Holding On

Chapter Twenty-Five

I couldn't sleep all night. At least I had Joey at my side. I propped myself up on my elbow and moved some loose hair pieces off his forehead. My thoughts went back to last night. Jake was so understanding. He said that it wasn't my fault. Yeah, he was furious, at first, but he said I didn't know she was going to do that. He also said that they told me to ignore her threat, so I had nothing to do with it. I still blamed myself though. If I never met them, this wouldn't have happened. If I was more careful on the first day of school, and if Jake never saw me, we wouldn't be here right now. Not much happened today, Jake and I waited for any sign from Joey, but none came. Jake would go every once in a while to get us something to eat.

***

          I walked into school with my hood covering half my face and my head ducked down, going straight to my locker. I got the stuff I needed and went to Jasmine's little circle of mischiefs. She looked over me and what I was wearing with displeasure. I raised my head and gave her a death glare. Her mini group of friends fell silent as death. Jasmine tsked at me and walked over to me furiously. This woman, sheesh, she cannot make up her god damn mind. One day she is like "I want that money get it to me no matter what," and now when I actually show my face she's all like, "what are you doing here??" Mentally, of course.

          Her crew was giving me looks of disgust, the looks stuck up people give to people who are different or not as "popular" as they are. Jasmine grabbed my upper arm roughly and dragged me away into an empty locker bay.

          "What is it this time? Like I know you are jealous of me and all, but you are like taking this too far, honey," Jasmine scoffs at me.

          I roll my eyes. She is so self-absorbed, my conscious speaks out to me. "Okay. Great, well I'll just go. Don't ask for the money again, and leave me alone." I turn away to leave, but a firm grip circles my wrist and pulls me back staring into the face of Jasmine.

          "Where do you think you are going, Missy? You could've just said this was about the money in the first place. Now hand it over," she puts her hand out, waiting for the money to be placed in her hands. I slip an envelope with 1k in her hands, and walk away from her.

          Blackmail is just the worse, so is threatening. Oh, how much I wish I can rip out her guts and feed them to her. My life isn't much. It would be so different if Joey was by my side. Jake isn't here either. I'm all on my own. My classes are going slower than ever. They seem like they're never going to end. Like they say, when you're having fun, time goes by like a car on a high way. But when you are down, time is like a car stuck in a very busy traffic. I sigh, not paying any attention to my classes. Then my phone buzzes in my pocket. I quickly take it out, thinking it is news from Jake about Joey. But I sigh when I see the text and reply.

Mason: I know you are going through a rough path. But how has everything else been?

Me: It's going like everything else I guess. How has your life been?

Mason: It hurts me to see you like this, Princess. You cannot always be depressed. You gotta have a little fun. I know Joey will be okay. He will fight his way through this. He will not, and I can assure you, leave you in this cruel world all alone.

Me: Thanks, Mason. That really helped a lot. Thank you for being there for me when I have nobody else.

Mason: No problem, Princess. We all know you need a little cheering up, honey. ;)

Me: Yeah. Oh god, this is awful.

Mason: What's awful?

Me: I know that I need cheering up. I have been blunt ever since his accident. I mean he was all I had.

Mason: Hey, that ain't true. You have me, and don't forget Jake. He's been there for you.

Me: I know, it's just I feel so empty, Mason.

Mason: Yeah, I know that feeling. Wanna talk about it at lunch?

Me: Yes, please. Now stop texting and pay attention to class.

Mason: Yes, ma'am.

          A little smile crossed my lips, and I shook my head. At least now I know I have somebody still on my side. Then the bell for lunch rang and I thought that bell was never going to ring. I packed up my belongings, and put them neatly in my bag before zipping it up. I lifted up my bag, and walked to my locker like a sloth. I put my bag in my locker, then I felt a pair of big strong hands covering my eyes. He leaned close to my ear, and whispered, "hello, how have you been?"

          I moved his hands away then turned back and hugged him. "Hey, Mason."

          His arms lightly wrap around me, engulfing me in his warmth. "shh, it'll be okay, princess," then he planted a light kiss on the top of my head as he continued resting his chin on my head. After a little while, we let go and walked side-by-side to the cafeteria. I went and sat on our usual table while Mason lined up to get us something to eat. The table felt emptier than ever without Joey and Jake. I felt an unusual presence come and sit at the table. When I looked up, I spotted Sam sitting in front of me. He spoke, "Rose, what happened to you? You used to be so happy and cheerful. Is this all seriously because of Joey's accident?"

          "Yeah, Sam. He kept me so happy, but then he got taken away from me. He's in a coma. He might never come back, Sam." Mason plopped down beside me, just looking at Sam. Something told me Mason was not at ease with Sam. Sam's gaze flickered over at Mason just for a second before focusing back at me. His face scrunched up in disgust.

          He snarled, "Oh my god, you're so fucking desperate, Rose. Just grow up. Not everything is going to go your way. He's gone! Move on, I mean you already have Mason at your side. He's all in one piece and alive. Just fuck him. Stop being such a sloppy whore and having three guys around you. You can't have all three, just choose," he got up furiously smacking the table. Then he marched out of the cafeteria. My eyes began to sting, and before I knew it, tears were cascading down my cheeks, almost rapidly. Mason tried to help me calm down and tried to wipe away my tears, but I swatted his hand away. Then I slowly stood up. There were so many people digging holes into me.

          "Oh my god, just look at her."

          "Why is she crying?"

          "What a loser."

          "What a cry baby."

          "She knows she's in high school not a daycare centre, right?"

          The laughter around me was increasing and getting louder and louder. The space around was getting smaller, and I started feeling like I'm suffocating. Mason put his hand on my shoulder, but I just ran out of the cafeteria. My tears ran down my cheeks at a more rapid pace. I couldn't take this anymore. It is just too much. I ran and ran. Then I began to feel light headed and dizzy. There were foot steps behind me, getting closer and closer. There was a male voice speaking after me, "Rose! Oh my god, Rose! Are you..." I did not hear anything after that, I felt my body slowly falling to the ground. Numb and weak. I felt arms wrap around me, saying something, but I could not hear what the person was saying. Then everything just went dark, and I passed out.