(FEATURED)
It's been months since the unceremonious fall of Kimie Sato's older sister. The whole of Ridgerock High knows it, and by now, the majority have moved on. But Kimie still watches those who had a hand in it continue to walk free, and the mo...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Numbness was scary. It was like a vacuum cleaner for emotions; it sucked everything right out of you without mercy.
I wanted to cry again when Jamie finally broke next to me. I wanted to put the alcohol flask down and place an arm around him, to let him know I was there. But I just felt drained. I couldn't feel anything once the shock from hearing his answer wore off, and I hated myself for it. His mom must've heard something, because she showed up at the half-open door and gave us a sympathetic look, looking like she was on the verge of tears.
I'm not sure when I left, but I know I gave Jamie a little hug and hid his flask under his covers before I did.
When I got home, the sky was already turning pink. The weather seemed off—bright and promising when things were anything but.
I was in my own world for the rest of the day, only pulled out when I stepped barefooted out of the bathroom later that evening after taking a cold shower and saw West perched on the edge of my bed. I was drying my hair with a fluffy towel, and my hands froze mid-action immediately my eyes fell on him. He was facing away from me, so I only got a view of his back, but when a drop of water from my hair fell onto the shoulder of my flimsy T-shirt, I became too self-conscious. I wasn't putting on a bra.
"What are you doing here?!" I asked, mortified. How long had he been sitting there? He was about turning to me, so I snapped, "No! Just . . . face that way until I say you can look. Why would you come into my room like this?" What if I'd walked out naked or something? My face burned with the thought.
"I'm sorry," he said as I quickly went to grab a sports bra from one of my dresser drawers. "I texted, asking if I could come up, but when I didn't get a reply, I knew you weren't here. I realized how stupid coming up here without permission was when I heard you . . . in there. I'm sorry."
"You know what, just stop talking." At this point, I was pretty sure my face could melt butter.
I rushed back into the bathroom, quickly taking off my T-shirt and putting on the sports bra. My hair was still wet, soaking the neckline of the shirt as I put it back on, but I was too red-faced to care.
West was still in the position I left him when I stepped out of the bathroom, but I noticed that he was playing with something I couldn't see. I drew in a quiet breath. "You can look now."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah." I walked to the bed and resumed wiping my hair after sitting on it.
I heard West move behind me, and even though there was a reasonable amount of space between us, I felt a chill run down the back of my neck. He was watching me.
When I became increasingly aware of that, I stopped what I was doing and put the towel away.
"I'm not good for you, Kimie," he said, and with the way my heart stuttered, I had no choice but to turn to him. Our eyes locked immediately.
