Morgan
It was a minute before class would end, before the bell would ring and dismiss us.
My eyes were glued to my wristwatch, counting down the seconds instead of listening to our teacher drone on and on about world history—what a bore, am I right? Finally, the clock struck two, and the loud sound rang through classrooms and empty hallways.
Being the last to leave the room, I took a turn for the lockers. I was having literature class next, and I was going to need my copy of The Phantom of the Opera if I wanted to pass the class.
When I finally reached my locker, I put in the code and clicked the lock open. I reached in for my book, but then, I suddenly heard a soft wail, followed by a sniffle.
Strange, I thought as I looked around to see who was crying.
That's when I noticed, wedged between two lockers was Eric, curled up in the tiny, dark space. His knees were pressed against his chest to fit, and his head rested on his crossed arms.
If he wasn't my friend, I would've burst out laughing at how pathetic he looked.
"What the heck, Eric?!" I reacted, alarmed. I reached for him and tugged on his arm, causing him to snap his head in my direction.
Tears were streaming down his cheeks nonstop, and his eyes were red and puffy. He sniffled, "M-Morgan?"
I frowned. "Oh, gosh, Eric, get out of there," I said lowly, pulling him out of the dusty space. He staggered to his feet then fell into my arms, weak from crying. He dropped his head into the crook of my neck.
"What's wrong, E? What happened?" I asked him, rubbing his back soothingly. He pulled away for a second to meet my concerned gaze.
"I must look so pathetic right now," he tried to laugh. He wiped away his tears with the sleeves of his oversized sweater and muttered, "Killian and I are over."
My heart immediately fell into the pit of my stomach. They're over? What the actual fuck?
"What... What happened?" I asked again, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion and worry for the boy.
Eric looked away, his cheeks pale and his eyes lifeless. "He... He found someone else..."
"Oh, Eric," I cried out softly as I watched the boy break before me.
"It... It just sucks, you know? I thought... I thought we had something—" he smiled bitterly "—but no. I was just a phase, a fling, a plaything." He shut his eyes tightly and more tears flowed out his brown eyes. "That's it."
Suddenly, Collin's words rang through my ears: I'm your teacher, and you're my student, and that's it. I felt my heart clench painfully and my stomach twist.
He sighed forlornly before he wept, "I just feel so... broken."
Broken.
I swallowed hard, biting the insides of my cheeks. Unexpectedly and at the same time, expectedly, I was on the verge of tears. "E-Eric..." I whimpered. "I know what you mean... Collin..."
Eric stopped crying momentarily, wiping away his tears with his soaked sleeves. He gave me a knowing smile.
Without another word, I took him into my arms, pulling him into my warm and equally broken embrace.
We didn't say anything else; words weren't enough to express how we both felt. Just being there, in that moment, both of us sobbing like crazy in each other's arms while other students walked past giving us strange looks... It was more than enough.
Having someone is more than enough.
|
"Hey, M," Addie called out as she caught up with me walking down the street. "Thought we were walking home together."
"We are," I replied casually. "Just decided to ditch you, is all."
She paused then shook her head. "Okay, I'm not even going to pretend that didn't hurt," she responded. "What's going on with you?"
"Nothing," I answered almost too quickly.
"Please, M. I've been your best friend for like, what, four years?" She scoffed. "You'd think I'd know when you lie your ass off."
To that, I replied calmly, "Addie, I'm not in the mood."
"Okay, well, maybe it'd help if I told you I'm not the only one worried about you," Addie ventured.
I stopped in my tracks. "Huh?"
"I mean, you haven't been showing up to class, you 'conveniently' have something to do whenever I try to talk to you, and you avoid... well, frankly anyone who tries."
"That's not true. I was in history class today," I said, the corners of my lips twitching down into a frown at the memory of the dreaded class. "Addie, I'm fine," I reassured once more as I resumed my walk away from school.
"Did something happen between you and Mr. Donavan?"
My feet involuntarily ceased walking, my heart clenching at the mention of his name.
Without turning around to face Addie, I stammered, "N-no. We're fine."
"Are you, though? Didn't you go out with him last Saturday? What happened?" interrogated Addie, her voice noticeably laced with concern.
Facing her, I asked, trying to remain unfazed, "How do you know about that?"
In response, she simply shrugged. "Archer must've mentioned it, I guess."
"Ugh, I'm gonna kill that—"
Addie almost instantly cut me off. "Hey, hey," she scolded, "watch the tone. Don't drag him into this." With a soft sigh, she added, "Wasn't it just a few days ago when you were head over heels in love with my brother?"
Averting my eyes from Addie's piercing gaze, I mumbled, "Yeah, and now I'm over him. He's with Hanna, anyways, so what does it matter?"
In an attempt to change the subject, I thought back to Addie's previous statement. "S-so, who else exactly is also worrying over me?"
That's when Addie let out a light chuckle. "Well, who else?"
"Collin?" I ventured a guess, anxiously biting the insides of my cheeks.
"Col— Mr. Donovan?! Fuck. No," she screeched, annoyed. "Literally anyone else."
"Uh... Eric? Killian?"
"Oh, well, wasn't the person I was referring to but yes and no."
"Then who?"
"Trevor, duh," Addie finally answered.
I blinked twice. Trevor.
"H-he's worried? Why would he be worried?" I asked almost immediately.
Addie shrugged. "He's into you, M. Isn't it obvious?"
"Not to me!" I gasped, and it was the truth. No boy has ever showed any interest in me—much less liked me—and now Addie was saying that I had somehow bagged Trevor? Someone whose social standing was eons away from mine?
"Oh. Well, you always were an oblivious one, honey," responded Addie with a cheeky grin. "You freaking tamed the bad boy, and you didn't even know it!"
He's not just a bad boy, I thought, but I held my tongue. Instead, I managed to let out a giggle that came out a little too schoolgirl-ish for my liking. "Oh, shut up, A."
At that precise moment, my phone sounded from my jean pocket. Fishing it out, I opened it to see two new messages:
Trevor Parks
need to talk
Trevor Parks
meet me at my place
Giving my best friend a sheepish smile, I showed her the texts and said, "Well, speak of the devil."
"Oh, my gosh, M," gasped Addie, "he wants you at his place. Do you know what that means?" She clasped her hands together and added dramatically, "Oh, please tell me you know what that means!"
"Of course I know what that means!"
A brief silence dawned on us as a cyclist passed us on the otherwise empty street. It was getting dark.
"Well?" demanded Addie with a curious, raised brow.
Broken. I may be broken... but maybe Trevor could see past that.
"I think I'm going."
Addie immediately extended her arms and blocked my way. "M, are you sure? You know what this means."
"Trevor means no harm, A—that I can promise you. He's... He's a good guy. He wouldn't do anything I'm not okay with," I explained, my heart skipping a beat at the sudden thought of him, "and... I wouldn't... do anything I'm not comfortable with."
Addie put a reassuring hand on my shoulder and nodded. "I trust you, M. Be safe, okay?"
I smiled and nodded.
"So... we're good?" my best friend asked hesitantly as she rocked back and forth on her heels.
"The best," I grinned from ear to ear. "I'll see you tomorrow, Addie."