A flashlight in the shadows.

chapter 42: Monday.

Sabrina looked satisfied with herself, knowing that she had just found me trying on lingerie. Lucy followed my disgusted gaze and found Sabrina at the end of it. Sabrina glared at Lucy, then smiled at me once more before clicking away on her brand new high heels. I shuddered and sighed.
"I'm tired, let's just finish shopping and go home."
"Ok, sounds good." Lucy and I waited for Hannah and Kendra to get done trying on things. They came out a couple times in scantily clad clothing, but we eventually found ourselves talking in the back of Kendra's car. Hannah and Kendra were currently talking about how much Kenny and Mike would love their choices.
"Holy shit, Kendra. When Mike sees the cat thing I got for him, he'll go nuts!" Kendra smirked and said,
"Well, my man'll love the burrito, if you know what I mean." They both started giggling uncontrollably. We pulled up to my house at 8:30. After I'd said goodbye to the girls, I walked inside.
The first thing I saw when I walked in the door was Jane on the couch next to Jacob. Well, not exactly next to. She sat on his lap while he kissed her neck. They didn't notice me until I cleared my throat.
"Ehhem?" They both looked up, Jane jumping off to the side like nothing was wrong.
"Oh, hi Sarah, how was the mall?" She asked nervously. I smiled to the side and shrugged.
"Nice. How was rehab?"
"Good, Jacob says I should be walking by next week."
"Good. Well, I guess I'll go make some food."
"Oh, um, ok. Thanks."
"Are you going to be staying for supper, Jacob?" He looked at me nervously and shook his head quickly.
"No, I'd better be going."
"Ok. And Jacob?" He looked up at me.
"Yeah?" I smirked at Jane, then I turned to him and said,
"Don't screw each other too hard, you might mess up her legs again." Then I walked into the kitchen, leaving them both with wide jaws. I started making Apple crisp because I was too tired to make actual food. After about three minutes I heard the door close. Jane walked in about a minute later, blushing and giggling.
"Sorry you had to see that." I smirked.
"It's fine. As long as he isn't using you, I'm chill about it." She frowned.
"Chill, Sarah?" I shrugged
"Why not?" She giggled and rolled her eyes.
"Are you making Apple crisp?" I nodded as I set the pan in the oven. She smiled.
"Yeah, I'm going to go change quick."
"What's in the bag?" She asked, pointing to the bag from Inner Kitty. My heart rate picked up and I shrugged.
"Nothing."
"Let me see."
"No, go away!" She grabbed the bag and looked inside. When she saw what was inside, she dropped it on the floor and looked at me with wide eyes. I picked it up and blushed.
"Don't say anything to dad, ok?" She nodded and I went past her to walk up the stairs. Once I got to my room I threw the bags on the bed and sat on it, rubbing my temples. My computer dinged, signaling that Bennett wanted to talk. I sighed and flipped open my lap top without even looking over to see Bennett. It read,
'What's in the bags;)?' I looked over to see him sitting criss cross on his bed facing my window. I smirked and tapped
"Wouldn't you like to know:)'
'Aww, c'mon, tell me!' He typed back. I giggled and shook my head.
'No, it's a secret;)' I looked over at him. He stuck out his lower lip and pouted. 'Pweeze:)?' I shook my head.
'No.' He finally gave up.
'Fine, be that way.' After a moment of silence, I typed,
'We still need to talk about it.' When I looked at him, he was staring down at his arms. Then, he looked up at me like a sad puppy and typed,
'K. Meet at the library after school tomorrow?' I smiled.
'B there:)' He smiled and nodded, leaving the room. I sighed and got out my PJ's. I decided to wear blue shorts with a black tank top. The oven made a loud BUZZ that erupted through the house. I went back down stairs to get it out for Jane.

[Monday morning;]

Have I already mentioned that I hate Mondays? Well, I do. Jane, as always, was completely oblivious to my hate for them, and she waltzed into my room at 6:12.
"Rise and shine princess!"
"I will kill you." I replied. She just giggled and threw a towel at me.
"Get up, it's time for school." She left down the stairs. I could hear the joyful sound of her sneakers against the wooden floor. I grunted out of bed and blew the afro from my face, getting up for a shower.
After using the green apple shampoo on my hair, I wrapped myself in a blue towel and went over to my closet. But when I got there, I noticed Bennett sitting on his bed, staring at me with wide eyes. I sighed and opened my laptop,
'Look away.' He read it, smiled, and typed,
'Only if you show me something;)' my heart picked up and I rolled my eyes.
'No you pig, look away!' He typed back,
'You'be got to give, before you can receive;)' I bit my lip and sighed.
'Bennett, please?' He typed back,
'Just show me your leg, and we'll call it good:)' I looked at him and smiled. I stood up and pushed the towel away just slightly. He could see my whole left leg up to my thigh, and I could tell because his eyes were getting bigger by the second. Among other things, I'm sure.
All of a sudden, his mom walked in the door. She didn't notice me until Bennett turned to her faster than a jet. Then she looked out the window, grabbed Bennett by the ear, and shut the curtains. I started laughing so hard I fell on the bed. After I gathered myself, I went to the closet and picked out my outfit. It was a pair of black skinny jeans with a white printed t-shirt and a grey fedora. After putting on my tennis shoes, I went down the stairs and sat at the counter where I found Jane eating a bowl of cheereos. She turned to me and said,
"Hey, what was all the laughing about?" I shook my head.
"Ahh, Bennett was being a perv and he paid for it." She smiled and continued eating.
"So, excited for school?" She asked. I shrugged and replied,
"I suppose. I've got to go to the library after school, though. Are you going to need a ride?" She shook her head.
"No, Jacob and I are going to the movies." I smiled and poked her.
"Use condoms, my sister " she elbowed me in the side and continued eating.
We drove to school at 6:59 and arrived at 7:45. Jane went off to her group of friends while I went to look for mine. While walking to the bathroom, a boy in my grade, Adam, walked by with a stack of school newspapers. When he saw me, he smiled and said,
"Hey, there's an article on you." I frowned,
"Where?" He handed me a paper and pointed to it. I was horrified as I read,

