Shameful Hearts (BOOK 2)

Restarting Something New

Rebecca's POV

It was 9 PM, and I had just gotten home from my therapy session with Dr. Sherri. After the whole Dylan incident last year, I figured I needed it. It wasn't meant to traumatize me that much, but I just knew that he was always out to get me. At first, I never agreed to therapy, knowing that it would be a huge waste of money just to talk about my feelings. But for $160 a month, because my parents were the ones who paid for it anyway, it was actually worth it.

I got into bed and turned off the lamp on my bedside table. As soon as I was half asleep, I heard a noise. More so rustling sounds coming from my window. I sat up and turned the light on only to see Chris climbing in from my window. A finger hovered over his lips, telling me to keep quiet as if he knew I was seconds away from calling the cops. My heart pounded so fast I couldn't move.

"Don't scream," he said, deliberately approaching my bed. I got out from underneath my covers, backing myself away from him slowly.

"If you don't leave my fucking room in five seconds, I will strangle you with my bare hands."

"I'm not gonna hurt you. I never tried to, Becky. I just wanna talk."

"About what?!" I yelled in a whisper.

"About Dylan. Look, we both fucked up. And now we're just trying to make things right. Okay? I was on acid. We've been through this before. Dylan was just traumatized and trying to look out for a friend. We're good people with mental issues."

"Then why are you here instead of at a fucking mental hospital?!" Just then, he stopped cornering me and scoffed. And I stopped retreating.

"To get my cousin, silly." Right as I turned to face my closet door, Dylan grabbed me from inside and took out a pocket knife to slit my throat.

I woke up startled and terrified, gasping for air. The next thing I knew, all eyes were on me in Mr. Reed's science class. The school bell rang just in time. Everyone rushed to dismiss the class while I packed my things in my purse, still shaken from the dream.

"Rebecca, can I speak to you for a minute?" he said. As soon as the class was empty, he approached my desk and sat on the ledge. "Are you okay?" he continued.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I shrugged.

"So, you sleeping in my class justifies that? You've improved a lot in the two years that I've known you, and I would hate to see all that hard work go to waste right before graduation."

I threw my purse over my shoulder and sighed, "Look, I'm sorry. Okay? It won't happen again."

"Oh, I know it won't. And that's why I'm giving you the opportunity to tell me exactly what's going on with you right now."

"What do you think, Mr. Reed? My whole life has been pretty shitty, in case you didn't know. My best friend and boyfriend went off to college while I was stuck here, working my ass off to finally graduate. My parents won't give me the time of day because of work, and my therapy sessions suck! I really appreciate the concern, but I said I'm fine."

I got up to leave, rushing down the hallway to get to my locker before my final class. Gym. Fuck me! There was no fucking way that I was taking this course in college. If there was any type of miracle that I would actually get accepted, of course. But then again, Jacob told me that taking it was mandatory to graduate. Shit. Why was school more difficult than living life itself?

It took Jacob 4 months to decide on whether we were getting back together or not. And he was right to take me back. Cause I was only a phone call away from dialing up Holden, who was this cute ass junior that was clearly desperate for all this dark chocolate. I contained myself. But believe me, I was only seconds from jumping his bones with just a simple look across the hall. But I don't cheat. Never have, never will. Although I did steal people's boyfriends. But that's another story.