Grace.

Chapter 37.

Ria and Edgar were never really close until they were part of some friend group. But they knew each other. Mainly because I and Naomi are best friends. Their friend group was one of the coolest groups in school.
And of course (like every friend group), there was drama. People started to develop feelings for each other, there were fights, this and that. But through it all, they never broke up. They stuck together. And unfortunately for her, like every other girl...Gloria fell for Edgar. She really liked him and they had a lot in common and they did almost everything together.
To her it was something like a 'love connection'. To him, I guess it was just a really good friendship. But none of them actually spoke about it, it just went on as usual. Until one day, when Gloria snuck into Mimi's house with a bottle of vodka. They hung out in Edgar's room and drank as they watched slasher movies on his laptop.
Gloria had one too many and she kissed Edgar. He kissed her back and one thing led to another. Before she knew it, she had lost her virginity to him. It was a shock to him to discover that she still was and by the time that he did, it was already too late. She didn't say anything to him until after they were done. You can guess what happened after that. This is where Amber came in.
So, after breaking Gloria(unintentionally), he met Amber. He fell in love with her and it became serious.
What he didn't know was that Gloria was in love with him too, but she didn't tell him that. Her heart broke into a million pieces. She acted like everything was okay because she was too embarrassed about it. She just got added to the list of girls Edgar had slept with. She did ask him to keep it a secret though and he agreed. Edgar would bring Amber to their chill sessions and that broke her. She went into depression for a couple of months until Daniel made a move on her. He was always afraid of talking to her. They became friends and after a while, started dating.
Although things worked out well in the end, Gloria never looked at Edgar the same. In her eyes, he was a monster. She low key disliked him and hated him for not loving her back. It just didn't make sense why he didn't pick her. They were perfect for each other, or so she thought. She felt stupid. And what made things even worse is that Edgar never spoke about what happened between them, not even once. If anything, he stayed away from her. No more hanging out at the diner late at night. No more drive-in theater. No more ice cream dates. Everything they used to do together, he'd do with Amber.
After a while she got used to it and it didn't hurt anymore. She was with Daniel now and she loved him. Edgar wasn't bothered by it. He was a hundred percent okay with it.

Josh did something nice for me the following day. He offered to take me to and from school. He said that I shouldn't be driving after that heartbreak. He also took me out for breakfast at Naomi's mom's coffee shop. He didn't think that it would trigger me but, I ignored it and focused on the thought, because it's the thought that counts.
Homecoming was in a few days. Everyone at school was just so busy!

"Spring-fielders! Gather around! Have you visited the nearest voting station? If not, what on earth are you waiting for?! Do you not want to have a Homecoming King and Queen? I'm sure many of you have someone in mind. Don't keep them in your head, put their names down on paper! The Homecoming game is this Friday. We're all rooting for you, Ethan! And so is your mystery lady. We know you'll do us proud. Ladies, Fit4Queens is having a sale on dresses this weekend, get there early or you'll lose out! Gents, if you're looking for something sweet to get for your date, Be Jewel'D has got some pretty hot stuff. Ooooh, the mall's going to be packed this weekend! Now on to the serious stuff."

