Three's A Crowd

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER THREE

Victor

"MR. DIAZ, COME ON IN. Please, have a seat," Principal Hellstrung says.

The gray-bearded man who is in his early sixties says something else, but I don't hear him, because my head is completely in the mud. Not in the clouds. It's in the damn fucking mud, completely submerged. All I can think about is how epically I fucked up everything.

I screwed up. We screwed up. Mostly me. Mostly me. I completely screwed up. If I didn't insist on going to that stupid convenience store out of town, then none of this would have happened. But, I didn't think that far. I was too happy that day to focus on anything else.

Those pictures would not have been taken and he would be fine if we had just stayed at his place. None of this would have happened. It would all be okay if I had just been more careful.

But, nothing is okay and it's driving me crazy if I'm going to be honest. I never meant for any of this to happen. All I wanted was to spend some time with the one person in this entire world I feel comfortable around. I never wanted any of this. I was being too greedy, even though I know that nothing good ever lasts forever in my world. Every moment in my life that is good feels like it's fleeting. And when I finally accept that good things can happen to people like me, when I get caught up in the moment, something bad always happens. Good things don't last long for me. That's how it has always been.

I mean, I knew eventually that the truth would have to come out, but I always, somehow, thought that I would get to make that decision all on my own when I was ready to do so. On my time. Only on my time, not on anyone else's. But, I guess that that decision isn't mine to make. And I also guess that maybe I kind of deserve this, because I wasn't careful. That's the one thing I always thought I'd be, careful, cautious. That was my entire personality. I was being cautious, and careful for all these years, for as long as I can remember. And it was working so perfectly. Until it wasn't working anymore.

This whole situation is like my worst nightmare being brought to life, literally. I've dreamt of this happening. Pictures being taken. Coming to school to everyone looking at me like I did something horribly wrong. It's a freakishly on-point nightmare because that's exactly what happened.

I was on my way to school when I saw the photos. It shocked me. It made my blood run cold at the sight of the first photo. When the other photo was sent and I recognized those dark curls, I was outraged. So much so that I smashed my fist through my car window. I needed to punch something and I just did. It hurts like a bitch, but it somehow made me feel better. Dad is going to kill me when he finds out.

I tried calling him, but his phone kept on going to voicemail, and honestly, this is what I'm thinking about most. Is he okay? That's all I'm thinking about. I really don't care about anything else at this moment.

Once I make sure that he's okay, I can think and freak out about everything else afterward.

"Mr. Diaz," Principal Hellstrung calls.

"Um, yeah?"

"Are you okay?" He asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Um, may I ask why you wanted to see me, Principal Hellstrung?" I'm bullshitting. I know why he wants us to talk. He, like everyone else, has already seen the photos. It's like wildfire, spreading everywhere. The only thing I hope is that the photo was just sent only to the student body population, which most likely isn't possible. It's the age of technology. Twitter isn't around for nothing.

Principal Hellstrung shifts uncomfortably in his black leather chair. He searches for words before he opens his mouth. "I'm sure you're aware of the photos being sent around."