Bless You

[18.] accidental texts

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EDITED

Brittany was fuming.

Her once bright features were now pulled together, her nose scrunched upwards, and her face red with fury.

"How can you even say such a thing?!" Brittany exclaimed. She took a couple steps back and stood next to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. Her large eyes bore into mine. "Are you alright? Do not listen to a word he said!"

Arnold jumped from his seat. "I was only joking!"

She ignored him. She squeezed my shoulder and guided me out of the library. "He's not worth our time."

"Babe, please—"

Brittany visibly flinched, but she didn't turn around. I looked at her questioningly, but she faced ahead of her at the doors of the library.

Were they still dating? I immediately thought of Arnold's Instagram page. Usually when couples were together, they would post cheesy pictures of themselves all over Instagram, announcing their love for each other to the world. But, last time I checked his page...

Arnold had no pictures of Brittany and him.

As soon as the library doors clicked shut behind us, Brittany suddenly gave me a tight hug, almost toppling me over. "I am so sorry about Arnold!" she exclaimed, squeezing the life out of me.

"It's not your fault," I choked out.

"Don't listen to a word Arnold said," she said, letting me go. Her soft blue eyes were full of sincerity. "You are the most gorgeous girl I know. No, I'm not lying!" she exclaimed when I gave her a look. "Not only are you beautiful outwardly, but you have a beautiful soul!"

I smiled brightly, although a little embarrassed. "You are too!"

She laughed out loud.

I laughed with her, but shyly. I wasn't used to people complimenting me like that.

"But I'm not lying, May," Brittany said again. "I think Cal does not deserve you one bit. He lost an amazing person, and it was all his fault. Don't blame yourself for what he did."

After several moments of smiling politely, her words settled in.

I blinked twice. "You knew?"

She nodded solemnly. "Arnold told me after our shopping trip." A pause. "That's when we broke up."

Brittany shook her head, her large hoop earrings swinging back and forth. "That was the last straw. I couldn't believe he thought the whole thing was okay!"

For a while, we walked down the hallway in silence. The sound of our footsteps echoed down the empty hall.

"I was going to tell you," Brittany said when we reached my locker.

I looked at her. "Really?"

"Really. I looked for you everywhere in the morning, but I couldn't find you. I even tried calling you, but..."

I chewed on my lip. I guess I didn't have time to check my phone that morning, thanks to the stress of finding Cal's gift and the craziness of being late for school. My phone is also always on silent.

"Thanks for looking out for me, though," I said, forcing out a laugh. After a moment of silence, I shifted my English binder and textbook in one arm. "Anyways, what brought you to the library this late?"

"My sister," she said.

She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a couple of hardback books. I recognized several classics.