On Wednesday morning, I woke up really early. Asher had caught a cold from somewhere, nothing too serious, but he had a stuffed up nose and had snored the whole night. I'd spent hours staring at the ceiling, listening to his heavy breathing as my mind replayed events from the previous week. Kane. The laughter, and the lightheartedness. Then, that awful scene the last time I'd seen him. I kept thinking about it all, and the letter I'd received yesterday hadn't helped matters. It was a short notice, saying that I had to appear before a magistrate next week. Mom was really anxious about it, and it made me anxious too.
On the positive side, it did distract me from thoughts of Kane. Mom had been very sympathetic when I'd spilled the whole ugly story, but she'd also been very much on Kane's side.
"He's right, don't you think? He is too old for you," she'd said, patting me on the arm.
Feeling miffed and very patronized, I'd pulled away from her.
She was fast asleep on the couch now, as I tiptoed into the living room. I glanced at the time and saw that it was six in the morning. Great. I was up a whole hour earlier than I needed to be, and there was zero chance of me falling back to sleep.
I grabbed a pair of shorts, and a shirt that was actually Mom's, and headed to the bathroom. She'd been so busy, she hadn't gotten the chance to go to the Laundromat. So I was very limited on what I had to wear.
I shut the bathroom door behind me quietly, and turned the shower on. The water took a minute to warm up, and when it did, I stripped off my clothes and got in. I always had quick showers in this apartment. Although the bathroom was clean – after Mom had scrubbed it top to bottom – the bathtub and sink were a disgusting green color. There were missing tiles on the floor, the mirror on the wall had a big crack in it, and the fluorescent lighting was harsh. I used to love having long, relaxing bubble baths at home. I couldn't imagine doing that here.
About ten minutes later, when I was barely halfway done with my shower, the warm water suddenly turned freezing cold.
"Shit," I swore, jumping back. Shit. Shit. Shit. I waited several moments, hoping that the water would turn warm again.
It didn't. And I still had shampoo in my hair. Shit.
It took a minute for me to work up the nerve to step under the freezing spray, and when I did, I shuddered violently. God, I hated this bathroom. I hated this apartment. And I absolutely hated my life right then. Stupid tears gathered in my eyes as I rinsed the shampoo out of my hair as quickly as possible.
I was shivering by the time I got out of the shower, using a scratchy towel to dry off as quickly as possible. I was freezing. After pulling on my clothes, I hurried out of the bathroom.
Mom was sitting up on the sofa, yawning. "You're up early, sweetheart. Have a nice shower?"
"No," I said, curtly. "The hot water cut off after a few minutes."
"Did it?" Mom asked, looking worried. "I heard some of the neighbours complaining about it yesterday. I hope there isn't something wrong with the boiler system."
She got up from her makeshift bed, and walked into the bathroom. I climbed into her blankets, sighing as I slipped into the warmth her body heat had left behind. With a final shiver, I curled up there.
Mom shook her head when she stepped out of the bathroom five minutes later. "You're right. The water's absolutely frigid. I didn't even want to wash my face with it, let alone have a shower. I'll have to call the building manager." She looked at me, miserable on the couch. "My poor baby. Things haven't been too great for you lately, have they?" She kissed me on the forehead, smoothing the wet curls away from my face. "I don't want you to worry about the magistrates next week. I talked to Thomas about it."
"Who's Thomas?" I asked, stupefied.
"Mr. Coleman. And he, ah, assured me that since this is your first time getting cited, it'll be a clear and cut case. You won't get charged."
"You spoke to him about me?" As far as I knew, he still had no idea she was a single mom with three kids.
"Well, I didn't say who it was. I just made out like I knew someone in this situation," Mom said, rubbing her head with a troubled look on her face. With a sigh, she heaved herself up. "I should start getting ready for the day."