Whoa. Rory was killing that news reader position! I didn't know who to vote for. It was honestly the last thing on my mind. I thought of voting for Austin. It only made sense. Everyone loved him, even the teachers! He was Springfield high's golden boy. But then who would I vote for Homecoming Queen? Lucy!
Just then, Josh came up to me while I was still busy by my locker.
"Fifty votes for you from me," he grinned.
"That's not allowed," I chuckled.
"I know. But in my one vote I wrote: Grace times fifty."
I laughed and that must've been the first time that I did in...hours! The bell rang and Josh rushed to his locker to get some books. And as I was about to walk away from mine, Ethan showed up.
"Good morning, Buttercup."
"Good morning," I smiled.
"How are you?" He smiled back.
I didn't know how to answer that question. A part of me wanted to open up to him, but another part didn't want to scare him away.
"I'm okay," I lied. "How are you?"
"I'm good. I just come from the voting station,"he revealed, his hands on my shoulders as we walked down the corridors to class.
"Oh yeah? I wonder who it could be," I teased, pretending to think about it.
"I guess you'll find out," he smirked.
We were now walking side by side and he kept playfully bumping into me.
"Did you...put your name down for Homecoming Queen?" I joked.
We both burst into laughter. I didn't think that he'd find it that funny, but he did. It must've taken him a minute or two to settle down.
"How did you know?!" He played along.
"It was a lucky guess," I smiled.
"Well, my surprise is ruined. Also, I'm going to get my suit today afternoon. I'm nervous," he disclosed.
"Why?"
"Because I'm looking forward to the dance and I want everything to be perfect. It's going to be the best night of your life. I promise you that," he cooed.
I stopped and he did the same. We faced each other with a distance of two feet away from one another. If we were hiding the fact that we're hanging out, that moment definitely ratted us out. But for some reason, none of us seemed to care.
"Now you are making me nervous," I admitted, a soft smile on my face.
"I'm sorry. But I know for a fact that you'll look amazing."
"Thank you. I'm actually going to get my dress today," I revealed.
"That's great! Did you find one that you actually liked?"
"I did. I hope you'll like it too."
He blushed, running his hand through his hair.
"Of course I will. Even if you come wearing a sack, I'll be on my knees, weakened by you."
"You're really good at poetry. Do you read a lot of it?" I noticed.
"I...actually write a few poems. Wanna hear a line from one of them?"
"Yes, please."
"But even though you think yourself nothing but a piece of metal, I look at you and all I see is Gold amongst Diamonds."
I blinked several times before saying anything. What was the context? It sounded like a really deep poem.
"Have you finished writing it? I want to know what it says. I want to hear all of it."
"Not yet. But when I'm done, you'll be the first one I show."
The bell had gone minutes ago! Mr. Fitzgerald was standing outside of the classroom waiting for late-comers when he spotted us.
"Excuse me! Will you two not be joining us?" He called out.
"Oh, crap!" I cried out, running.
"When did the bell ring?" Ethan asked, running along side me to class.
The day wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be. I knew that Naomi would want to know what happened, but luckily for me, Edgar told her everything. I couldn't talk about it. I didn't want to. But during lunch she found me hiding out in the library, and then I was forced to talk about it.
"Please, Grace. Talk to me," she begged.
"Did he send you? Did he tell you to do this?" I frowned.
"No. He's heartbroken, Grace. Last night he came back home close to tears. He threw the bottle of vodka right through the window! After that he went to his room and only came out this morning. That's...when he told me what happened," she revealed.
"Well, I'm glad he did, because I don't want to re-live it. What's done is done, Naomi."
"Just like that?"
"The last time you pushed me into your brothers arms and now you're trying to do it again."
"No, I'm not! I'm just-"
"Yes, you are!" I whispered, loudly.
"He is sorry, Grace. And he truly loves you."
"My sister loved him, and what did he do about that?"
"Nothing," she sighed.
"So why should I do anything?"
She kept quiet, just staring at me. She was so hurt and disappointed, but as much as she wanted it to work, it got way more complicated than either of us had anticipated.
"He's sorry, and I'm fighting with my sister. He knew, Mimi. The truth of the matter is that he knew. From the very beginning. Did he not care?" I asked her.
"Did you stop to think that maybe he pursued you because he was afraid of breaking your heart? You kissed him first! What if he didn't like you that way? Was he supposed to do to you what he did to Lucy?" She raged.
"How could you say that?" I was stunned.
"No, Grace. You and Gloria are pointing fingers at Edgar when you two made the first move on him! Did none of you stop to think that maybe, just maybe he didn't want you two in that way? No! Because you were only thinking about yourselves at that time."
She got up to leave and I was left feeling horrible. She was right. We did lead him on. I wasn't angry at Naomi and I knew that she wasn't mad at me either. She was just fighting for her brother. The same way I was fighting for my sister. I needed to talk to Gloria. She needed to hear this.
After school, after mom took me to go buy a dress, she sat me down at the parking lot to have a talk. She must've noticed how distant I had been the whole time. Dad definitely told her about what he walked into the night before. "You're definitely not okay, mija. What happened?" She began.
I didn't say a word. Instead, I looked the other way, hiding my tears. I felt my mom's hand reach out to me, with a soft brush from her thumb.
"Your sister isn't opening her door. I tried knocking. I even tried opening it and it's locked. I-I don't know if she's inside or-"
Gloria hadn't left her room since the event. She spent all night crying. Although I knew the truth, it still didn't change nor fix anything. What happened, happened. I was also upset about learning that this thing between them started a long time ago. The whole time I thought that Edgar felt the same way and he didn't!
After gathering a few breaths, I started opening up. "It's boy drama. Stupid, boy drama."
"Edgar? Isn't he your best friend's brother? Are you two like-"
"We-we have a thing going on."
"So, what does it have to do with your sister?"
I know my parents, they were never going to let it go. I wasn't sure if I should tell them everything. The last thing I wanted to do was to upset Gloria more than she already was. So, I told mom only parts of it.
"For your sanity, I suggest you go talk to him. Hear what he has to say."
"Mamá," I paused waiting for the tears to stop, to catch my breath. "I - not now. I'm not sure I want to. I'm so heartbroken, Ma."
"And that's okay. We've all been here, my love. What's important is that you don't lose yourself in the process. It's okay to be afraid. You don't need to go talk to him right now, give yourself time to think and gather strength."
Just yesterday I was happy, but suddenly I was so, so confused. It all happened so quickly. I still had feelings for Edgar but suddenly, I just wasn't sure anymore. Was there a way for me to be with him without hurting my sister?
On our way home, I decided to sent a text to Naomi apologizing about everything. It was wrong of us to treat Edgar like some kind of monster.
But even though, he was still not innocent in this whole thing. He hadn't reached out to me since that incident. Naturally, I was hurt by that. I wanted to speak to him and to be reminded that he still cared. Him being quiet and M.I.A just didn't sit right with me. Could Naomi have been right? Did Edgar date me just to make me feel better? But she herself said that he loves me! And that he's heartbroken about what happened.
Gosh, I had never been so confused and heartbroken in my life.