It is All so Very Twisted.... EnDed ( A Romance )

16. Rebound

Chapter 16

Rebound

Zhan sat at lunch with Chen pushing around the food on her plate, obviously preoccupied with what happened between him and Yibo yesterday. It didn't help that the whole school was gossiping about Yibo going to prison. Zhan's concentration had been off all day long, and if tomorrow wasn't the last day before Thanksgiving break; he would've skipped the whole week.

Even though she wanted to know, Chen didn't ask Zhan in detail what happened with Yibo, but she figured she'd see how much Zhan would tell her. "Zhan, you haven't talked much about what happened at the station. I didn't want to upset you anymore than you had last night, but I think you should try and talk about it."

"What is there to say, Chen? Obviously, he doesn't care about either of us, or he wouldn't have confessed to something he didn't do. We went through this before, and we don't deserve to go through it again."

Chen felt Zhan's anger, but she knew deep down Zhan was just scared for Yibo. "If he really didn't do it, there has to be some reason why he confessed."

"It just doesn't make any sense. You talked to him too, and he made us both believe he was innocent. He's ruined his whole life for nothing."

"Maybe Yibo has a plan or something; I don't think we should give up on finding out what really happened that night."

"Who said anything about giving up? I'm still going to take Louis and Archie down-whoever's involved, but things can't go back to the way they were. I told him I loved him, and he walked away, and I don't think there is anything he could say to justify that to me."

Chen stared at Zhan intently. "But you know he loves you, and you love him; isn't that what's important?"

"I wish it were that easy. I don't even know where to start."

"I'll see if my dad lets me go see Yibo tomorrow and see if he can remember anything from the night of Louis's attack. Do you want to maybe come with me?"

"That's not going to happen. Yibo and I have already said everything we needed to say to each other; we're done."

Zhan dumped his tray and told Chen he'd see her later.

.............

Zhan sat on his floor, going through pictures of himself with Yibo and Chen and even a few with Louis, Xichen, and Yanli. He was staring at two completely different groups of people; only two of these people knew the real him, and he could only trust those same two people with his life. Chen and Yibo were his first friends when he came to Lotus High, and he hated when they went their separate ways.

Zhan received a text from Chen who said she wasn't able to get Yibo to say anything other than his same guilty plea. After Zhan simply replied ok, Chen sent another text saying Yibo said hello and to never forget that he loved him.

Zhan suddenly remembered the letter Yibo gave him. He said it was for times when Zhan started to doubt how he felt about him, and this was one of those times. Zhan got up and retrieved the letter from the desk drawer. Even though he was scared to read it, it was something he had to do. He struggled to fight the tears as he read the first few lines.

Dear Wei,

If you're reading this letter, it's either because I won't be coming home as soon as I'd thought or because things aren't going well with us. I'm sorry for just now writing to you. Things are getting rough in here, and if I keep getting into fights, they're going to extend my sentence. Even though I've balled up the other 50 letters, I'm making a promise to finish this one. It's pretty rough here, but not as bad as prison, I bet. The other boys hate me, and the feeling is mutual. Usually, I just stay to myself and dream about you - us together - and how much I'm going to miss growing up with you and Chen. I need to say some things, in case it's' a while before I see you.