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Don't go killin' all my roses 'Cause I've only started growin'
.𖥔 ݁ ˖ִ ࣪⚝₊ ⊹˚
Adora found herself drifting off again, her gaze locked on the empty seat that had once belonged to her best friend, Casey. The chair seemed untouched, almost hauntingly still, as if Casey might walk in at any moment, tossing her hair back and giving Adora that bright smile she always had. But instead, it just stood there and the blonde girl would never take a seat on it again. The though made Adora's heart ache with pain, feeling like she could burst in tears at any minute.
Sidney sat in the chair on the right side of Casey's and Adora often felt her best friend looking over at her with worried eyes. Adora hadn't said much to Sidney yet this morning, not really in the mood to follow classes after what had happened or just talk in general.
When their eyes met, though, Adora forced a small smile, her lips barely curving up. It was a smile that said, "I'm okay," even if everything inside her felt far from it. She needed Sidney to believe it. She needed everyone to believe it, even if her voice cracked whenever she forced herself to talk, even if her hands shook whenever she picked up her pen. She had to be fine, whatever it took.
The stares from her classmates only made it worse. Every time she looked up, someone was watching her, glancing away quickly when she noticed. It was worse than the pity-filled glances she'd gotten outside of school, like they didn't know how to act around her anymore.
A knock was heard on the door and a student walked in, handing a note over to Mrs. Tate, their English teacher, who gave the boy, James, who was undoubtedly a few years younger than they were, a thankful smile before looking down on the paper and reading the words that were written on it.
"Adora." Mrs. Tate spoke, making the Riley girl look up from Casey's seat over to her teacher. "It would appear to be your turn."
Adora gave a small nod in her direction as she picked up the English book that they were talking about, up with shaking hands so that she could place it in her bag and get out of the room as fast as she could. The longer she was in here, the more trouble she had with thinking and breathing. People around weren't even pretending to look away from her anymore when she caught them looking.
As she placed her bag over her shoulder and stood up to place her chair under the desk, she felt a hand grab her. Adora let out a gasp as she looked at the person holding her hand to find that it was just Sidney.
"It's gonna be okay." Sidney spoke to her while giving Adora's hand a squeeze. Adora thankfully nodded, looking down at her, before taking her leave out of the classroom. As she closed the door behind her, the girl pressed her back against the lockers next to the room, taking a deep, shaky breath as she felt her nerves more clearly than ever.
She leaned against the cold metal lockers, pressing her palms to her face as she tried to steady herself. Her heart was racing, each beat thudding painfully, and her mind kept circling back to the last night's horrific event and how she had heard her best friend scream before passing out, not being able to help her in any way. The last memory she had of Casey, was of the girl in panic, tears rolling over her face and her eyes loaded with fear.
