"What the-" I jolted upright from my sleep as I felt the slimy sensation of a tongue sliding across my face.
I looked down to see Moose staring up at me with her wide eyes. Her furry face was displaying the pleasure it gave her to taste my morning drool. She licked my hand and nudged me, begging for my undivided attention.
"Thanks for keeping me hygienic," I said with a laugh as I kissed the top of her soft head and scratched behind her right ear.
She hopped onto the couch and curled into a ball by my feet. My mother would kill me if she knew that I had let the dog lie on her luxurious leather couch, but I couldn't care less. As far as I knew, Moose was more of a human than she was.
I noticed a white piece of paper perched on top of the glass coffee table with a blanket folded neatly next to it.
I sat up and reached for the note.
I had to go home. I am glad that your brother is okay. -Mitch
I smiled to myself and looked at the couch across from me to see my brother sleeping peacefully. I didn't know what I would have done if Mitch hadn't helped me last night.
I picked up my iPhone and viewed my lock screen; I had a voicemail from my mother. I pressed play and lifted the cell phone to my ear.
"Hello, Valerie. I am calling to let you know that I am going to be in Portland for a few more days. I'm not exactly sure when I will be home, but I trust you to take care of yourself and your brother. Bye bye now."
I heard the click of the message ending and I sighed with relief. Fortunately, I now had a few days to come up with an explanation for why my brother was suspiciously covered in purple bruises instead of a few hours.
I opened my messages, clicked on Mitch's name, and started typing.
Thank you again for everything. I hope you don't hate me for blackmailing you. :)
I cringed at my message and deleted the last sentence. That was probably a weird thing to say. It was probably best to send a simple 'thank you'.
I hit send and felt a small smile creep onto my cheeks. My mind started to wander to the feeling of his fingers tangled with mine, to the bittersweet sensation of the chilly air vanishing as he put his coat on my shoulders, and to the smell of the kettle corn as I argued with him in the passenger seat of his dirty car.
I was interrupted from my reminiscing thoughts as I felt my phone buzz in my hands. I quickly turned it on, curious to see which snarky remark Mitch had responded with this time.
I miss you.
My breath caught in my throat and my eyebrows lifted. Then I looked at the name on the screen.
The message was not from Mitch, it was from Gabe; I had completely forgotten about him until now.
I brought my hand to my lips and felt the skin where he had kissed me last night. My high school dream had finally come to life, yet I was still having a hard time believing that it was now a reality. Poor Beatrice would be so upset when Gabe broke things off with her.
I messaged him back.
I miss you too.
A few moments later he responded.
I want to talk to you.
I paused and felt my cheeks grow warm.
Me too.
Suddenly, I heard a low moan and looked over to see Alex rolling over; his eyes were open. One of his eyes was more swollen than the other and his lips were still puffy.
"Hey, bud," I said as I hurried to him. I kneeled by his side and put my hand on his head. "How are you feeling?" I asked.
"Like hell," he said with a laugh. "I have this horrible headache."
"I think it's called a hangover, Alex."
He looked down at his hands as he fidgeted with the corner of his blanket. There was a loose thread and he started to tug at it.
"Are you going to tell me what happened?" I asked softly as I moved my hand to rest on his shoulder.
He was silent and continued to fidget with the thread that was slowly unraveling.
"Ale-"
"It's not a big deal Valerie. You don't need to worry." He shrugged my hand off of his arm.
I felt my brow furrow and tried to keep my cool as a surge of anger bursted through me.
"You do not get to do that to me," I said with frustration in my voice. "You do not get to call me late at night, drunk, alone in a park, scared, and brutally beaten just to tell me that I don't need to worry. Because I care about you Alex. And you do not get to tell me that this isn't a big deal."
I took a deep breath as I felt tears well inside my tired eyes.
"You have been here for me through everything, and I am going to be here for you. You do not have the right to push me away."
I sniffled and reached for his hand. I watched as his jaw clenched as he stared at my fingers squeezing his.
After a moment, he looked me in the eye and said, "I went to a party, got drunk, and the next thing I knew I was home."
I looked at him, examining his fragile face, and questioned him.
"Okay... So if you are telling the truth, why have you been skipping soccer practice?"
"I just don't want to go."
"Why don't you want to go?"
"It's none of your business!" He yelled at me, irritated.
"Alex, be honest with me. I want to help you."
"There is nothing you can do."
"Then why are you lying to me?"
His eyes grew fiery and his voice grew shaky. "Why are you treating me like I am the criminal instead of the victim?"
His words hit me hard and I closed my eyes, realizing how rude I was being.
"Alex, I'm sorry I didn't mean t-"
"Just leave it be. I don't know what happened last night, but there is nothing you can do."
I nodded my head and squeezed his hand even tighter.
"You don't believe me, do you?" He said with a bitterness in his voice.
"I do, Alex. I'm just worried," I said as I reached toward his face and brushed his hair away from his eyes. "I am going to make you some food. Okay?"
He nodded silently as I stood and headed toward the kitchen. My thoughts were whirling in my head and I didn't know what to think about the situation. But there was one thing that I was completely sure about.
