Oxygen

Chapter 28 - Social Suicide

The next morning I woke up with the best feeling in my heart. The nervous butterflies that once consumed me were gone, replaced by the feelings of pure happiness. A million different emotions twirl around me, like autumn leaves in the crisp morning air. The leaves whirl around me in fantastic trails, in the most delightful way possible. I grip my warm white bed sheets as I sit up, my hole body warmed by it.

No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to resist the smile from spreading across my face. I feel as though I am sitting on clouds, just admiring the view like a magical dream. I feel as though nothing can hurt me now. I feel powerful, and overcome with the happiest memory of my life.

It comes back to me immediately. When Jordan drove me home, carried me inside, my legs wrapped around his waist. He opened the door, the peace and quiet of the house enduring us. When he closes it, he leans me against the wall, my legs still wrapped around him. He leans into me, one hand firmly around my waist, the other gripping my hair. Then, he slowly presses his lips against mine. And it wasn't just his lips kissing me. It's captivating, a mixture of ocean water and mint flowing between us. Every inch of our bodies that touched sent sparks through me.

I felt tingly all over, with the memory lingering everywhere he touched me. No, we didn't go all the way, but the kisses we shared were enough to last me a lifetime. The feeling left me wanting more. More of Jordan.

I hastily got out of bed, and got dressed in my ripped denim shorts and a pink tunic top. I slid on my silver sandals and a thin grey cardigan. I could already feel the intense heat from the hot summer day blowing through my open window, and the fresh smell of cut grass drifted in my nostrils.

I sauntered down the stairs and took a smoothie from the fridge. It was cool and refreshing, and tasted of strawberries and cream. I downed the hole thing while I waited for my ride to come. I had a smile plastered on my face as I grabbed my bag and raced to the door. "Fern" I heard Bonnie call me.

I turned around to see her slight figure in the doorway of the kitchen, holding a mug of coffee. She smiled sweetly as I gave her a quick hug. "How was last night?" she asked, and I explained that Jordan had taken me to an outdoor theater. She smiled and sent me on my way, telling me not to be late. "Bye, Mum" I said, before closing the door behind me.

I half walked, half skipped up the concrete path to Jordan's car. We were using the Jeep again today. Oh well. I got in the passenger seat eagerly, and tried to calm myself down as I put on my seat belt. "Morning cupcake" Jordan greeted, and it made me blush. I couldn't get my mind off Jordan. Jordan, Jordan, Jordan.

"Hey" I said. Hey? That's all I seemed to come up with, as Jordan drove towards school. We talked about the movie we watched last night, both trying to avoid the topic of how last night ended. We decided together that Hazel and Augustus are the most romantic couple in movie history, beating Titanic by a long shot.

When we got to school, we both had the same class first period, so we walked in together. Jordan had one arm around my waist, the other in the pocket of his jeans. I had my bag in a tight grip as I opened the door. The minute I opened it, I knew something was wrong.

Everyone went quiet, and seemed to be watching the two of us as we strolled down the hall. There was a group of juniors all gathered around, holding similar pieces of paper and showing them to each other. On the floor were the same posters, scattered in piles all over the floor, and stuck to the walls.

Jordan realized what it was before I did. "What is it?" I asked, but he kept quiet. I walked over to my locker, and Jordan let go of his grip on my waist. I peeled the poster away from my locker and took a closer look at it.

On the sheet was a distinct message. 'Fern Ashford' it said in bold letters at the top. There was a picture of me and Jordan, from the movie night last night, with us kissing in the car. How did someone get hold of that? No one knew where we were going last night. Unless they followed us there.

I kept reading, and at the bottom of the poster was, 'Here's to the new family'. What the hell? There was a drawing next to it, of a man, a woman and a baby in her arms. Olivia. There is only one person who would do this, it must have been her. The anger started to build inside me, and I gripped onto my bag, my fists turning white. I was more annoyed than upset, because this doesn't just affect me.

I can't get angry, I thought. I tried my best to keep myself calm, but all I could think was how I would break Olivia's neck until she was dead. I would never kill someone like that, but the intense anger building inside me was controlling my thoughts.

Jordan sensed my anger and stood behind my in front of my locker, covering me from anyone's view. He entwined his hands around my waist, and I leaned back into his chest, a tear softly falling down my cheek.

I've never really been bullied before, not like this. The only time anyone has ever given me grief was for an obvious reason. This time, I can't understand why Olivia would do this to me. I go through all the possibilities in my head, but nothing adds up. What is she up to? This can't be the only reason she did this, just to embarrass me and upset me. There's more to this. I just have to find out what that is.

Jordan turns me around, quickly wiping the tears from my face. "Let's go" he says, and starts dragging me away from my locker. "What? Where are we going?" I asked, still too shocked to understand what was happening. "You'll see" he said, dragging me back into the car. Never mind school today, I thought.

We drove for a while, until we stopped at a Sushi stall. Without saying anything, Jordan got out of the car, leaving the engine on, and ran to the stall. I looked in the rear view mirror at my appearance. My eyes were drooping and sad, my skin paler than ever.

Jordan came back a few minutes later, with two packets of sushi and cans of vanilla coke. "Comfort food" he explained, and I smiled softly at the gesture. We drove for a few more minutes, until we pulled off the motorway onto a gravel drive. We finally stopped by the river, where the sun was shining warmly and the breeze flowed in my hair through the open window.

Jordan led me out of the car and told me to wait for him. He went to the back of the car and pulled out a picnic rug and a few blankets to keep us warm. He carried them to me and lay them out over the stones. I sat down next to him, and he wrapped a blanket around me, handing me my sushi. "Don't worry, everything will be okay" Jordan said, seriously. "I'll fix this".

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Hi readers!

So I would just like to say thank you for 200 reads! I'm amazed how many people are reading this book, I know to some authors it's not much but for my first book I'm so thankful!!

Don't forget to comment and vote on my chapters!

What is Jordan going to do to fix this?

Thanks for reading.
Alice xx