The girl next door

Ginny

Did I still feel like shit after what happened with Marcus? Yes, yes I did. I walked into the girls locker room (I hated it in there because it was where everything seemed to happen with Marcus), when Abby tapped me on the shoulder. I tried my best not to glare at her. "What's up?" I asked. Abby sighed. "Ginny, I know Marcus told you that I blackmailed him. And it's true. I thought we had a connection, but I was wrong. I'm so sorry that I caused this pain between you and him," Abby said. I couldn't believe it! "Y-you ruined what was going on with me and Marcus because you wanted to see if he had feelings for you?! He obviously doesn't!" I yelled. I knew I wasn't being rational or even nice, but I was mad, and I was gonna let her know how mad I was. Abby bit her lip in sadness. "Yeah, I'm really sorry. But um...at least you know how he really feels about you?" Abby offered. I groaned. The last thing she would see is my back as I walked out of that locker room. 

As if being able to sense that Abby had told me, Marcus stopped me by grabbing my arm. "Ginny?" He asked cautiously. I laughed sourly. "What?" I asked, my back still turned towards him. "I- is everything ok?" He asked. I spun around, causing him to lose his grip on me and take a step back. "I kissed you Marcus. It was a nice kiss. But I had no idea that a kiss could cause this much drama and misery. That's messed up," I finished. He looked confused. "So, what does that mean for us?" He asked. I sighed. "Do I like you? Yes, a lot. And yeah, there's something here, something between us. But it's not Abby or you or me that did this. You're too much for me. So, Marcus Baker, I do not want to be with you, because I can't handle the pain I'd endure," I said. I walked away, knowing that that was that.

The next couple of weeks were more difficult than I expected. Every time I saw Marcus, I couldn't help but look. Marcus on the other hand never even glanced in my direction. At least, that's what I thought, until a cloudy Monday morning when Max unknowingly brought up the only topic that had been on my mind for weeks. 

It was lunchtime. Max plopped down next to me. "Ugh, today SUCKED!" She said dramatically. "Why?" I asked casually. She groaned. "I didn't get enough sleep. SOMEONE was crying the entire night. It was like his grandma died or something," Max said. She looked at me alarmed. "Don't worry, our grandma didn't die," She clarified. I remained quiet as I nodded her on. "So, because he was crying for LITERAL HOURS, I decided to be a good twin sister and go in there and ask him what's wrong, and you won't believe this. IT'S A FREAKIN GIRL HE'S CRYING OVER!" She exclaimed. I looked up sharply. "Do you know who?" I asked quickly. She shook her head. "No, but I checked his Spotify and there was a new playlist called 'Our kiss killed us'. WHAT THE HECK DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!" She said dramatically. I feigned a chuckle. "I have no idea, but poor Marcus," I said genuinely. She rolled her eyes. "Oh please, it's probably just another senior crush he made out with and then all of those 'My best friend died' feelings come back," Max said. I looked at her in awe. "His best friend died?" I asked. She nodded. "Yeah, last year. I felt really bad for him, I still do," Max admitted. I stood up. "I have to go," I said, leaving the table and a confused Max behind me. 

At about 7:00 I finally got home. It was dark outside. I knew that my mom was out on a date that would probably turn into something more, so I didn't have to worry about her checking on me. Knowing this, I decided to do something I hadn't done. I climbed through Marcus Baker's window. 

He looked at me like he had just seen a ghost. "What the hell!?" Marcus said. I put my hand over his mouth. "Shhhh! I need to talk to you," I said. He sighed heavily into my hand. "Ginny, you scared me. What is it?" He asked, turning to look at me. I didn't know how to say it so I decided to just be upfront. "I heard about what happened last year. Your best friend..." I trailed off. His eyes went wide. "Maxine told you?" He asked. I nodded. He sighed heavily. "Um...ok. He died of cancer," Marcus said, hanging his head. I felt a pang of empathy, so strong that I wanted to kiss him. "Marcus...I'm so sorry. I had no idea I..." I trailed off, knowing that there was nothing I could do. Marcus shrugged. "There's nothing I can do. So is that all you came here to say?" Marcus asked. I wanted to tell him how I felt so bad, but I didn't. "Yeah, that's it. Goodnight Marcus," I said, hopping out of his window. Damn, how on earth am I gonna get over this kid?!