Drowned
Chapter 8
"Jason." A familiar voice sparked within the halls.
I turned my head around and saw Matthew slowly approaching me. His hands were inside his pocket, and he had his head down. I had never seen him like this before. Matthew is usually the one who always had his face up looking down on people, yet in this instance, I was the one looking over him as he held his breath fidgeting his fingers.
"What do you want?" I asked, closing my locker in his face.
"I'm sorry to bother you. I just wanted to ask you something," he said, finally lifting his chin up. "Is Lila cheating on me?"
He took his breath from my lungs as he uttered those words. "What are you talking about? Is this about what I said that night? Forget it Matthew. You know I'm a piece of shit for that," I stated.
He paused for a moment, and rolled his tongue at the back of his mouth. "Is that it? If so, I'm going to go now," I pointed in the opposite direction to where he came from.
And just when I turned my back against him, he pulled me back. His eyes dimmed, and saw his forehead wrinkled. "Please, just tell me. Is she cheating on me?" He breathed.
"I already told you—"
"Someone said you know about Lila cheating on me!" he exclaimed.
"Who?" My heart skipped, and the air suddenly thickened as it got harder to breathe; all the more when he uttered that one name I swore to never say again. "Kianna," he said.
"What do you know about her?" My chest shrinked in anticipation; my hands curled, and legs quivered as he took a deep sigh. "Nothing." He shook his head. "All I know is that she told me that you knew about Lila cheating, and I'm here to confirm just that. So, is she?" He doted on me.
I nodded in response, and he pulled away in shock—weeping, "Thank you for being honest this time," he said, and walked away.
A call?
That whole time after my encounter with Matthew I had my phone out, staring at the screen inside the bus waiting for something I know will never happen.
What am I doing? I shook my head, and just when I was about to put it back in my pocket, a notification popped up on the upper screen. My hands jolted with the vibration, it felt like every neuron inside my brain fired all at once when I saw that the caller was unregistered in my contacts. Is this? I stopped, and just like an old film, a memory flashed before my eyes. If this call stops at 0.03 seconds...
It's her.
I stopped the bus, and jumped out. I scouted the area for a minute before I walked. This feeling felt familiar, it was like an old friend greeting me. As I felt the wind rush through my cheeks, I gradually paced up until I was no longer walking but sprinting as if my life depends on it.
Please, make it this time, please. My head went in full circles replaying that night. Every muscle in my body felt numb, and flew across the pavement to that place. That same place.
I got there panting. My lungs dried, and I could feel the cold air cut through my throat everytime I breathed for air.
This place felt like home. It's still old, and littered just like how it was 3 years ago, it's still the same. The air was foul, and my stomach trembled as I walked further inside.
I remember now. It was this very place where everything started, and also ended. For years I tried so hard to bury all those memories deep within my head—forget about it, but I never did. I always found myself coming back to that day even in my sleep.
