Until July *COMPLETED*

Chapter II.

Then, the next morning came around.

Briella slowly opened her eyes.

It took a mere second for her to realise that she was in the exact same spot from where last night ended. Unexpectedly, she hitched a breath or two.

Her eyes felt bloated. It all gave her an insight into how she reacted to yesterday's news, but not that she needed any reminding.

When she thought back to it all, it still felt so surreal. It would take her some time to digest and accept this new reality.

The wound left behind by Dylan was still fresh and very painful. Only moments later, her head began to pound. It was all from last nights crying.

To her, it was like a way of her body telling her 'I told you so'.

She sat up, with that done, she applied some pressure to the areas of her forehead that hurt the most, she tried to massage the pain away.

She should have told someone about what happened yesterday, but simply put, she couldn't have gotten herself to do so. This was because of all the pity she would have heard from others on the other end of the line.

If anything, she would have had more pity for those who would have pitied her.

The sound of her alarm as it went off was what shook her out of her trance.

Dismissing it and turning it off, she got up onto her feet and made her way to the bathroom.

A small apartment that consisted of three rooms was what made up her living space.

Upon her entry into the bathroom, the first thing she did was look at her reflection. She widened her eyes at what she saw - and not in a good way.

She noticed the bags under her eyes as, just as she guessed, the bloatedness made them stand out even more. But looking back and taking into consideration how many tears she has cried, she wasn't surprised.

"There is nothing a bit of makeup can't cover..." Briella spoke under her breath. But her words left a bad after taste in her mouth. They carried some sort of sadness and pain.

A gentle sigh was heard from Briella. 'The fact that I have to cover up my pain with makeup...'.

She kept her eyes at her reflection for about a second or two longer before she began to get ready for her first day of school.

She washed her face, brushed her teeth and did all the other necessary preparations before leaving for school.

Walking out of her apartment, she locked the door before proceeding with her way to the bus stop. The bus stop was only a ten-minute walk from the apartment complex in which she resided.

On her way, she passed another student apartment complex.

Most of the students in Briella's school who were over the age of eighteen lived alone, this was the case for her too.

She took in the fresh morning air deeply, before breathing it back out. It cooled her chest, radiating a pleasant feeling through her body. The cold morning also cooled her face, hands and anything else exposed. It brought her relief, and for the first time since yesterday, some sort of comfort.

Arriving at the bus stop, she waited an extra minute or two. Her school bus came around 8:15 AM and picked up her and some other students who were at the stop.

She arrived at the school and walked up to her locker area from last year, with fifteen minutes left to spare before the bell was to ring, and class was to begin. But in todays' case, their assembly.