Chapter Twenty
I get to school the next day with a whole new, beautiful view of life. Apparently, Lexis had decided to come to school, too. We make eye contact once and don't see each other for the rest of the day, which is a relief.
The day goes normally. Mary talks to me, aimlessly drifting off into conversations with herself, me replying with only one sentence responses. The boys who are considered the jocks talk to me for a bit, trying to flirt with me, but failing.
Adam's eyes are locked on me and I can feel it, but I don't turn around to look at him. I ignore it, like usual.
Around fifth hour, I'm with Mary, working on my English homework beforehand.
Suddenly, Mary comments on Tia Martinez, saying she had been cutting herself lately. Sure enough, I make out scars on her wrists when her sleeves accidentally roll up at random points.
I nod towards Mary, saying this conversation wasn't over, but I had to go, and walk over to Tia.
Tia wasn't exactly popular, you could say. She was actually a bit of a nerd, constantly making comments on how great Doctor Who was last night and how hot Captain America is. It wasn't exactly annoying, but it was at the same time. I also felt kind of bad for her because she was pretty socially awkward, but was a pretty girl.
"Hey," I say, smiling and gesturing towards the empty desk by her, "Can I sit here?"
"Uh, sure, I guess," she says, tugging at her sleeves and pulling them further up over her wrists.
"You don't have to hide them, Tia. I mean, it's probably smart to, but they're part of you, so therefore, they're beautiful." I say.
"Um, I'm sorry. I'm not lesbian," she says shyly.
I laugh and shake my head. "No, I meant the cuts. I'm not lesbian, either. You can't stoop to that level, okay? You're stronger than that. You don't deserve it."
She smiles politely at me and shakes her head. "I've heard it all before. What school club are you representing today?"
"None. It's just, my...friend, Justin Blake committed suicide recently, as you probably heard, and I couldn't do anything to stop it, but I can do stuff to prevent it now, and that's the best feeling in the world, Tia. Last night, I saved three people. Three." I explain, quite proud of myself while I'm saying it.
"That's really sweet of you, but just because I cut, doesn't mean I'm going to kill myself," she says.
"You know, cutting is kind of suicidal. I'm sorry, but it is, and you may not realize that while you're doing it, but it is.
"Tia, you may think nobody cares about you, but that's a lie. We've barely even said ten words to each other before now, but I still care about you. And I can help you and I just want you to be okay and not make a mistake like Justin did.
"He lost his friends and family and his girlfriend and whatever chance he had at a future. I'd hate to see you lose that, too." I say.
She nods and sighs a little. "That was a really good speech, but I'm not suicidal, okay? I won't do anything I'll regret. Not today, anyways."
"But you will!" I say, "You've already done it! Soon, you'll look back at these scars and you'll regret them. I guarantee it."
She rolls her eyes and then makes direct eye contact with me, scaring me a little, but not enough to make me falter.
"Okay. I'll try to stop, Angel. I'm sorry," she says softly.
A feeling of triumph instantly washes over me and I can see Tia's eyes filling with tears. Tears of gratitude and regret and love. Of knowing someone's actually there for her for once.
And knowing I'm that person is the best feeling in the world.
YOU ARE READING
Among The Stars
Teen Fiction*First book* Do you ever wonder what would happen if you died? It doesn't even have to be suicide. What if you just didn't wake up one night? Firstly, what would happen to you? What if there isn't a God and everything left is just darkness. Or maybe...
