C H A P T E R T H I R T Y
Kelsey's P.O.V.
I felt like I wanted to kick myself a thousand times.
I can't even believe what I had said to Zach hours earlier and I wish I could take it all back, but I can't. Fighting back the tears that welled up in my eyes, I opened the front door of my house, reluctantly stepping inside. I dropped my backpack onto the floor as I headed towards my room.
"Hey Kelsey," my dad exclaimed when I walking past the living room. "How was school?"
"It was okay," I lied, not wanting to start a conversation. Of course I wasn't okay. I'm not okay at all.
"Kelsey, what's wrong?" he inquired, clearly noticing the regret in my eyes.
I turned towards him, careful to not reveal any of the emotion I felt. "Nothing, I'm fine."
"You sure..?" he wanted to clarify.
"I'm fine," I retorted sharply before retreating to my room.
I plopped myself down on my bed, covering my face with my pillow, and screamed into it as hard as I could. If I could take back one thing in my lifetime, it'd be becoming friends with Amelia since she completely ruined everything.
No, wait.
That wasn't her...
It's my fault since I told Zach's secret to the largest blabbermouth in the whole state of New York: my mother.
I could feel a countless number of tears cascade down my face at an alarming rate and I didn't even try to wipe them away. They just kept coming and I let them. All of this was my fault, and I can't take anything back. I could feel my face heat up into a brilliant red as I sobbed into my pillow, wishing I could turn back time and set things right.
After I don't even know how long, I heard a knock at the door. I let out a small groan, clearly wanting to be left in peace. I don't want anyone, including my parents, to see me like this.
"Kelsey, are you okay?" my mom asked gently from the other side.
"I'm fine..," I replied, my voice trembling to a great extent.
"No, you're not," she stated while cracking the door open a little, peeking inside. "I can hear you crying from across the house."
"Fine, I'm not okay..," I admitted while sitting upright on my bed, wiping my eyes gently. "I'm most definitely not okay."
"What's wrong?" she inquired while cautiously entering my room, approaching me.
"I don't want to talk about it," I responded with bluntness in my voice. "Please.."
"I want to know what's going on," my mom retorted while taking a seat next to me. "What is it?"
I let out a sigh, clearly not wanting to talk, but since she was practically forcing me to, I had to say something. "Zach and I got into a fight," I reluctantly replied, wiping yet another tear from my face.
"I'm sorry," she said with compassion in her voice. "May I ask what about?"
"Zach's backstory got leaked and now everyone knows and makes fun of him for it," I answered, leaving out how it got spread around. "I think Zach hates me."
"I'm sure he doesn't," she replied while putting a comforting hand on my shoulder.
"He trusted me.," I sighed while laying back down on the bed. "And I let him down...."
"I'm sure you-"
"I told you, now please, leave me alone," I interrupted while covering my face with my pillow again.
I heard her try to say something, but stop as she got up and seemed to walk away. Upon hearing the door close a moment later, the tears returned and they weren't going to stop any time soon.
~•~•~
"Kelsey, why don't you get out of bed?" my dad asked. "It's three in the afternoon and you've been in there for twenty three hours at the least."
"I'm not coming out," I snapped, my head still underneath the pillow.
I've made the decision that I'm spending the weekend in my room and nothing's going to get me to come out.
"I've got caramel popcorn and cookie dough ice cream."
Well, almost nothing.
I hesitantly exited my room, burying myself in my hoodie. My hair was a complete wreck, but I didn't care one bit. My eyes were completely bloodshot and wet from crying all night. I've never felt so horrible in my entire life. Everything is my fault, and I regret it 100%.
"Have you been sulking all night?" my dad inquired, eyeing my ragged appearance with a worried expression.
I nodded, not wanting to lie, since I've already messed up enough this weekend. I took a seat at my living room couch after grabbing a bowl of cookie dough ice cream, wanting to hide in my hoodie as I stretched it out, and flipped the hood up.
"You'll get over it soon enough," my mom cut in while sitting next to me on the sofa.
I returned her gaze with a solemn expression. "Don't you see..?" I asked, brokenness in my tone. "This is all my fault and I can't take it back.."
Zach's P.O.V.
"Zach, you have to come out sometime..," Mom stated with a knock on my door. "You've been in there all weekend and you're not skipping school," she added sternly.
"I thought you were the one who wanted to homeschool me," I retorted as I laid on my bed, face down on my pillow.
"At least come out and say hello to your sister," she prodded from the other side of the door. "She's been alone the whole weekend."
I rolled over onto my back, running my fingers through my hair. "That's why I'm in here," I replied with an expressionless voice. "She's not my real sister, and she told me to get away from her."
I heard a disgusted sigh from the other room as my mom walked away. "You'd better get ready for school," she said. "You get to see your friends."
And I get to see someone who absolutely hates me.
Kelsey.
For the whole weekend, the only thing I've done is stay in my room, not talking to anyone. I only left to get the occasional snack or to use the restroom.
Hayleigh clearly doesn't want anything to do with me, but I still love her. I've known her for her whole life, and she's truly like a real sister to me. Seeing her like this breaks my heart, and knowing that I'm the cause of it makes it even worse.
