Good Girl Gone Bad

~30~

Chapter 30

Mani

Oliver Stull. My first boyfriend. Why is he here? I freeze in my spot. Declan is standing next to me now. Oliver is walking towards me. He wasn't that far before and he's getting here quickly.

"Darling, have you missed me?" he asked, standing in front of me. "Not really. Why are you here? You're supposed to be in school." I cross my arms trying to be intimidating. "Ma let me come home early. It's sad that you haven't missed me cuz you're all I thought about." A smirk appeared on his face. Declan tugged on my sleeve like a child. I looked over at him with pleading eyes. Don't say anything. Read my mind. "I see you have a new" he paused, "Friend." "Yes, I do. My friend and I here are going to be late for class here so we ought to get going. Nice seeing you. Goodbye." I turned around in my original direction dragging Declan with me.

"Who is that?" he asked. "My ex-boyfriend" I took a deep breath. He furrowed his eyebrows, " You have an ex-boyfriend?" "Well, gee try not to seem so surprised." "Sorry". We stopped abruptly and I crashed into Declan since I was trailing behind him. I looked at him. "We walked past our class," he grinned sheepishly. Whoopsie.

***

"Can I go to the restroom?" I asked the teacher. To my surprise, she nodded her head, yes and I scurried out of the room. "Where ya goin' darling" I heard as soon as the classroom door shut. It caught me off guard and I jumped a little. "Yes, Ollie," I asked, not stopping to wait for him. I could hear him jog up to me. "You didn't answer my question Mads." He tried to hook our arms together but I pushed him away. "First of all, you can't call me that anymore. Second of all, I'm going to the restroom. Is that an issue?" I rolled my eyes.

He used to call me Mads when I was mad or annoyed or frustrated or any negative emotion.

"You've earned quite the attitude since I last saw you. Must be that little friend you have huh. I miss the quiet little girl you used to be. Don't you?" Tears pricked my eyes. He's always been so mean. He's never going to change. He's always going to be a bad person. Don't forget what he did. Took a deep breath and walked into the girls' bathroom.

I took my time in there hoping he would leave. He didn't. Doesn't he have classes to go to?

"I miss you, Mani. Don't you miss us? I'm sorry." I froze. He's never said sorry. I kept walking, acting like it didn't mean anything to me. "I miss you so much, darling. I miss your hug, your kiss, your smile. I miss your presents. I still have all mine. Did you keep yours? Talk to me, Mani. Please" He walked behind me since I was practically running. It sounded like he was being genuine. I feel so bad. Thank god I reached my class. I knocked on the door desperate to get away from him. It finally opened. I walked in and quickly closed it before he could come in. I'm gonna throw up.

"Are you okay little bug?" Declan asked as I took my seat next to him. "No" warm tears rolled down my cheeks. I wiped each one away even though they wouldn't stop. "Hey, don't cry. It's okay. What's wrong? You can tell me." He wrapped his arms around me. "I'm sorry. So sorry" I mumbled. "Stop that."

The realization that we are still in the class came to me. I pulled away from him, "I'll tell you later. I'm okay." I gave him a crooked smile. I wonder how many people saw that. At least we were sitting in the back.

A brunette in the opposite corner gave me a vicious glare. I shrunk in my seat.

***

"Mani" Declan pokes my side. "Declan" I lift my head out of my arms. "You're shaking, are you cold?" he tilted his head to the side like a puppy. I nod. He takes his hoodie off and places it on my desk. I smile at him and slip it on. "Thank you, giant.

***

"He what!" Harlow yelled at me. "Stop yelling." I may have made the mistake of telling crazy Sal over here what happened with Ollie. "After all he did. He shouldn't have come back. He's a jerk, you can't pay him any sort of attention." she flopped down on my bed. "He keeps calling Declan my friend," I say in the same manner. "That's cuz friend energy radiates off of you two. I mean look at you. You're wearing his jacket." she points to it. I lay next to her, "I was cold". After a long silence, I said, "You know Ollie isn't that bad of a person. He's just rough" closed my eyes.

