Course Of Action

CHAPTER 10: Holding Out

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H O L D I N G   O U T

PoV: Wilma Morris...|

I didn't hear anything from Damian after that message. I contemplated sending him a message first, in case he was waiting for me to initiate a conversation after all. The lack of things to say had me abandon the idea however. His silence was probably only a sign that he needed time to digest the news, like any other human would. Kitty wasn't just anyone to him, after all, however cruel she might have been to him.

At school, Kitty's absence had become recognised by most students after the possibility of her simply being sick over the weekend was ruled out. As days passed, speculations and rumours about her missing presence had begun to spread, everything from her moving away to following her dad on yet another business trip to avoid having to study. It was only me and Damian who knew for certain what had happened. Or, at least we were the ones I knew, knew about her death.

The thought that both Leslie and Doris knew had crossed me multiple times as I saw them around school. Doris was her best friend, and well, the documents were in Leslie's kitchen, so whoever it might have been in that family that worked with it might have shared it with him. It was illegal to share confidential information with people outside the case though, that much I knew. To have shared it, and have it possibly be spread, would have been a risky move for whoever was in charge of it. Unfortunately for them however, I had entered that kitchen, and thus whatever precautions they could have taken to protect the confidentiality, had all been in vain...Kinda.

I had refrained from telling Diana, even if it took every ounce of my self-restraint to keep it from her. She was my best friend and the things which hadn't been shared between the two of us were few to none. But a voice inside told me it was better not to, and this time I had listened.

"Are you truly incapable of acting like a functioning human being? Move out of my way."

Then there was the aftermath of my detention-worthy moment with Damian. The word about me and him in that small bathroom stall had spread more than I thought, and I soon started getting the reputation of a street-whore.

Who had spread the rumours? ––I didn't know, and I didn't care either. It wasn't like it would make a difference. The very false image of me and him that had been spread had many girls grind their teeth in their sleep, especially Coraline. Even though their alleged "affair" during junior year seemed to have ended, the idea of someone else so much as hinting at having something with him had her claws come out, ready to dig into whoever it was that dared to gain his attention.

Speaking of Coraline, if there was anyone who found enjoyment in Kitty's absence it was her. I would too if I constantly had to butt heads with someone like Kitty Wrightford every time we crossed each other's paths. That was, if she weren't actually dead and was just gone due to some other reason.

Getting out of Coraline's way to let her pass by me, she made sure to rub her shoulder into mine, having me stumble back into someone else. Apologising to the guy for stepping onto him, I walked away to find somewhere to go where I could be left alone. Someplace where I wouldn't be standing in the spotlight, famous for the headline of the week's gossip.

Being by yourself when you didn't necessarily belong anywhere could be hard. Diana had to leave for the wedding of her cousin back in Canada and wouldn't come back until next week, leaving me to fend on my own. Of course, I had some other people I could potentially talk to, but it was all about getting an opening to do so. Something which I wasn't too lucky with...Or was I?