We didn't have a closet, so all our clothes were in a corner of the room in bags and boxes. She rummaged for something to wear, and turned on the iron. I watched, not wanting to get up from the blankets. I was sleep-deprived and cold, hoping the water would get fixed soon, and wondering how long Mom had been calling Mr. Coleman Thomas.
School was... irksome. We were given another essay to do for English lit. I was sick of the peanut butter sandwiches Mom made me for lunch everyday. And Finn and Bella were nauseating to be around.
By the time I arrived at Grenward for my weekly class, I was in an awful mood. The only thing that would make matters worse was if I bumped into Kane. I did not want to see him, and hoped he wasn't on campus today.
Once inside, I shoved my backpack on the floor and took my usual seat. In my preoccupation, it took a minute for me to realize that there was a strange buzz in the air. Students were standing around in clusters, engaged in hushed conversation.
Adam, a quiet guy with green hair, took his usual seat next to me. "Have you heard what happened? About Shannon? It's so sad. I can't believe it."
I shook my head, frowning. "No. What's going on?"
His eyes were solemn. "She died last night. Heroin overdose."
I froze in shock. It couldn't be true. I'd just seen her last week. We'd spoken about... God, what had we spoken about? I couldn't remember. I'd gotten swept away by Kane.
"I had no idea," I whispered, my throat tightening. I hadn't really known her, she was just a girl in my class... but it was still so sad. She was dead. And she overdosed? She was so young, and so talented. Her photography had been amazing. And now she was gone. "I... I can't believe it."
"They don't think it was on purpose," he informed me. "My mate, Sarah, was there. It happened at some party. It happened last week, too, didn't it? Man, I hope this isn't a repeat of last year. Several kids died from bad heroin then."
I was really quiet after that. Class passed by in a blur, though I was vaguely aware of the professor leading a minute of silence for Shannon, and telling us to keep an eye out in our inboxes for an obligatory Drug Prevention class that we would be expected to take. I felt too sad, too shocked about Shannon to focus. The girl at the party last week had been a nameless, faceless person. But I'd known Shannon, so her death was hitting me harder. I couldn't believe she'd overdosed on heroin. She didn't seem like the type, but then again, what did I know?
As I left the building two hours later, I saw Kane across the lawn with a group of people. Crap. I put my head down and picked up my pace a little, as I carried on walking towards Mom's car.
"Zoe," he called out, making me pause. He walked away from his friends, his eyes unsure as he approached. It had been three days since I last saw him, and the sight of him knocked the breath out of me. He had on a black hoodie that clung to his muscles and highlighted the breadth of his shoulders. The hickey on his neck was fading, but still visible, and I wondered how he'd explained it away. His eyes... his gorgeous green eyes were dark and flickered with something I couldn't name. "I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry. I heard about that girl, Shannon. Was she a friend of yours?"
I was confused for a second, but then remembered that he'd seen me talking to her last week before we'd gone to get coffee.
"We had class together, but honestly, I didn't know her all that well," I told him, a little disappointed that he hadn't sought me out for another reason.
He looked relieved for some reason. "Oh, well, I'm still sorry about it." His eyes moved over my face before flickering away. "Anyways, I should go. I just didn't want to not say anything."
That was it? My disappointment grew.
"Fine. Okay, bye," I said, not really looking at him.
He paused. "Zoe, I..."
Hearing something in his voice, I looked up. "What?"
He rubbed the back of his head, the hoodie stretching against his broad shoulder. Then he exhaled, looking frustrated. "Nothing. I'm sorry. I'll go. See you around."
He walked back to his friends, one of them, a redhead with long hair tied back into a man-bun, glanced over at me. He looked familiar, but I couldn't place him.
I looked away from them and carried on walking to the car, feeling confused and more than a little alone. I missed the easiness, the connection, and the heat between us. I didn't think we'd ever get it back.
A/N:
It's a shorter chapter this week as I've been very busy. Hopefully the next chapter will be longer! Please don't forget to comment and let me know your thoughts. :)