"What the hell Mani. Stop doing that. Stop trying to see everyone through rose-colored lenses. He's a horrible person. He's evil. He made you fall in love with him, beat you, then cheated on you right in front of your face. If I was his mother I wouldn't have let him come back. Ever. It was the right choice to send him there. And stop calling him Ollie. Ollie would never have hurt you. His name is Oliver."

She let out a breath. I flinched at her harsh words. Nobody has ever said it like that. Including myself. "I'm sorry" "Stop apologizing to me." "You should have heard him Har. It sounded like he was breaking. It hurt." I paused, "Should I tell him? Declan." "Um duh. Why wouldn't you?" "I don't know. I don't want him to get mad." "At you? He won't. At Oliver. He definitely will." Way to sugarcoat it.

Her phone went off. "I gotta go home. Love you" she rolled off the bed as always. "Love you," I said back.

TIME TO TAKE YOUR MEDS. The words flashed across my phone. I hit the ignore button as soon as it popped up. Not today. "Have taken your medicine today little one" Darren's voice rang in my head. Stupid conscience. I went to my bathroom, took two swallowed dry, and went back into my room. I moved them to my bathroom because of Darren's "So I have no excuse to forget".

I see Declan being a little monkey climbing the tree. I got to the window to watch. He sits on a branch. "Hello, little bug" he gets up and walks to my window, and hops through it. "Hello monkey boy" I smile and sit on my bed. He sits next to me. "I thought I was a giant?" When did he get so close to me? "Well, you are. You are a giant monkey boy!" I exclaim. His smile falls. "You're still wearing that" his lips form a line. "Yea, do you want it back?" I start to take it off. "No. It's yours. I have plenty." Silence. It happens a lot these days. He hugs me. Tightly. "Are you okay?" I ask. "Yes. I'm happy. I shouldn't be happy. My mom just died." I feel so bad for him. "You can be happy. It's okay. Just because you lost someone doesn't mean you can't continue to live your life. You have to continue to live. Your mom would want that."

He lets go. "Can you tell me what happened with Oliver?" "We met as kids. We were good friends but not as close as Harlow and I. Our parents used to invite each other over for dinner and stuff. In like freshman year, I randomly got a huge crush on him. He asked me out that same month. We dated for a while and he was very kind and soft and gentle. Then my parents died. He helped me through that. During our sophomore year, he started getting mean. And he wanted things I didn't. Things I wasn't ready for." He gave me a look. I kept talking.

"One day he showed up at my house and he was drunk. Incredibly drunk. He hit me. Hard. On my stomach, my face, my back. Darren hadn't been home from work yet. Then he apologized and hugged me. I forgave him. I didn't tell anyone at that time." Declan gave me a sour look. I know it's not directed at me. "The next day at school I saw him and he was making direct eye contact with me while making out with some girl. I don't even think she goes to that school anymore. I didn't know how to hide a cut lip and black eye. Darren and Harlow found out what he did eventually. I broke up with him. His parents sent him to a school far from here as punishment after Darren told them. Now he's back."

I'm surprised I didn't cry.

He looks so angry. I've never seen him look that way. "Is that why you have a scar on your lip?" "Yes." There is no point in trying to hide it. I forget it's there, sometimes it's that faint. I don't know how he noticed that. The crazed look in his eyes went away and was replaced by a soft one. He hugged me. "I'm so sorry that happened to you little bug. You don't deserve that" he kissed my forehead and let go.

"I have to go," he said sadly. "Okay. Thank you for listening." I smiled. He kissed my cheek. "Anytime bug" he stalked towards my window. Last-minute he turned around. "By the way, you look amazing in that" then he disappeared. Between the kiss and the compliment, I was blushing stupidly. 

 Author's note: 

Chapter 30!!!!!!! YAY! It was actually supposed to be alot longer but I had to cut it short lol . Also 5 reads away from 700 what heck. Thank you to everyone that takes their time to read. Goodnight to everyone.