Always a Friend

Chapter 55

Thursday morning arrived with uncertainty and the realization that I had to go downstairs and face Mom with my finger wrapped up in a splint. Between my finger throbbing and the image of Ashton hugging Claudia, I didn't sleep well last night. I took the splint off long enough to get a shower and wash my hair, making sure not to use that finger.

"Gemma, breakfast is almost ready," Mom said through the closed bathroom door. I hurried up and dried my finger, put my splint back on, and wrapped it up. I cracked the door open, peeking to see if she had gone back downstairs. I opened the door and bee-lined for my room.

I took a deep breath and stared at the ceiling for a second. "Morning, Mom," I said, walking into the kitchen. I headed for the table to my seat, where a plate of French Toast was waiting for me. I tried to hurry up and sit before she saw my finger, but I wasn't fast enough.  

"Oh, my god! What happened to your finger?" Mom shrilled, echoing in the kitchen. She lifted my hand, examining my splinted finger. "Why didn't you call me?" 

I eased my hand out of her grasp and sat down to eat my French Toast before it got cold. "I didn't know it was broken until Ashton took me to see the nurse at school and sent me for x-rays after school. I took a bite of French Toast, knowing the questions weren't over and she'd want to know what happened. I managed to get the second bite before the big question fell. She wanted to know exactly how I broke my finger. I stared at the syrup running over the powdered sugar sprinkles. "Rhys Prescott did this." I held up my left hand. 

"What?" She bellowed in the kitchen. "I'm calling the school!" Mom reached for her cell phone. 

"Mom! He's already been suspended. What is calling going to do?" I set my fork on my plate and reached for my glass of orange juice. "I've got to go to school." I got up, kissed her on the cheek, and headed out of the kitchen. I wasn't in the mood to listen to her lecture or how she was suddenly concerned. I grabbed my bookbag and headed to my car, wishing I had stayed inside a little longer when I saw Ashton walk out his front door. He hadn't seen me yet, and I didn't want to run back into the house and face Mom either. I turned my head, sucked in a deep breath, and headed for my car. 

"Hey, babe. I was just coming to get you," Ashton said, tossing his backpack in the backseat. 

"I think I'm going to drive today." I unlocked my car, setting my bookbag in the passenger seat." 

"Uh...Okay..." Ashton's brow furrowed while he ran his hand through his hair. "Did I do something wrong?" I couldn't believe he was trying to act like he'd done nothing wrong. He was clueless. Completely clueless. I looked at him, shook my head in disbelief, and turned to get in the car. "Gem..." He was at my door, holding it open, leaning down. 

"What do you want me to say, Ashton? I caught you hugging Claudia. I don't care what you say. You were hugging the girl who has made it her life's mission to make mine miserable. Please. Let me close the door." I placed my hand on the handle, peeking up for a second, trying not to cry. 

"Sure..." Ashton let go of the top of my door and backed away. "I'll see you at school." He turned and walked to his car. A tiny part of me felt bad for turning him away. But the image of him hugging Claudia kept replaying over and over in my mind, like how movies get stuck and replay the same scene a couple of times. 

I drove to school, dabbing the corner of my eyes the entire way, not wanting to streak my makeup. My eyes could not have a tear, and Chloe would still know something was wrong the minute she saw me at school. One, I wouldn't be with Ashton, and two, I'm a horrible liar. My mouth would say everything was fine, but my eyes and expression would scream everything was not fine. So, no matter what I said, it wouldn't matter because she'd take one look at me and tell me I was lying out my ass. I pulled into school, sucked in a deep breath as I parked my car. Before I could get out of the car, Chloe was there at my door. 

"Why did you drive?" 

"I felt like driving." I shrugged, walked around the passenger door, opened it, and grabbed my bookbag. 

"You just felt like driving?" Chloe stared at me over the roof of my car from the driver's side. 

"Yeah." I peeked at her, keeping eye contact to a minimum. 

