When he saw you

CHAPTER TWENTY - THREE: ABANDONED

Kayla

My body felt too heavy for me to carry. I couldn't stay in school, but it was not just because of embarrassment from Emma ousting me in front of the entire school. The weight on my chest was too heavy for me to move between classes, and the tears making their way to my face could not be controlled. So, I did the only logical thing. I called my driver to pick me up and applied for sick leave at the principal's office.

I have never abruptly left school before unless there was a life-and-death emergency. There really was a first time for everything. Even right now, as I sat in the back seat of my car on my way home, the event of the last few hours did not feel real. It made me wonder what Zion thought of me.

The three of us have been friends for years and in all that time, I never once thought to consider if I was developing feelings for any of them. It was very possible that I cared for Zion and i wanted him to live. I always assumed I'd always love him because he was Zion. It was the same for Zion, but after Emma confronted me; I locked myself in a bathroom stall and asked myself to choose between Zion and Evans.

It was a first-class betrayal. My heart decided before I could make any analysis and I realized the bitter truth; I cannot live without Zion. suddenly I understood why her presence was disturbing and why I was always overly concerned. Zion would probably think I am a terrible friend after things turned out this way, and I was too embarrassed to process it.

As soon as the driver parked the car inside the compound, I got out and ran straight for the front door. My fingers pressed the doorbell impatiently, too lazy to struggle to type the password with my tears-filled eyes. Mrs Sawyer came downstairs after a few minutes to Open the door. She stared at me with questioning eyes, but I was in no mood to answer them.

I walked past her and up the stairs to my room, locking the door behind me. My chest was clenching tighter underneath my shirt and the tear I held back on the way home had already begun spilling out. For a brief second, I thought I was having a heart attack. I threw my body to my bed and squeezed my form together, crying out the pain I had been holding in.

If Zion got hurt by all this, it would be her fault. I tried to protect him, but in the end, I was the one that brought him pain. Why wasn't Emma real? If she was, I would have gone out of Zion's life completely and forgotten about my feelings for him. They already think I'm the bad guy. Never in my life did I expect to be branded a jealous girl best friend that is secretly in love with Emma Wilson's boyfriend.

As I left the school, I heard someone describe me that way.

"Kayla," Mrs Sawyer knocked on my door.

I lay as still as I could, even though my body was trembling. I knew she could hear me crying from the door, but I didn't want anyone to see me like this. If I was open to visitors, I would open the door and ask Mrs Sawyer if I could go to the hospital. Maybe they would give me a reasonable explanation for why my chest was hurting this much.

How could I have been so clueless? Zion trusted me and I betrayed him. I was sure he would never believe me ever again and it would be impossible to catch Emma when I have no reason to watch her like a hawk. Knowing that snake, she would pull out her victim card and turn Zion into believing I hate her

"Kayla, please open the door," Mrs Sawyer knocks again.

"Is there anything I can get for you?" she asked.

The sound of her voice was interrupting my crying. I raised my head up from my bed and turned towards the door to scream at her.

"Just leave me alone, for Christ's sake!" I shouted.

Mrs Sawyer said nothing after that. I assume she went downstairs to do something else. After 30 minutes of crying, I sat up and hugged my leg while sitting in silence for a little while. There was nothing serious going through my mind, just several flashes back of times I should have noticed that Zion made my heart beat faster when he was around me.