Fix me

Chapter 26

Song on the side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .

Chapter 26

When I saw Hunter again the next morning by my locker, he leaned over and kissed me good morning. No words were exchanged, just lips and for a moment, just a moment, it felt right, nice, normal. But then I quickly pulled away, terrified that my cousin would see us. True, I had not had a confrontation Jeremy since I had yelled at him the week before, but that did not mean there wouldn’t be another one soon.

Hunter looked disappointed when I ended the kiss, but I forced a smile and whispered, “Not here.”

He must have taken the bait and thought me shy for he nodded and relaxed a bit. “How is everything?” He asked. “With your mom.”

I shrugged, grabbing books and putting them in my backpack. “I’m not sure yet.” I opened my mouth to say more, but paused when I saw Vanessa walking down the hallway. Hand and hand with Jeremy.

She was grinning and blushing, her eyes glued to his face. He was speaking and something he said made her laugh so hard that she dropped her notebook, her blush deepening.

Hunter followed my gaze and smiled a bit. “Looks like Jem forgave Vanessa.”

My lips were frozen; I couldn’t speak. Hunter waved as they passed. “Hey, Jem.”

He missed the cold look in my cousin’s eyes as he nodded his head in greeting. His smile looked so real.

Vanessa avoided my eyes and for good reason too. I was stunned, hurt by what she had done. She couldn’t stay away. She wouldn’t. They passed and turned a corner at the end of the hallway, out of sight.

. . .

Vanessa wasn’t at lunch so I ate alone. I had no idea where she couldn’t be unless she ditched class with Jeremy and that sent dark thoughts to my mind so I tried focusing on my mashed potatoes instead.

About halfway through lunch, Jenny pulled out the chair across from me (where Vanessa usually sits) and dropped into it with a bored expression painted on her face. Never had Jenny ever sat by me anywhere in the ten years I had gone to school with her.

“You’re Violet, right?” She asked as if she didn’t know. We had had most of our classes together. I nodded anyway, still confused. She let out a long breath, like she wasn’t sure why she bothered sitting at the same table as me in the first place. I tried to ignore my annoyance, but it was slowly growing.

“Your friend asked me to give you this. Don’t know why I frikin’ agreed to it in the first place,” She added, mumbling. She held out a folded up slip of paper in her bitten down nails, chewing on her gum obnoxiously loud.

Vanessa had written me a note and got her arch enemy/ lab partner to give it to me? My thoughts swirled.

“Are you gonna take it?” Jenny asked, growing impatient as I sat there dumbly and stared at the paper in her hand. I hesitantly grabbed it and quietly thanked.

She rolled her eyes and left, muttering “freak,” under her breath just loud enough so that I could hear it.

I slowly opened the note, finding it odd that Vanessa would write me a note instead of just sending me a text. However, when I read the message, I understood why and my heart thumped so violently in my chest, I feared that it would rip through skin and fabric and lay there on the dirty cafeteria floor, a bloody drum.

 . . .

I should have realized it sooner really. Jenny never said Vanessa specifically wrote me that note. I just didn’t think it could possibly be from anyone else. I was so stupid.