Pictures of You [M. C.]

8

(Song for this chapter: "Honest" by: The Neighbourhood)

Monday morning, I sit in the passenger seat of Calum's car, staring out the window. We're almost to school now and neither of us have said a word to the other. Over the weekend I decided I'm angry with him and I'm not letting him off easy this time. He promised he would protect me and he broke that.

Calum parks in the back of the lot like normal and cuts the engine off. For a few moments we sit in silence, waiting to see which of us is going to cave first.

"Riley, say something," Calum speaks up. I finally look at him and what I see is almost enough to break me. Almost.

I let out a breath, "What were you thinking? You could've killed yourself." I try my best to keep my voice steady. He looks down at his hands that are picking at his jeans before meeting my eyes.

"It was just a party. Nothing happened, Riley. I'm fine."

"Nothing happened? Calum, I found you using drugs! How is that okay?" I'm yelling now and my voice seems to be twice as loud in the confined space of his car. I see him cringe, my words taking an effect on him. Now that I'm talking, I can't stop the words spilling from my lips. "You left me! I didn't even want to be there in the first place. Did you even notice or care that I left?"

He shifts his gaze down slightly, not completely meeting my eyes. This is enough to give me an answer. Without another word, I grab my backpack and jump out of the car. Calum follows my actions, catching up to me instantly.

"Ri, please let me explain," he begs wrapping his hand around my wrist harshly.

"Don't call me that," I choke, trying to swallow the tears that are threatening to fill my eyes. I pull my hand from his grasp, "And don't bother waiting for me after school." With that, I continue to the building. Before I can step foot in first period, I run into the bathroom. I splash water on my face in an attempt to calm down. After fixing my make-up, I walk to my homeroom.

Calum sits in his normal seat at the back of the class and avoids looking at me as I sit down. Michael is already there, giving me a bright smile. I ignore him and take out my Math book and a piece of paper.

"Hey, are you okay?" Michael asks, a worried expression plastered to his face.

"I'm fine," I say bluntly, not looking at him. The next moment, Mrs. Bell walks to the front of the room.

"Good morning, class. I hope you all had a good weekend," she says cheerfully. I notice Calum looking at me out of the corner of my eye but I keep my attention on the front of the room. "I'm still a little behind on grading papers so I'm giving you all another free period today. There is also no homework for tonight. I suggest you use this time to work on assignments for your other classes that I know you didn't do this weekend." Her comment earns a small round of laughing from the class because we all know it's true. With that, Mrs. Bell makes her way back to her desk and pulls out a small stack of papers.

I actually don't have any work to do. While trying to keep my mind off things this weekend, I got caught up on all my work and even worked ahead. The rest of the class begins on various assingments. Even Michael has a few papers on his desk to finish. I notice one of them is a math homework that is not even half done. I quickly take it and open my book, turning to the correct page.

"Hey! What are you doing?" he asks noticing the missing paper.

"I'm doing this for you so you can get done quicker," I reply quietly. "Now shut up and just accept it." He holds his hands up in mock surrender and continues working on something for what looks like History.