Battle Scars

chapter 8 - the word 'love'

*three weeks later*

The past few weeks have been insane. First, Brandon found out that Talya read my journal and decided to break up with her. Then, last Friday, Jude got exactly a 65 on that test he had to take to get into the school. As for me, I actually met someone in school that isn't terrified of me. His name's Wyatt and he's in my English class. He has long, curly blond hair that goes to his shoulders. He's tall and honestly, at first he kind of scared me. After I got to know him, I found out that he's really nice and he's just as troubled as I am.

He's not even close to Brandon though. Brandon has been there for me since day 1 and Wyatt doesn't even know my story. Brandon stayed with me through everything and Wyatt only talks to me because we sit by each other in English. Wyatt's cute, but Brandon is nearly perfection. I wish I could have Brandon instead of just like Brandon. He's the only person, other than Jude and my mom, that I have ever trusted. I can't do that to Jude though. If it were just me, I'd go for it, I'd "follow my heart" or whatever. But I refuse to hurt Jude again.

The clock says 6:07 and because it's Sunday, I decide to just lay in bed. It's still dark outside and the room is cold and empty. I pull my blanket to my chest and curl into a ball on my bed, facing the wall. Why do guys have to be so complicated? Why can't anything ever go my way? Why can't I ever just be happy?

I feel so frustrated I can't even stand it. I throw my blanket off me and go over to the window. The sun is rising behind the tree in the yard. The sky is a beautiful pinkish orange color and the clouds are randomly scattered across it. Sunlight peaks through the tree branches, shining through the window. It actually calms me.

I turn away from the window and head downstairs. Surprisingly, neither Steph or Lena are awake yet. Plopping down on the couch, I turn on the TV and search through the channels. Of course there's nothing on at this hour so I decide to flip on a random black and white show that if never seen. Pulling a blanket to my chest, I close my eyes and slowly drift off to sleep.

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I only wake up when I feel two arms wrap around my small body and pick me up. Without opening my eyes, I automatically know it's Brandon. His strong arms carry me to my room and my face is pressed against his chest. I don't open my eyes and pretend I'm still asleep.

He gently sets me down on my bed and drapes the blanket over me. He moves a piece of my hair behind my ear and kisses my forehead. Before he leaves, he whispers 'I love you, Callie' in my ear. I can no longer pretend anymore. Before he walks away, I say 'I love you too' with a smile. After a minute, I hear the door quietly shut and I fall back to sleep dreaming of a boy with bright blue eyes and curly brown hair.