Have You Ever Listened To The Rain At Night?

Chapter 30

It started with looks and whispers, nothing unusual. Then came the laughter. But it wasn't until lunch that the full implications became apparent, when James pulled out his cell phone due to an incoming text, and the fork fell out of his hand. He looked at Camille, and she was quite sure that something was very wrong. Jo got a text too, and she also looked at Camille in horror. The laughter grew louder. Trying to get the situation under control, Camille demanded that her friends should show her the texts, they hesitated. But finally Jo had mercy and handed Camille her cell phone. Camille read the text, and she felt sick at once. Her friends tried to calm her down, but the damage had already been done. She stood up and became aware that everyone was staring at her, with an ugly, sneering grin on their faces. And just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, Jett Stetson shouted through the entire cafeteria, "Ladies and gentlemen, I present: the cock-killer girl!"

Almost everyone started laughing, and Camille could have sworn that it was the blonde Jennifer who laughed the loudest . . .

She told the school nurse that she was feeling sick – which wasn't a lie. Her mother came and picked her up, suspecting that Camille was sick with a stomach virus or the flu, and put Camille to bed. Later she made her something to eat, Camille ate it, and after a short time vomited it all up again, couldn't keep any food down. She lay weak and pale in bed, trying to find some peace. But her cell phone didn't allow that. Texts and calls from Jo and James came in all the time, asking if everything was okay – what a stupid question. And there was a third person who was constantly trying to get in touch with her. Logan. But she couldn't bring herself to answer him. What was she supposed to say? That she needed her space, didn't want any contact? Wrong. Because at that moment, when she felt so vulnerable and alone, she wished Logan would be with her. He wouldn't even have to talk to her. If he would just hold her, then everything would be perfect. But she had treated him so ugly. His sad look, his words . . . She wanted him with her, and yet she was so afraid of it. It was as if her life was about to turn into a pile of shards, and these shards cut deeper and deeper into her skin until she could no longer bear the agony. She reached for the phone and turned it off. Silence fell over her, but not in her head. She couldn't forget.

Kendall looked at Logan, who was lying on the air mattress, still holding his phone. "Still haven't heard from her?"

"No . . . And I don't know if I . . . I mean, I need to tell her what happened . . ."

"But if she doesn't answer your calls or respond to your texts, what are you going to do?"

Logan was silent for a long time and then said thoughtfully, "Well, then I only have one option. My last ace up my sleeve. But if that doesn't work either . . ."

"What option?"

"You know, at the beginning of our relationship, we didn't just text and call each other, we also had other means of communication."

"Yes . . .?"

"We used notes. Little things, little words that sweetened the day. But we never talked about it."

"That's weird."

Logan shook his head. "No, it's not. It was . . . our thing, you know? We both knew that the other one had gotten the notes, we just didn't mention it."

"Why not?"

"It wasn't necessary," Logan said simply. "We . . . just knew. Do you remember how it all started?"

"Um . . ."

"She wrote me a letter. One letter, and everything was different." He lost himself in his thoughts. Kendall left him alone for a while, then he asked, "So . . . you want to write her a letter?"