Locked Up

Chapter 8

Locked Up – Chapter Eight

Lily Brooks

I had been unable to sleep tonight. I kept thinking about Tim and the things that could possibly happen today. Stephanie was also making it unable to sleep for me, she kept calling me. I ignored her calls; I knew exactly what she was going to say.

'Oh my gosh Lily, are you okay?' 'Tim's such a dick!' 'I'm so sorry, Lils!' No, I definitely wasn't looking forward to such conversations. It would be worse enough if she even believed him.

So here I was, making my way into the large school building on a Thursday morning. To say I'm worried about Tim would be an understatement. The look on his face after I showed him Brad's Facebook post had been haunting me all night.

I silently made my way to my locker, trying to stay unnoticed. I already knew that I wouldn't be able to control myself around Brad – in my head, I had already broken his nose a million times. He never really had my respect and by posting a load of bullshit on Facebook, he had ruined his chances of ever gaining it.

I unlocked my locker and retrieved my books, timidly glancing to my left and right to make sure no one was looking at me. I wondered what people would think about me. Something like 'That's Lily, the poor girl who got harassed by the disgusting nerd.' The grip on the book I was getting out of my locker instantly fastened out of pure rage. Of course people would think such things. How I wanted to tell them that none of what Brad said was true..

"Lily!" Stephanie yelled, rushing over to my locker. Heads immediately turned into our direction, nosy gazes boring into my back.

Stephanie looked like she just came out of bed – she probably did – her hair tied up in a messy bun and her face make-up less, to my surprise. She breathed heavily and tried to regain her posture, placing her hand against one of the lockers next to mine to have something to lean on.

"Hey Steph," I greeted her, shooting her a small smile before closing my locker. I brushed past her, ready to walk away but she stopped me from doing so by pulling my arm, making me turn around.

She shot me a questioning look, examining my face in search of hidden emotions. She probably expected me to be sad, hurt and totally broken – I was none. Instead, I was extremely angry.

"Lils, I need to talk to you. I- I saw Brad's Facebook post and-" she stuttered. I cut her off.

"Stop right there. None of it is true, Steph. Tim did not harass me. In fact, he wouldn't even think about doing anything to me against my will," I hissed, making her shut up for a while. Firstly, she seemed shocked. Then, her expression softened as she shook her head disapprovingly.

"It's obvious that you're in denial – it's something terrible you have-"

"No!" I interrupted her again. "Why are you believing Brad? Brad's an asshole, I thought you would have known that by now! All he wants to do is to keep every guy I'm talking to away from me. I overheard him and Tyler talking and he has this sick plan to.. to bang me after prom! I'm disgusted by you, Steph! Tim is a sweetheart, and-"

"There he is!" I heard some guy shout, causing students to turn their heads into the direction of the main entrance.

"Look, Lils. I'm sorry, I thought you-"

I cut Stephanie off again, pressing my index finger against my lips, signaling her to be quiet as my gaze travelled to the main entrance as well to find out who they were talking about, even though I was almost certain to who they were referring.

I was right. His head hung low as he brushed past people, making his way to the end of the hallway, where his locker was. I swallowed hard, not quite knowing what to do. No one said anything as he reached his locker and opened it, getting his books out.