The Word Love

X

"Douglas!" I shouted and he quickly turned around to walk away. I pushed through the crowd of people and tried to catch up to him, but then he turned a corner and disappeared. I stopped and sighed out loudly, "Damn it!"

Unbelievable!

At the corner of my eye, I saw Rose and Eric whispering angrily to each other in discreet. She tried to walk away, but he grabbed her hand, to which she roughly shoved him away. Then she quickly escaped and he punched his locker. I wanted to go over to him and asked him what was wrong, but I couldn't do that anymore. I hate him, I do, but I still care about him. Through all the pain he has made me suffer through, I still care about him.

He looked over at me and his glare hardened, "What are you looking at?"

Then he walked away.

"Basketball tryouts are scheduled for after school," Someone announced over the intercom. I don't even know if I'm going to try out for the basketball team.

I walked into the restroom to wash my face, and immediately I heard somone sniffing in one of the stalls. There is always at least someone crying in the girls' restroom. I'm not even surprised.

Not forgetting about the purpose of me being in here, I walked over to the sink and turned on warm water. I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

"Get youself together," I whispered to myself, "You have a test next period and you are going to pass it with flying colors. You are not going to think about Douglas, or Ty, or Eric. You are going to pass that test."

"Are you talking to yourself?"

I jumped up in surprise and I gripped my chest. I spun around to see Rose looking at me with teary eyes. She also had tear stains on her cheeks. If I'm right, I would say that Rose was the one sniffing in one of the stalls.

"Yes?" I answered but it came out more like a question. Then I asked her a question, "Are you alright?"

"Does it look like I'm alright, Aimee?" she snapped and I was taken aback by her tone, "I am crying in the restroom, and yelling at someone who couldn't possibly understand about anything I'm going through because your life is perfect. You don't have to worry about anything or anyone because your mommy and daddy loves you so much to make sure you get everything you want! I don't know why you bothered to ask. You don't even care, so don't try to act like you do!"

I staggered back and held onto the sink. I didn't think her words would affect me, but it did and now I have to feel the painful sting. Is this what everyone feels about me? Douglas said it and now Rose is saying it too, so there must be more people who feels the same way.

"This is why I didn't want friends. I told you and Douglas that I didn't want to be friends, but you two were so relentless," I could feel my hands gripping the sink and my heart beating rapidly in my chest. My throat was tightening up, and it became harder for me to breathe, "And now I'm the one who is getting snapped at and the one being avoided. I didn't want this. I-I-"

"Don't act like you're the victim in all of this! I regret ever trying to be friends with someone like you," she harshly threw the words in my face and stomped out of the restroom.

Then I collapsed to the ground, I clutched my chest from the pain that was actually occuring right now. I could feel my body trembling and sweat sliding down my face. The fear of death popped inside my head, and I squeezed my eyes tight.

I'm not going to die. I'm not going to die.

"Help," All that came out was a croak when I felt the pain in my chest increasing. The restroom became dizzy in my vision, and my head was now pounding with pain.

"Aimee?" The voice sounded distant and unrecognizable, "Oh my god."

I couldn't get anything past my lips anymore.

The person appeared in front of me, and she grabbed my hands, giving them a tight squeeze.

"Breathe, Aimee, breathe," she whispered, "Just breathe."

I did what she instructed and slowly, I could feel the pain subsiding. My throat began to let air back inside my body, and my vision came back clearly. That's when I saw that Jenny was the one who helped me.

"Th-Thank you," I pulled myself up into a sitting position.

She was staring down at her hands, "You just had a panic attack."

"School can be stressful," I looked down at my hands when she looked at me.

"You developed it after the accident," she figured it out and got up on her feet, "I-I need to go."

"You can't tell anyone about this!" I begged, "Please, Jenny."

She nodded and quickly left the restroom. I threw my head back with a sigh. This was not what I planned for my final year of high school.