Love Is...

-14-

Song: "Isn't it Harmless?" By Hollyn

**

Two weeks.

Two weeks passed.

Heather went back to school right away because it was the only place she felt safe. The days dragged on like an anchor at the bottom of the ocean. The days didn't even seem like days anymore to her. They were just fragments of numbers and faces. She couldn't even use her phone for a distraction because Chandler had taken it. He told her she could only use it when they were together. That rule made her want to scream and break everything, but her fear of him was stronger.

Heather never talked during lunch anymore. Her friends gave her concerned looks every once in a while but didn't say much besides "are you alright?" The first week, Heather would tell them that she'd been feeling sick. This week, she was telling them that her mom was bothering her. She could tell they wanted to help her, but she didn't know how they'd react if she told them the truth. They may not believe her for all she knew. They all saw Chandler as an asshole, but they'd never think he would do something like what he did to her that night. And then there was the shame.

The shame ate away at her every single night. She felt embarrassed and disgusted when she thought of how he touched her. The same man she trusted with her body was the same man who violated it without a second thought. It cut her up inside to know that he didn't care for her as much as she did for him.

Avoiding Alejandro was hard. Every time she saw him in class, she dreamt of the day they were singing in the car together. She thought of how much fun she had, although she had never fully admitted it to herself then. But denial no longer mattered. All she could think about was how she'd never get to feel that way again. He gave her feelings she never knew she had. They were complicated but beautiful. Maybe she'd write them down to remember what happiness felt like.

Heather was in Spanish class when these thoughts took over. She almost didn't hear when the professor dismissed them. She stood up from her desk and sluggishly walked towards the door.

"Heather," Alejandro said. He had been trying to talk to her for the past two weeks. "Heather!" He called louder, not caring who heard him. He walked towards her. She walked faster as tears burned behind her eyes.

He stopped following once she exited the room, cocking his head to the side in confusion. She pulled her hair over her shoulder. His face fell when he saw a bruise on the back of her neck. What the hell? Who gets bruises there? That's not right. He started following her again, jogging into the hallway. He looked to his right and spotted her walking towards someone by the doors that led outside. He watched as she kissed Chandler. Oh, that's her fiancé, he thought. He saw Chandler grab both of her hands and ask her something, to which she shook her head in response. Alejandro sighed. School was his only chance to talk to her. At first, he wanted to ask why she blocked his number because he thought he had done something wrong. Now he wanted to know why she had a bruise on her neck.

Chandler rested his hand on the back of her neck. Alejandro felt sick to his stomach. Could he have given her that bruise? Heather flinched, and Chandler took his hand off. He said something to her, and she turned around to show him her neck. Maybe it's not him since she's showing him. I'll have to investigate further. The thought of Chandler doing that to her infuriated Alejandro beyond belief, but he didn't have any proof. Chandler put his arm around her, and the two of them walked out.

**

Heather packed her makeup and hair products into the last moving box. Chandler sealed it with packaging tape. He had already finished loading his things yesterday, so he decided to help her.