Clashing Cliques

Jessica's POV

Everything feels like a bur right now. Nick wants to spend time with me, but the only person I really want to be around is Lauren. Yes, Nick is hanging out with us as well, but I hate that it involves Joe as well. I can't tell if it's better that I know or if it was better when I didn't know. I hate that he's been so close all this time.

I never knew what it felt like to be betrayed up until the moment I read that note. My heart dropped. It's been haunting my mind since. I don't know how to move forward or what to do with this information. I don't know how to be me anymore.

Literally the only thing that's keeping me afloat is Lauren. She keeps me sane in all the crazy of my mind and what's going on outside of my mind. I hate this. Why did it have to be Joe? Why couldn't it have been one of the weird kids we go to school with? I don't mean weird in a bad way, I mean it more like the creeps that are in our school.

When they say 'your stalker is usually someone close to you', I didn't think that was the truth. I thought that was just a saying.

Wait. What happened to him? What happened to my ex? Could he be a murder? I thought being a stalker is bad, but what if he is more? I know what he is doing is very serious, but what if there is more to the story? What could he do to us if confronted? Thoughts keep racing in my head. I just want everything to stop.

When I attempted, the world stopped for the first time in a while. I didn't feel like I was rushing to keep up or I was falling behind. It slowed down to my pace. It was the best thing I had ever felt, but I can't admit this to anyone. Especially her.

I wish it had worked. I hate that I'm still here, and he's still able to hurt the people I care about. He's no longer Joe to me, he's a stranger that's somehow made himself welcome in my home.

I don't know what happened to Joe. It's like he died and something else took over his empty shell of a body. Or maybe, just maybe, this has always been him and he hid it for a long time.

I don't know why that hurts so much. I never realized how much I depended on him until now.