Senior Impurities,
By Sabrina Chaipmen.
Senior Sarah Appleton of our school has denied being a, shall we say, 'lady of the night.' Yet, just yesterday, myself and a few friends witnessed her trying on some rather revealing clothing from Inner Kitty. It was a horrific sight,and upon confronting her, she bitterly retorted that she was, 'meeting my boyfriend later.' While I could've assured her that my boyfriend, Bennett Webber, was completely honest and faithful, I was too tear stricken to reply. Not only did she exclaim such a lie, her friends, who were also scantily clad, came and punched my friends and I, leaving a black eye upon me. And yet, through all this, Bennett was there for me. And he assured me that nothing ever went on between them, and we are destined for happiness.

I felt tears forming on the brim of my eyes. Adam, who was still standing there, asked me,
"What was it like, punching Sabrina, i mean." I dropped the paper and ran to the girls bathroom. Once inside, I locked myself inside a stall and set my hands in my knees. What made people like Sabrina such a bitch, anyways? The door flung open and I heard footsteps.
"Sarah! Sarah, are you in there?" I took off my shoes so they didn't see them under the stall door. After a few more minutes, I heard Hannah say,
"She's not in here. C'mon, maybe she's at her primetime." I heard their shoes walking away, the door closing behind them. I sobbed into my fedora. After about 6 minutes, the door opened again, only this time, a surprising voice called me.
"Sarah?" I sat up and stared at the door.
"Sarah, I know you're in here, I saw you run in." Bennett said. I put my fedora on and blew my nose.
"Bennett, it's the girls bathroom."
"Oh, shoot me. Come out." I sniffled and wiped my eyes, unlocking the door and walking out. Bennett was wearing a brown sweatshirt with blue jeans and tennis shoes. I leaned against the side of the stall and stared at him.
"You could get in trouble for being in here." He shrugged.
"It doesn't matter. Why're you crying?" I bit my lip and wiped my eyes.
"H-have you read the paper?" He sighed and looked down.
"Yeah, I have." I nodded, feeling a wave of fresh tears slipping from my face. He looked at me like a mother looks at her child who just got a scraped knee. My hands fled to my face. Like I've said before, not many people have seen me like this. I heard his footsteps getting closer to me until they were right next to me. His arms wrapped around my back and he pulled me against him, resting his head on mine. I cried into his shoulder, him rocking me and stroking my hair.
"Shh, Sarah. Don't let her get to you."
"I-I can't h-help it Bennett. I-I dont know why but-"
"Its ok, Sarah. She's just jealous."
"Of what?!" I asked quietly, pulling away and rubbing my eyes. He looked at me and said,
"Because I like you and not her." I looked at him with a frown. 'Did he just say he liked me?!' Just then, Dina walked in. When she saw Bennett, she froze with surprise.
"Oh....uh, sorry." Bennett shook his head.
"No, I'm sorry. I'll see you later Sarah." He walked out past Dina, leaving us alone. I spoke first,
"Hey." She smiled.
"Hey. Are you ok?" My eyes were still red. I nodded,
"Yeah, I'll be fine." I took out my phone and checked the time, 8:15. I looked at dina,
"Holy shit, we're gonna be late, come on!" We both sprinted out the door and down the hallway. I ran into three people and a wall before we got to our class. I walked in the door, breathless and panting. A few kids whispered to each other while I walked to my seat, others just glared. Sabrina sat in the corner with her friends. She was pretending to cry while her friends comforted her. I rolled my eyes and took my seat. Our prime time teacher, Mrs. Daley, walked in and sat at her desk.
"So, how was everyone's Christmas break?" Many kids raised their hands. They talked about vacations and grandparents and Christmas gifts. When she turned to me and asked,
"And how was your Christmas break, Sarah?"
"You have no idea," I told her.

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Enjoy the next one,bye everyone! :)