There Is More To Me (The Mind Puzzle)

Chapter Twenty-Four- Reality

~ So here's the chapter I promised you. Sorry it came a little later, life happened xD Hope you enjoy :3~

Chase just punched me?

Leo is on top of Chase ready to throw another punch, but when he realizes what happened his hand freezes in the air with wide eyes. I look down at Chase as tears prick my eyes because of the stinging pain in my cheek. I wipe away a stray tear as guilt settles on his face.

Silence fills the bus, no one daring to crack it. All anxious to see what happens next.

"What the hell?!", Leo shouts in Chase's face, even more mad at the fact that I got hurt. I hold my cheek as I take a seat without saying a word. More tears fall without my permission and I wipe them away furiously. I know Chase didn't mean to hurt me, but he should show me more respect and not touch me.

"You okay?", Leo asks me as he reaches with his bloody knuckles towards my cheek, where Chase had hit me after sitting.

"I'm fine", I stop his hand and hold it gently, inspecting his knuckles.

"Are you okay?", I ask with worry leaking into my voice.

"I'm fine", Leo smiles weakly. I rest my head on his shoulder, holding his hand as the school bus goes back into action.

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The bus comes to a halt and Leo and I wait for all the students to rush out before getting off as well. I spot Chase and quickly move towards him. He sees me coming and guilt seeps into his face. I ignore it and when I finally come face to face with him, I reach my hand back and slap him across the face. My eyes brim with tears but I suck it up and stare him dead in the eye.

He stands there stunned and before he can come out of his state, I say what I want to say," I'm not your toy or anyone else's for that matter so I don't appreciate you touching me and acting like if you own me. I don't put the hit against you because I know you didn't mean to hurt me but please just leave me alone"

My voice cracks at the end as a hurt expression settles on his face. I bite my lip in the attempt to not cry and turn away leaving him in the middle of the car park.

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An ice-cream cone appears in front of my face as I stare into space. I look from the cone up to the person whose hand is reached out towards me. It's Stephanie.

"It's gonna melt if you don't eat it", she prompts.

I take it from her and start to lick the creamy scoop. I mean who can resist ice-cream? Especially double chocolate chip. Not me.

As it chills my throat a smile grows on my face and my mood brightens up. Hitting Chase really had an effect on me. As does my now swollen and red cheek. Talking about swollen, Leo went to get me some ice from the nurse office, what's taking him so long?

"What happened to your cheek?", Stephanie asks as she sits beside me on the bench by the entrance of the school.

"It was an accident", I shrug. I don't really want to bring it up again.

"If you say so"

Wait how did she know I liked double chocolate ice cream?

"How did you know this is my favorite?"

"Best friend, remember? I also remember your mom liking rainbow ice cream", she laughs. I laugh along with her. It's pretty weird to find a woman that is over 40 who likes rainbow ice cream.

We continue to talk and laugh as I wonder why Leo is taking so long.

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~Leo's P.O.V

I puff out a breath as my legs move as fast as they can. I enter the school car park and come to a halt, feeling out of breathe. I may be fit, but running for so long just to get Angel something to make her feel better is a task on my body, but at least it's worth it. I head to the nurse's office and collect the ice pack before going to Angel. When she comes into view and I spot the ice cream in her hand, I stop walking. My smile withers as I look down at the chocolate muffin in my hand that I ran for more than a mile to get from Angel's favorite pastry shop.

I look back up at Stephanie with a hard expression. Angel probably hasn't seen through her lies and connect the dots, but I have and I am watching her very closely. Even from the first time I saw her, I knew that there was something off about her. My suspicions were confirmed when she said she was a vegetarian. Not only that though. I also caught her spying on us when I was talking to Angel about Stephanie in the garden the other day. She was talking on the phone to someone and when I strained my ears to hear what she was saying, I heard her saying she wasn't Stephanie. I don't want to tell Angel anything until I find out who the real Stephanie is.

My grip on the container with the muffin tightens. Just then someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn around and there stood Brianna.

"What do you want?", I ask coldly.

"You should watch that Stephanie girl. She isn't good news, I would know", Brianna speaks with a serious expression.

"Why does it matter to you?", I raise a brow as the ice pack in my hand for Angel drips.

"I'm not as bad you think", she mumbles under breath, but I still hear her.

"Oh really, so bullying a girl who did nothing to you, isn't bad? Making her feel pathetic about herself, isn't bad? Making her cry and suffer, isn't bad?!", My voice rises with every question I put out. I couldn't help it. Angel has been through enough already and it hurts me to know that she had to endure all the bullying and her lonely thoughts on her own.

"You know nothing about me! If you did you would take back every single word that just came out your mouth!", Brianna shouts back as tears start to fall from her eyes, " You don't know what I have to go through everyday, you don't know how much regret and pain I feel and I can't even do anything about it! I have to endure everything with only a little string of hope that one day, one day I would be able to break free from the chains that hold me down!"

I just stand and stare as her mask crumbles and I see a broken girl with no one to put her back together. I stand speechless as tears she held back for so long finally come out and her body shakes with sadness. Scars are on her heart from the harshness of life.

"If I could put my life back together I would, but I don't even know how I got here in the first place", Brianna whispers as her lips tremble.

I place the ice pack and muffin that was in my hand on the ground and hug her. She returns the hug and cries on my shoulder, as I pat her back gently.

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Sorry that it's a little short but I hope you still enjoyed it :D Please comment your thoughts and vote. Also please don't forget to share this book with your friends, family, followers and other wattpaders.

Remember it's not what you wear, it's how you wear it :3

-Peace out x

~Gabzzz

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