I groaned as I sat up on my bed, rubbing my eyes. I looked over at my guitar which I hadn't touched in three days since I haven't been in the mood. The last time I played, I was showing Hayleigh how to, and I don't want to think about that one bit.
Upon walking down the stairs, I caught sight of Hayleigh, and she looked me straight in the eyes, quickly turning away when our gazes met. I let out a sigh, making sure I stayed as far away from her as possible.
Even my own sister hates me. Well, she's not my sister, so I wouldn't be surprised if she actually did.
~•~•~
"Is Kelsey here today..?" I asked as I walked down the hallway with Luke.
"I don't know," Luke replied quietly, trying not to upset me. "She probably skipped."
I let out a sigh, knowing that the reason she did was because of me. I put my hands in my sweatshirt pockets as I heard Luke's comforting voice. "You know it's not your fault, right..?"
"It is," I responded bluntly, lowering my gaze to the ground. "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have anything about my past at all."
"You didn't know," Luke reassured as we walked side by side. "Can't there be something to cheer you up?"
"Not really."
"Come on, Zach," he prodded. "Please..?"
"I just don't want to talk about it," I sighed while shaking my head slowly.
Silence thickened between us two like a brick wall. I could still hear the whispers, and rumors about me, and I hated every one of them. Deep down, I know it wasn't Kelsey's fault, but it's hard not to blame one of the only people who knew about my past.
A moment later, someone who I didn't even know stopped me in the hall. Luke stopped too, listening in silence.
"So, Zach, why'd your parents leave you again?" he inquired with a smirk.
I clamped my jaw shut, turning my eyes away as he continued talking. I was trying my hardest not to say something, or doing something even worse:
Crying.
"Were you not good enough?" the person asked, innocence in his voice. "Oh wait, I don't even need to ask that question."
Luke then stepped in front of me, grabbing the unfamiliar person by his shirt collar which pulled him closer. I stayed back, not wanting to get involved because I'd probably ruin that too.
"One more word out of your mouth and you'll regret it," Luke threatened, his eyes staring deeply into his opponent's. "Leave him alone, he's done nothing to you."
Luke let go of the guy's shirt collar and he didn't hesitate to walk away in silence. I unleashed a quiet groan, my expression unable to interpret.
"You okay?" Luke inquired, a compassionate look on his face.
"I guess I'll have to pretend I am..," I replied quietly, but then added, "Thanks, Luke.."
"It's what I'm here for, isn't it?" he exclaimed with honest eyes. "It's not a problem."
I exchanged his expression with a small smile, not genuine, but it was something. Both of us made our way towards the lunchroom, not speaking a word as we passed people in the hallway Of course, I heard even more rumors.
"Don't listen to them..," Luke encouraged me as he noticed my expression of regret.
"It's quite difficult to when I hear it everywhere," I retorted sadly as we entered the cafeteria.
Like normal, there were people absolutely everywhere in that large room, and I lowered my field of vision, honestly wishing I could be blind again so I wouldn't have to look at everyone's taunting looks.
It didn't take us long to bump into Marco, who walked alongside us to our usual table in the back of the room.
"What's with all these rumors about you, Zach..?" asked Marco as Luke and I approached.
"Nothing," I replied, not wanting to say any more. "Don't worry about it."
"Are they true..?"
I paused, wondering if I should answer that question or not.
"We're not here to judge," continued Marco with a comforting look.
I let out another sigh as I responded honestly, "Yes, they're all true. Every single one of them."
"I'm sorry, Zach..," he replied, probably not knowing what to say.
"Don't worry about it," I replied with a fake smile. "I'm fine."
But I'm not fine.
I'm anything but fine. In fact, I'm way worse than simply being not fine.
I'm absolutely terrible.
The three of us sat down at our normal table in the back as my mind quickly wandered into thought. I realized that I hadn't seen Jonathan all day, or his friends for that matter.
Weird.
"Has anyone seen Jonathan today?" I inquired, reflecting my own thoughts.
"No, I haven't," Luke answered with a confused look. "Why?"
"It's just odd," I said, entering my thoughts once again.
A moment later, Ryan ran towards us, slamming his hands on the table. All three of us jumped, completely startled by the loud noise.
"Guys, did you hear about Jonathan?!" he asked quickly, seeming to be out of breath.
"No...what happened?" Marco inquired, his voice becoming concerned.
Ryan sat down at our table, almost knocking over the chair as he did so. "Jonathan and his friends ditched classes today to have some fun," he explained, seeming really nervous, or even scared. "They decided to have a bonfire in the woods and the nearby elementary school caught fire."
"Which one?" I asked, suddenly becoming nervous.
"The one right down the street about three blocks away," Ryan answered with a confused look. "Why..?"
I completely froze, staring off into space.
Do you ever get that gut feeling that something's terribly wrong..?
That's me..
Fear flooded through my veins as my thoughts began to consume me. I could feel my breathing come in quick gasps and my heart felt like it was pounding straight out of my chest as only one person's name crossed my mind.
Hayleigh..
~~~
:0
^^ That's all I have to say about this one! Thoughts?
Sorry about the cliffhanger, I had to add it so it would hook y'all in! Haha, I'm just teasing, but hopefully it did, because that's my goal, and I love adding dramaaaaa ):3
Hope you guys enjoyed! Much love, like always! :)
~Eclipsityy <3