Witness Protection

Chapter Nineteen

Tonight was the night. The night of graduation, and the night that Derek leaves. The seniors did have class today, so I stayed up in my room basically all day. Derek had been acting really weird the last few months, ever since we... You know. He didn't talk to me more than he had to. Chris and I had become official, and everything was going great. Jasmine ended up committing suicide. It was unfortunate, but we found out she had been battling heroine addiction for a long time. It finally got the best of her. I stared at my closet, trying to figure out what to where tonight. I wanted it to be simple. I decided to wear the dress that I had worn the first day of school. Plain navy blue top with a floral skirt. I did light makeup, and threw my hair into a bun. I made my way downstairs to wait for Chris.
"Well kid, tonight's the night," Derek said smiling at me. I couldn't tell if he was excited for me or for the fact that he would meet have to see me again.
"Yeah, I'm pretty excited. It's going to be hard without you here, you know." He looked at me, not saying a thing. "Looks Derek, I don't want you to leave on bad terms. I'm sorry for everything that happened, everything I put you through, but please don't hate me for ever. This is the last day you'll ever have to see me, and it's graduation, can it please be nice?" He looked at me and nodded.
"I just care about you, Hayleigh. I want the best for you." There was a knock on the door. I ran over opening it, and Chris gave me a big hug.
"We're leaving, Derek. I'll see you after graduation," I said, closing the door behind me.

I didn't really say much, and Chris noticed something was up.
"Hayleigh, what's wrong?"
"Derek's just been acting weird lately, and he's leaving tonight."
"Why is he acting weird?" I looked at him, not wanting to say anything, but I knew I had to.
"Back before we actually started dating, Derek and I slept together. I didn't know what I was doing, and ever since then, he's been weird." Chris looked at me with sadness in his eyes. I knew it hurt him to hear that, but he needed to know.
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
"Because I couldn't. I really like you Chris, and I didn't want to ruin what we have. It was a one time thing, an I knew it wasn't right." He nodded. We pulled into the school parkinglot, and Chris came around, opening my door for me. I got out and kisses him. I needed him to know I meant what I said. I really did care about him, and I did want it to work, even while we were in college. Chris looked at me; it was like he wanted to say something but couldn't.
"Just say it, Chris."
"Say what?"
"I know you want to say something, so say it." He took a deep breath before continuing. He looked into my eyes, grabbing my hands.
"I-I love you, hayleigh." My jaw just about fell off my face it dropped so far. I paused for a minute.
"I love you too, Chris," I said, hugging him. With that, we grabbed hands, making our way into the lineup.

We had been sitting in the gym for a good hour now, and they were finally starting to call names so people could get their diploma. I had to wait forever since I was towards the end of the alphabet. I looked around, seeing Derek in the audience. Finally, they were at S; it was just a matter of time.
"Hayleigh Sweeney." I smiled, making my way up to the podium. I shook the headmasters hand, grabbing my diploma. I looked over at Derek; he smiled, taking a picture of me, then I made my way back to my seat. After they got through everyone, we all stood up, throwing our gaps into the air. Chris walked over to me, hugging me. Derek walked over, taking a few pictures here and there. One of me, one of me and Chris, and then he got a picture with me.
"I know you're going to the graduation party, so I wanted to tell you goodbye. I'm really going to miss you, Hayleigh, and if you EVER need anything, don't hesitate to call me." He hugged me tight, not wanting to let go. Finalky, he did; he said bye to Chris and walked away from us.
"Do you really want to go to that party tonight?" Chris asked me. I nodded my head no and he smiled.
"We can go to my place." Chris nodded. We went out to his car and drove back to my house. Derek was already gone. I looked in his room and everything was already gone. Chris looked at me as I sat down on the couch.
"You going to be okay?"
"Yeah," I smiled, and he put his arm around me. "Chris?" He looked at me.
"Yeah?"
"Do you wanna stay here with me this summer, before we go to college?" He smiled big, nodding his head.
"I would love to," he said, kissing me.
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Well guys, this is the end of my first book!! I'm excited! What do you think about it? Hopefully I'll be able to start the second one soon. It'll be set a couple years later, after they've gone to college. I have big plans for the second one!! Let me know what you would like to see in the second one, and give me ideas for new stories!! I'm open to anything😊😊