The Whisper Seekers

116

When I get to the locker room, I notice Lily isn't there yet. I wonder if I missed her in the hall, looking for me like always. I sit on the wooden bench in front of my locker and pull out my phone. My shoulder is still throbbing while I go through what Derek saw and it does look bad. He even saw that Liam called me at five a.m. this morning. 

I text Liam: I'm sorry. Please look over the diagram! I know he would want nothing to do with me if it weren't for preventing this disaster. I don't blame him either. I keep picking Derek and now I'm not even sure why.

I see my home screen and frown at the picture of Derek and me sitting by his pool this past summer. Two weeks. That's all it's taken to unravel everything. We've been together for over a year, and yet it feels like everything's slipping through my fingers. Homecoming is still two weeks away, and maybe that's enough time to fix things. Or maybe it's enough time to break them further. We've never had anything truly test us before, just small fights over nothing. But this? This feels different. Our relationship has always been easy, until suddenly, it isn't. Derek has always been kind to me, overly attentive, and now he's not. 

Lily finally busts through the doors as I am putting my phone away and rushes over to our lockers.

"Sorry! I had to stay after class to finish my psychology test!" She notices me still in my school clothes, "You better hurry before we are both late!" She urges me to get going and swings open her locker. I pull out my navy and yellow uniform and trudge to the changing rooms.

"Hey Lily, have you seen Harper?" I shout over the stall door.

"No, her mom let her stay home today. I guess they are doing a girls' day or something." Lucky. My mom would never go for that.

Lily and I rush to gym class and see that the gymnasium has been transformed into an obstacle course. We spend the next hour hopping over beams, ducking under mats, and climbing ropes that hang from the ceiling. My hands burn from sliding down the rope and I am both mentally and physically exhausted. I'm glad I was forced to keep busy for an hour, sparing no time for thinking about Liam or Derek.

I blast through the locker room doors once the bell rings, determined to talk to Liam before English starts. I still take a little time putting myself together, since I spent half an hour deciding on what to wear this morning. I glance at myself in the mirror and agree that my black jeans and blue V-neck shirt that flatters my boobs was a good choice. I wave to Lily, promising to see her at lunch and hurry down the hall.

I spot Liam standing outside our classroom, having a conversation with Brittany. It's the first time I've seen her since the accident, and my chest tightens just looking at her. It must've taken everything in her to come back to school today. Without thinking, I rush over and wrap my arms around her, only remembering mid-hug that she might still be hurting. I start to pull back, but she holds on just a second longer, like maybe she needed it too.

"How are you?" I gasp, and she smiles as I pull away from her.

"It could have been worse," she answers. I see some bruising around her collarbone.

"How is Ashley?" 

"She has a concussion. But we're all thankful we were wearing seatbelts," Brittany says, her voice steady but low. "I was charged with drinking and driving and damaging city property, so... it's bad. I wanted to stay home the rest of the year, but facing everyone is part of my punishment. My mom's making me quit cheer and get a job. I'm not even allowed to go to homecoming."

I nod, sympathy tugging at me despite knowing she earned the consequences.

"I was just telling Liam how lucky you were not to be in the car," she adds, turning slightly toward him. I glance at Liam and catch how quickly he drops his eyes.