By Chance | Book One |

Chapter Eighty Three

Lyra

River very much tried to get my attention, he tried his very best to get to me to listen to him. But about a week after everything happened, I screamed at him in the bookstore, also giving my two week notice.

River stood there with regret all over his face as Teddy's filled with anger.

He was trying to get him to leave the store, but I had enough.

He told River to leave me alone for the last time after that.

I told Teddy time and time again I didn't want him to end his friendship with River. And he basically did.

I made Sasha go to the dance with Teddy while I stayed home. Charlotte ended up finding another date. And went mainly to take pictures.

Things with her and Kol ended almost as bad as River and I. Kol didn't come to school for a week and a half after the day in the gym, while River didn't come to school for close to three weeks after I got mad at him at the book store.

The day he showed up, he honestly didn't look the best.

Dark circles under his eyes, much like the ones under my makeup.

I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing me look like shit, or seeing that I've wasted sleepless nights on him.

Black jeans. And a large black hoodie with the hood up.

He was sitting in the back of one of the classes we had together, his head down as he flipped the page on his book.

I sat on the opposite side in the back with Sasha.

As the room filled up, Sasha noticed River and my phone lit up next to me.

Sasha: He looks like absolute shit. Well deserved.
I slid the text away, focusing on the front of the screen.

Teddy had been by my side, and I believed he didn't know about it. He was furious at River.
Teddy had asked him eight times during the football season to make sure they were the one playing the game. He never knew when it was, but his dad had told him about it.

Teddy said his father knew too much about the game. Which made him question River about it.
He felt awful. He tried his best.

But most of the time, I just wanted to be by myself.

I had tried my best to not cry. It was pointless in shedding anymore tears for the people that were supposed to love me, and respect me.

I was going to cry over my prick ex boyfriend.

I knew it would end eventually.

I never thought I wouldn't deserve this treatment.

I thought that about everything with my parents. I thought that with Levi.

I justified their behaviour.

Not River's.

If Sasha and I hadn't checked that video, it wouldn't only be me humiliated in front of the entire school.

West wanted us to see that.

He hasn't been to school since either, knowing exactly what's happened.

There were rumours. Ever since that day, the have been rumours from every end, weird speculations.

With majority of the football team becoming single, the rumours seemed to grow.

I wasn't planning to attend prom, which Sasha knew. But I wanted her to go. She deserved it.

Lilian had received the tickets in the mail and gave them to Markus. To her surprise, she didn't receive one.

I ended up giving away the ones I had.

The day of graduation and prom, two large bouquets of roses showed up at the house with my name on it.

I only knew they were from him considering I know his writing. The way he always put a heart at the end of my name, or the way he wrote the most beautiful cursive.

His pen always dragged after he contects the heart, almost as if he wanted to write so, so much more than the tiny card could hold.

I gave them to Sasha's younger sisters instead.
Not that any woman should ever be in River's presence again, but I didn't want them to go to waste. They appericated them far more than I would.

As mad as Sasha was that I didn't go, she understood.

She was more than happy to see me at the next morning, telling me everything about her perfect night.

I instead took my book, and a blanket, making my way to see Bridgette.

I had grown accustomed to having River to comfort me, to having someone there even if they didn't know I was okay.

He quickly reminded me how alone I was.

How quickly he reminded me that I only have myself.

The people you love don't always love you back.