Levelling the Playing Field (HD&D Sequel)

Chapter 13 - Join the Club

Naomi had never seen the boys look more worn than they did that afternoon. She had to run out twice for ice cream. They went through it that fast.

Jordan was groaning on the sofa, with an arm over his eyes, he claimed he had a headache, but everyone knew his eyes were red-rimmed and swollen at this point. He kept cursing himself for falling too quickly, for lashing out at everyone when he was only furious at himself.

Naomi's heart was breaking for her friend.

Declan was pacing the landing on the second floor. He kept switching from being utterly calm to raging anger at his own decisions, thinking them over and over again, imaging all the different scenarios if he had done just one thing differently.

Naomi didn't know where to begin to comfort him.

Bennett sat at the dining table, his arms on the table, his hands bunched into fists, holding up his chin. He looked out the window deep in thought, completely withdrawn from his surroundings. He kept replaying her reaction as he uttered those words. He kept hearing the table connect with her hip.

Naomi watched as he simmered over his thoughts.

"It's my fault. If she only saw me as a friend before, maybe that would have been better than her thinking I was a psycho jerk," Jordan started.

"You have to stop blaming yourself," Naomi responded, moving to the couch. "Jordan, it is those rare moments when no one is to blame," She scooped up some vanilla ice cream and spoon-fed him.

"Naomi," He finished eating the ice cream. "I lashed out at her. She looked at me like she didn't recognise who I was." He looked at Naomi, his eyes tired from being rubbed.

"How was I cruel to the only person who had shown nothing but kindness?"

Naomi didn't have a response for that.

"You think that's bad, Tessa and I were exactly where we should have been, and I screwed it up," Declan said from the landing.

He leaned on the railing, running a hand through his hair in frustration, fighting the urge to pull it out.

"Declan, you were only doing what you thought was right. You were trying to put her first. It was a noble thing to do," Naomi turned back to look up to him.

"Come on, Naomi, I just left her. The minute something seemed to look bleak, I ran off," Declan countered.

"Look, you guys are making it very hard to defend you," Naomi said in exasperation. 

"Left her?" Bennett muttered to himself. "Join the club,"

"What was that, Bent?"

"Oh, nothing,"

"How about you, though? How are you holding up?"

Bennett shrugged his shoulders. "I've been better,"

He recalled that very morning.

Davina sauntered into their Economics class. She looked as if she would rather be dead than be there with him.

And when she looked at him, it was as if he was invisible. She looked right through him like he wasn't present. Like he wasn't there, she had wholly erased him from her life.

He wondered how this class would play out. He knew they would have to talk sooner or later. They had a project they had to work on together. In the previous class, they have split the work down the middle. They had their own section to work on, but they would eventually have to converse and discuss their topics.