Coffee & Cigarettes

Part 32

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"It happens to everyone as they grow up. You find out who you are and what you want, and then you realize that people you've known forever don't see things the way you do. So you keep the wonderful memories, but find yourself moving on." 

― Nicholas Sparks

~

"Wow, you look like shit," Ashley said as she leaned against the locker next to mine. "Gee, thanks," I mumbled, glancing at her.

Her hair was once again a bright shade of pink.

"You're welcome," She smirked looking me up and down. Her gaze lingered on my face for a moment before drifting down to my hands.

Although my face was no longer sore, the bruises still remained. The left side of my jaw was covered by a nasty greenish-blue bruise while my black eye had faded into a sickly yellow color.

"What do you want, Ashley?" I sighed, shutting my locker.

She looked away from me and instead pretended to examine her nails."What happened to your face? And where have you been? You haven't been in school for like two weeks." She said trying to sound nonchalant.

I hadn't missed two weeks of school. Just nine days. Nine days of hiding in my house with my mom, Schindler, stepmom, and sisters trying to pick up the pieces of the life we shared that my father smashed apart in a single night.

"Don't worry about it."

"I'm not worried. I'm curious." Ashley corrected me, not missing a beat as she finally glanced back toward me. The worry was clear on her face. Her eyebrows raised.

"Haven't you heard? Curiosity killed the cat."

She rolled her eyes before sighing. "Are you really not gonna tell me?"

"I don't want to talk about it," I answered, looking away from her down the hall. Leaning against some lockers stood Devon and Rebecca laughing about something together. Levi and Michael clearly bickering about something else to their right.

Where was Emma? Was she already in class? Damn, I had been hoping to see her. Her phone calls had been the only reason I made it through those never-ending nine days.

Strangely as people walked past them to get to their first class of the day they stopped to stare and whisper.

"Fine." Ashley groaned, snapping my attention back to her.

"Why is everyone staring at them?" I asked, glancing back over to the four across the hall.

Again, Ashley rolled her eyes. "Probably because of the super epic promposal you had the dishonor of missing yesterday." She answered. Her words dripped with sarcasm.

"Shit."

"What?"

"I was supposed to help with that," I admitted. Somehow, I had completely forgotten.

"No way, let me guess, you were supposed to be one of the dancing letters?" Ashley grinned. This time I was the one to roll my eyes. "No, I was supposed to be the dancing question mark."

She laughed. "Now that I would've paid to see. But I guess, I'll just have to wait till prom to see your dance moves again."

"I'm not going to prom."

"Of course, you're going to prom," Ashley argued quickly, only pausing to look at me as if I were stupid for thinking not going was an option.

"Don't tell me you're buying into the prom hype too?" I asked in disbelief. If there was anyone that I thought would be anti-prom, it was her.