"Are you okay?"
He noticed a tear trickling down her face
Whilst she covered her mouth to muffle the sobs,
Her twinkling eyes helpless and tired.
"I'm fine."
"Don't lie to me."
She pressed her lips into a thin line,
As though unable to gather th...
After achieving Angeline's unusual request, I paused to observe her through the large window in the living room. She'd removed her sunglasses once more. She probably didn't think I'd notice how quickly she had covered her face with them earlier, but I did. I noticed several things about her.
For instance, right now. She was sitting motionless, almost as still as a wax figure. Her slow blinks every other moment were the only indication of movement. The bags under her eyes, which had been darkening over the last few months, were even more visible today. She appeared exhausted, which shouldn't be surprising given how much she drank the day before, but I noticed a lot about her. Like her ability to spring out of bed after a near-blackout drunk as if nothing had happened.
I was wondering what she was staring at so intently. I could have wondered what had captured her complete attention. Instead, I realised a long time ago that when Angeline appears to be fixated on something, she's usually inside her own head.
She might barely know me, as she had stated so bluntly earlier, and she was correct. In the year and a half I've been hanging out with her friends, I don't think we've ever had a meaningful conversation. But I had the impression that I knew her.
I knew a few things about her. I had the impression she kept a lot of things hidden. She was like a puzzle that kept me busy trying to solve it. It's easy to pick up on someone's behaviour patterns when you're around them all the time.
It was difficult not to look at Angeline.
I remember the first time I saw her. Finn and I had met in science class on my first day and hit it off right away. He was not the type of kid I expected to meet at Southern Bridge. He was neither entitled nor rude. He wasn't given everything he needed. He, too, was surprised.
Finn insisted that I meet his group of friends for lunch. He spent the entire walk telling me about them. Jacob, Harry, and Ryder were your average jocks. Kaitlin and Louis were joined at the hip. Sarah's relationship with Jacob was on and off. I could tell he had a crush on Angeline because of the way he spoke about her, as if he was captivated by everything she did. He told me about how they hid from cops together after a party they were at was busted. He said she drew the attention of everyone in every room she entered.
I was expecting the life of a party girl, you know the type. The lively and vivacious girl who makes everyone smile because she raises the vibrations of any gathering. I had a clear mental image of her. I expected to be annoyed by her.
She was not at all what I expected.
When she turned to look at me as we stood in front of the large table of my new friends, each kindly greeting me as Finn introduced us, I almost lost my breath. I could tell right away why Finn was so taken with her.
While you could compare pretty girls to flowers or sunsets, doing so would be unfair to Angeline. Angeline was like looking directly at a powerful ocean wave that was gaining height and swelling to its maximum. Beautiful, breathtaking, and potentially fatal.
She only looked at me for a split second. Aside from a small smile that didn't appear genuine, she made no acknowledgement. Her beauty could not be denied. She wasn't cute or beautiful. She wasn't the type of girl that everyone thought was attractive. She was magnificent, and everyone knew it. Especially given how most of the guys at the table focused their attention on her even when they were engaged in conversation with someone else. They cast quick glances at her, wondering if she was returning their gaze. Louis, on the other hand, seemed to have only Kaitlin in his sights.
Kaitlin and Sarah's subtle eye rolls and condescending tone were obvious whenever they spoke to her. Jealousy. I expected Angeline to return the cattiness, but was surprised when she didn't seem to notice. Just as she didn't seem to notice how Harry always found a reason to touch her, or Jacob's sexist comments, or Finn's almost awkward stares at her.
I had wondered if she and Ryder were dating because of the way he looked at her. Unlike Finn, who regarded her as if she were a beautiful painting. Ryder looked at Angeline possessively, as if he had a right to her.
Angeline was barely present in any of their conversations, and it only took a few lunches at their table for me to notice. She used to zone out for minutes at a time. Her smile never made it to her eyes. The way she rubbed her pocket and obsessively checked the time on her phone. She didn't seek out conversation, only responding when she was spoken to. Most importantly, I noticed that she appeared depressed. Sad and distant.
And I was surprised that no one else had noticed the same thing after all the time the others spent staring at her.
After that realisation, I kept a close eye on her whenever possible.
I'd missed the warning signs before, and I wasn't going to do it again.
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