I was a Mistake

Help Me

Two Weeks Later

I'd been avoiding my best friend. Or maybe he'd been avoiding me. He spent a lot of time with Sophia and I had a hard time being with them both.

Sophia was gorgeous. She had short, light brown hair and the most soulful, brown eyes. My curly hair kinked at my waist and- who was I kidding- I couldn't begin to compare myself to her. Her body was perfect. She was tall and curvy in all the right places. She was confident and carried herself with poise.

And I couldn't even dislike her! Sophia was so nice, there was no way I could even think bad about her. Momma loved her and she was over at dinner all the time. Noah and Sophia weren't dating, but he spent a lot of his time texting or talking about her. I didn't blame him. Sophia was a great catch and I couldn't deny Noah seemed happy.

But while my nightmares continued, Noah must have stopped sensing when I had them. I was so used to waking up from them, screaming, and having Noah's arms to fall into. For nights, I had been dealing with my night terrors alone. As such, I was feeling the effects of my lack of sleep. I'd had no choice but to stay up trying to forget the images ingrained in my head. I'd even gone so far as to not sleep, afraid of what I'd see in my dreams. I had become grumpy and stayed in my room whenever I was home.

Jolie had noticed my change. She lifted her orange, kaleidoscope sunglasses off of her eyes and stared at me. "Bitty, you've got to sleep! You look like someone's thrown you in a wood chipper. Those dark circles could shade a sunny day!"

I waved my hand at her, telling her to let it go. You can't rely on others to take care of you. I didn't want to be mad at Noah. Just because he had a new friend didn't mean I had to feel left out. I had Jolie, and distance could help any relationship. Right. Keep telling yourself that.

"Here they come. Prepare yourself," Jolie whispered my way. I didn't have to look behind me to know who she was talking about.

"Eden, that blouse is gorgeous! It goes perfectly with your eyes." Sophia sat beside me and Noah took his seat on the other side of her. She's flawless. Give up. I nodded a thank you to her and gave her my best smile.

"Ed, do you think you can find a ride home today?" Noah asked, a look of guilt spreading across his gorgeous face. "After practice, Sophie was going to take me to a movie." His baby blue eyes looked into mine, searching for acceptance, no doubt.

Don't be pathetic, stupid. Don't you dare show any emotion. I finally nodded at him after looking at him for several moments.

"My mom will take you home, Bitty. Don't you worry." Jolie smiled at me, but I could see the anger in her eyes. I knew she was mad at Noah. It was obvious she blamed him for my lack of sleep.

"Thanks, Jo!" Noah beamed at Sophia. I had to admit they looked really nice together.

I picked at my lunch listening to the conversation absentmindedly. The lunch period dragged on for what seemed like hours. Noah barely made any effort to include me in the conversation, but Jolie ignored Sophia completely. When they stood up to leave, I was actually relieved.

"Bye, Edith. I'll see you at home." Noah kissed my forehead and walked with Sophia out of the cafeteria.

"Little shit," Jolie said. "He's barely even paying attention to you."

I nodded and pushed my peas around with my fork, not really listening to her.

❃❃❃

Jolie left school early. She assured me she had no idea she had a doctors appointment, or she wouldn't have offered me a ride home. She hugged me, apologizing profusely. "I'm so sorry, Bitty! I'll make it up to you."