heard the clicking and clacking tones of texting, but I had no idea who it was she was texting or what it was about- which reminded me!
I quickly pulled my cell phone out to check it. I had message after message after message. All from Vincent.
What's wrong?
Where are you at?
Are you okay?
Arielle?
Please answer me. I need to know if you're okay.
I hadn't noticed any of his messages because I usually kept my phone on silent when I was in school.
I'm fine now. I answered back.
I just misunderstood some of the things I overheard you and Miss Paisley talking about. I sent quickly after the first message.
After a few minutes, he replied back.
Okay. I'm glad you're alright. Do you want to talk about any of it? -Vincent
Later. -Arielle
Okay then. -Vincent
"You ready to go?" Miss Paisley asked me as she slid her phone into her purse.
I quickly stood up and smiled. "Ready," I confirmed. I was absolutely starving at this point.
We walked to her truck, a 2009 black Dodge Ram- extended cab, and she pulled out of the parking lot. It was awkward to say the least. This was the second teacher I had ever been alone in a vehicle with. But no one would think anything about this. THIS is acceptable!
We had been driving for about 30 minutes when my stomach growled.
"How much farther?" I asked hungrily.
"About ten more minutes," she said with a smile.
"Where are we going anyway," I wondered out loud by mistake.
"It's a sushi bar," she answered.
SUSHI? I cant eat sushi! I thought to myself. I mean, yeah, I really, REALLY liked it- but sushi is a no-no when you're pregnant. The mercury, the bacteria, just everything.
"Do they serve anything other than sushi?" I questioned her, trying my best not to sound picky or anything.
"You don't like sushi?" she said sounding surprised.
"I...well...not particularly," I lied- to which she replied with a "Hmm.."
"Well, they do have teriyaki chicken and steamed vegetables and things like that," she said as we pulled up to the place.
We walked in and took a seat at a booth in an corner. Most of the people were at the bar or at the high tables. I could here the Japanese music playing quietly- I listened carefully to see if I could recognize any of the words- I watched tons of anime and sometimes I could pick up on the words and what they meant. It was hard to understand the music though as it was too quiet and the voices of the other people in the restaurant made it even more difficult.
"May I start you ladies with something to drink?" The waitress who had walked up to our table asked.
She was beautiful and pretty young too. Her hair was very long and black and her makeup was beautiful.
"I'll have a tea," Miss Paisley said.
The waitress turned to me, "Uh...water please."
"Got it," she said with a smile. "Would you like to go ahead and order?"
"Could you give us a few minutes, please," Miss Paisley requested in a kind tone.
"Of course," our waitress said with a smile and turned to walk away.
Miss Paisley quickly pulled out her phone and began texting someone. She had an irritated expression on her face. Soon whoever it was had texted back and she smiled. She sent them a quick text back and then stood up.
"I'll be back, I have to go take care of something," she said as she grabbed her purse.
"Oh...ok," I said as she left. I had a funny feeling in my stomach- not due to being pregnant though. I just felt like something was going to happen.
I sat there for a while, waiting for her to come back. Finally, I heard foot steps behind me and I assumed it was her.
Nope...
This was why I had a weird feeling.
"Excuse me ma'am," I heard him say. "But may I join you?"
My heart pounded and my face got red as I turned to face him.
"Of course," I said excitedly.
Vincent smiled at me and took a seat beside me.
Did you like it. Let new know in the comments below. :)