I didn't believe him. Not even for a second.
~~~
"Please tell me this is not actually happening and that you are just pulling some sort of mean prank on me," Riley said.
It was Monday morning and we were both sitting in the cafe like we always did before school. Except this time, there was no Beatrice.
"I really wish this was a joke, Ri," I said after taking a sip of my dark coffee.
Riley had been silent when I told her how Beatrice was the girl that Gabe had been seeing, and I could tell that she was shocked just like I was. Beatrice hadn't told her either.
"This must be some sort of misunderstanding. Bea would never intentionally try to hurt you. You two have been each other's support system for so long," Riley suggested.
I looked over at the empty wooden chair that Beatrice usually sat in. She had always been so loving to me, and had helped me through the hardest times of my life. We always fought, but it was often because of how honest and opinionated we both were. None of our arguments had ever been based off of lies and dishonesty. She knew all of my deepest secrets and had cared for me even when she saw me at my worst. Except she didn't know one secret; one that I had never told anyone.
"Did you hear me?" asked Riley.
I looked up from the chair and into Riley's eyes.
"No. I am sorry, I was just thinking," I apologized.
"I asked if you think that you can fix this," she said, her face growing serious.
"What do you mean fix this?" I questioned, my brow furrowing. "This is not my fault."
Riley shifted in her chair and leaned forward.
"I am not saying that this is your fault, but no matter whose fault it is, it needs to be fixed." She folded her hands together in her lap and leaned back. "I love both of you dearly, but I can't take sides. To me, our friendship matters more than any boy, Val. If you feel the same way, you both will forget about Gabe and make amends."
The clanking of the dishes and the soft murmur of the customer's voices echoed in my head along with her words. Part of me understood exactly what she was saying, but the other part of me felt that it was unfair. Why did I have to give up something that I had wanted for years when I finally had a chance? Beatrice had betrayed my trust.
Was that a friendship worth saving?
"I don't know if I can do that," I whispered.
Riley looked at me, her lips slightly pursed, and sighed.
"You're just going to have to choose what's most important to you," she said as she stood up and placed her tip on the table. "I'll see you in first period."
And with that, she exited the coffee shop, leaving the silver bell on the door jingling.
I let out a big breath of air and rested my head in my hands. I looked down at my neatly-ironed black skirt and my ruffled red blouse. I replayed Bea's words in my head.
"You get everything you want. Not everyone has parents that treat them like a princess."
I took a deep breath as I felt my eyes start to water.
"You're Little Miss Perfect."
Was I really so 'perfect' that people hated me for it?
~~~
I flinched at the sound of the metal locker door slamming. I continued to tie my tennis shoes as Beatrice stomped away from her locker next to mine with all of her belonging piled in her arms. I watched as she opened another one across the room and violently shoved her gym bag inside. She dramatically stripped herself from her clothing and began to change angrily. One might think that 'angrily' is a strange way to describe someone changing, but that is exactly how she was doing it.
I looked over at Riley and she gestured for me to go talk to her.
I mouthed the word "No" to her, but she gave me a nasty look and so I threw my hands up in surrender.
I hadn't decided what I was going to do yet. Riley's words had really struck me, and I felt like losing a friendship over a boy was a really dark road to travel down. Unfortunately, I also kept thinking of the way Gabe had kissed me and how amazing it had felt when he had told me that he wanted to be with me.
I shook away my thoughts of Gabe and I walked over to Bea, who was now tying her shoes.
"Hey," I started, "Can we talk?
She refused to look at me and rushed out of the locker room. I followed her out.
"Bea!"
"Don't call me that. Only my friends can call me that," she said with fire on every word.
I caught up to her and grabbed her arm, but she ripped away and turned around. She came close to my face, her eyes watering and her shoulders quivering.
"Don't touch me ever again," she yelled into my face.
I stood still, my stomach churning. I couldn't do it. I couldn't understand her anger.
"If anyone should be angry it's me. So please just stop this. I just want us to be friends again," I said calmly.
"You don't get to do that," she said. "You don't get to act nice in front of all of these people and make me look like the bad guy," she laughed as she gestured to our classmates who were now watching Beatrice hysterically yelling.
"Bea, sto-"
"I said don't call me that!" She was so close to me now that I could feel her breath on my face. Her cheeks were red, and her eyes were beating into mine.
"Why not?" I whispered weakly. I could feel my heart being crushed as I watched my best friend tear me apart with her words.
She started to smile. Her white teeth shimmered and she scrunched her nose up as she let out a little laugh and leaned even closer to my face.
"Because I hate you."
A/N
Hey guys :) I am sorry that it took me awhile to update. I've been spending so much time editing because I have been getting lots of good feedback due to winning BOTW in @TheAlbinaCommittee. (I highly recommend joining!)
Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment and let me know your opinion on the story.
I know that this chapter isn't as interesting as the other ones, but I still hope that you are excited for me to write the next one!
Comment below whether or not you think that Valerie should try to fix her relationship with Beatrice.