Deadly In Love

Chapter 12: More Fighting

The notes didn't stop and I didn't stop being scared of them. Banner would shoot me down every time I tried to tell him about it, and we would argue every time it happened. This went on for 2 weeks. By this time, it was the middle of winter.

It was a bitterly cold winter day. Banner and I went on a walk. I had forgotten to bring my coat to his house, and was just wearing a sweatshirt. I shivered in the cold air. Banner noticed me shivering and removed his jacket. He placed it over my shoulders and held me close, rubbing my arms.

“No, take it back, you'll be cold, it's like 10 degrees out. It's my fault I forgot mine” I said. Placing it back onto his shoulders. He shook his head and put it back onto me, not letting go until I did.

“I'll be fine.” He said, gently smiling. I kissed him on the cheek. We had not been able to get very close over the past two weeks without another argument breaking out. I was hoping this would finally be the end if that, however, I knew that I couldn't just forget about the notes. They had been going on for so long, and fear became my default emotion. I now had to sleep with a nightlight and would refuse to stay home alone.

“So, about the no-” 

“That's it, this has gone on too long. It's been weeks, and every time I talk to you, you bring up the notes. I tried to calm you down. I've had enough.” He shouted. His voice shook as his eyes filled with tears. I felt a warm orb of salty water stream down my cheek.

“Are you breaking up with me” I asked. He didn't say anything, and I knew what the answer was. He had backed away from me on his rant. I stepped in closer to him and tried to grab his hand, but he yanked it away. He mouthed sorry and handed me the bracelets and hair ties I had given him, ripping them off of his wrist. I tightly grasped them as I ran home, tears streaming down my face.

“What happened? Did Banner do something?” My mom asked as I bursted in through the front door. I just shook my head and stormed into my bedroom. I sat on my bed and bawled. I thought about all of our big milestones, from when I first saw him, to our first date, to when we started dating, and to when we said I love you for the first time.

After around an hour, my tears slowed and my breath steadied. I texted the group chat that we had broken up. Tina started a call and forced me to explain to them what happened. Then, they kicked me out of the call and 10 minutes later, they were all at my house. They stroked my hair as I went on and on about Banner. One second I would be talking about how in love I was, and the next I would be wishing death upon him.

They calmed me down and we ate snacks and watched depressing movies. They stayed over all night and left the next day. When they left it was a Sunday. My mother now knew about the breakup and said I had to go to school that week.

On Monday, I wore a large hoodie and no makeup, and barely even brushed my hair. Once I arrived, I was greeted by my friend group with hugs. Although I could hear no whispers, it felt as if I could feel them floating around the school, just too far for my hearing to grasp. I sat as far away from Banner as I could in art class, accidentally making eye contact with him several times. He tried to ignore me, but his eyes drifted in my direction every few minutes. 

“Did you and that Ribbon girl break up or something? Why's she over there?” Mark asked.

“Ribbon? You mean Lacy. No, I don't know why she's over there.” Banner said. I sighed and looked down at my hands on the desk, fiddling with the sleeve of my hoodie. It was dotted with mascara stains.

This awkwardness continued all of that week, and when the weekend came I still wasn't over him. It felt like I never could. I just loved him too much. The next Monday I could barely force myself out of bed. I put on the first hoodie and leggings I could find. I didn't bother with my makeup and barely even brushed my hair. 

When I arrived at school my friends hugged me as usual. I went to my locker expecting a note, but instead was immediately shocked at what I saw. I shrieked, and Banner, being across the hallway came running over to me.

“What happened? Are you ok?” He asked, grabbing my shoulders from behind. I shook and sagged a little bit, still not over him. He noticed my reaction and backed away slightly.

“Sorry. Old habits die hard.”

“It's okay, I'm just…” I hesitated, “ just not over you yet. It's hard seeing you.” 

He nodded and patted me on the shoulder, then looking behind me, screamed. I had almost forgotten about the dead bird in my locker. I hurried over to the bathroom, just down the hall. There was nobody in there. I rushed over to the towel dispenser, grabbed as many paper towels as I could hold, and rushed back over to my locker. Banner had left for class already, and I was the last one still in the hallway, however the bell hadn't rung yet. I grabbed the bird with the paper towels, and when it rolled over, I saw the word DIE carved into its side, the feathers in the area pulled out to make the word clearer. Then I saw a smaller carving under it; BR. Brian Richards. I threw the bird in the trash and walked to my homeroom.

I was so distraught that I couldn't focus for the rest of the day. I failed a math test and got bad grades on almost every assignment I was given that day. This was more than just threatening notes. This was more than just a joke.