"Hmm...Mmm... Then, why can't you look me in the eye?" 

"I can." I glanced at her again, then turned away. "You ready?" I asked, looking toward the school. 

"What aren't you telling me?" I heard her shoes tap the pavement, moving closer to me. "Hello?" She tapped me on the shoulder. 

"Why don't you ask Ashton?" I motioned to him as he parked his car several spots over from me. I glanced over my shoulder, about to say something, when she rushed past me. I stood there for a few minutes, watching Chloe's light brown hair bounce as she stormed over to Ashton's car, demanding to know why I was upset. He deserved Chloe's anger and ranting after what he did to me by hugging Claudia. Innocent or not, he shouldn't have been hugging her. My feet had a mind of their own when I saw Ashton shrug his shoulders because I knew exactly why. 

I marched over to them, telling him either he would tell her what happened or I would. I stepped closer to Chloe, crossing my arms and shifting my weight onto my left foot. I drummed my fingers on my arm, waiting for him to speak up as she stood there, swapping glances between us.  

I threw my hands up in the air. "Fine! You had your chance. I caught him hugging Claudia in his driveway last night. And he had the nerve to say it was nothing." I mocked. 

Chloe sighed, dropping her shoulders with disappointment in her eyes. "Ashton, you didn't?" The disappointment faded, and disgust soon followed. "Of all people, you just had to hug Claudia? And Why?" Her arms were crossed again, and her head tilted. Ashton's eyes flashed to me, screaming one question: Why did you send her over here? I raised an eyebrow, twisting my mouth in response. 

"It wasn't like that, for fuck sake!" Ashton demanded, his eyes wandering around the parking lot. "She felt bad for harassing Gemma and knew Gemma wouldn't accept her apology." 

"You seriously expect me to believe that? You're unbelievable!" I turned and started walking away, leaving him to face Chloe alone. I could hear her yelling a few feet away, but I was determined not to turn around and go back to save him from her. He deserved to be yelled at by Chloe, and he was on his own. The tiny part of me that felt bad had been pushed so far back in the back of my mind that I couldn't hear her faint cries telling me to go back. My anger was keeping her quiet and held her hostage in a corner. 

I was a few feet from our lockers when Chloe finally caught up to me, ranting about how Ashton was an idiot. She flung open her locker, talking a mile a minute about how he was trying to justify hugging Claudia and still claimed it wasn't how it looked to me. I listened as I swapped out books, not saying anything because I knew I couldn't get a word in, while she continued to rant about how inconsiderate Ashton was. She closed her locker and turned around. The second her eyes met mine, the scowl softened, and she dropped her tense shoulders. "Oh, my god, I'm so horrible. I've been going on and on, not asking you how you're doing." She wrapped her arms around my neck. 

"Chloe...I can't breathe..." I patted her on the back. 

"Sorry," she let go of me. I need to get going to class. Text me if you need me. I'll see you in the library later." She waved, smiled quickly, turned, and headed to her class. 

I sighed, knowing I had to head to Math class and face Ashton and whatever excuse he would throw at me. On the bright side, I didn't have to worry about Rhys for the rest of the week. 

"Gemma, why was Chloe yelling at Ashton in the parking lot?" Ava asked, leaning over her desk. I glanced back at him, looking down at his phone, trying to act like he wasn't paying attention, but I could see him peek at me through the top of his long lashes. 

"I caught him hugging Claudia in his driveway yesterday." 

"What?" She hollered louder than she intended, causing everyone's eyes to lock on us. "What are you all looking at?" She scrunched up her face. She turned around in her seat, glaring at Ashton. "What the actual hell?" 

"Not you, too." His phone dropped out of his hands onto his desk. "It's..." 

She held up her hand, cutting him off before he had a chance to say another word. "You're an ass. Playing with Gemma's emotions like that. I want to punch you in the face so bad right now." She glared at him.