I Wish You Never Met Me

12

CHAPTER 12

The house was around forty minutes away from the school. Jaxson's place was around twenty minutes from school. I was grateful to stay here. I didn't have to wake up as early as I did before to make breakfast, get ready and head out. Now, my bruises weren't purple and blue anymore. It didn't hurt as much to breathe anymore. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. I couldn't ignore it either.

The last report Janice left for my parents was about my encounters with Lucas at the coffee shop nearby and how the case was going. Since there's no case anymore, so they can probably celebrate with drinks, which meant that everything piece of check I get could continue going to the house and utilities. Once the stop light turned green, I circled around into the school parking lot and pulled into a spot near the back door. Getting out of my car, I immediately heard a voice yell, "Meghan!"

Sami and Monica ran over, and Sami surprised me by hitting my shoulder.

"What the hell is wrong with you, huh?!" she yelled. "How could do you that?"

Monica, with glassy, teary eyes, hit my other shoulder. "What happened to fighting back? What happened to getting your freedom back? Don't you want to hang out with us anymore?"

"What do you mean, we hang out every day?" I looked at her confused. "I mean, we always go to the café after school, right?"

"I mean going to the movies on the weekends with us, the mall, the fair, the beach. Outside of the café and school, Meghan," Monica explained.

I sighed. "Monica, you know my parents wouldn't allow that. They don't even like that I'm friends with both of you." We headed inside school. "Besides, it's over now. The case was taking a toll on me anyway. It was better for me to drop it."

"Not when they have the press at your house, Meghan," Sami revealed, showing me a video on her phone. "The press has been waiting since the police issue their statement on your behalf yesterday."

"Why?" I asked.

"To talk to you," Monica said. "Are you out of your mind? How could think to drop it just like that?"

"Quiet down, the other students might hear you," I told her, my voice carrying a whisper.

"They already know. Everyone knows," Sami said. "There's no point in hiding it."

She was right. There was no point in hiding it. There was no point fighting to push a brick wall if you didn't have a jackhammer to demolish it either. All the hope I had was already lost the minute I filed the case. However, this way without everyone what's going on, I can really fight. I can really put a huge dent in The Runnels Family empire or possibly do worse than that. For that, I needed this be under wraps. As we walked along the hallway, there were a few laughing and saying, "serves you right, jail rat".

Some even flat out said, "Glad you finally know what you up against. I mean, you were never going to win away."

The moment I heard those words, I felt nothing. Empty. And for the first time in a long time, the villain was coming out. All I did was give them a small smile even though my eyes read otherwise. They'll never know what hit them.

***

The house was located just between San Diego and Los Angeles. The windows were long and high. You could see the views of the beach without even going to the mountains. Every day, we had a front row to the sunrise and the sunset. It was amazing. It gave me a sense of peace and for the first time, a gentle smile crept up on my face involuntarily. I didn't smile because I had to. I didn't because I was trying to hide my pain. For the first time, my own smile, and my eyes matched emotion. They synced together.