Elements (Pentatonix)

Chapter 15

Thank God for insurance. I knew it didn't always happen, but they finally replaced my car with a new one. I was lucky enough for it to be the same kind, too. I headed downstairs, grabbing an apple from the table as I made sure I had everything for school. I grabbed a smaller bag and threw it over my shoulder as I quickly finished off the fruit.

"I'll see you after practice," I told my mom as I kissed her cheek.

"Be careful," she told me, worry clear in her eyes, and I knew why. This was the first time I've driven to school since the accident. Even I was scared.

"I will. I'll text you when I get there," I told her, grabbing my backpack and heading out the door. I followed my promise, texting my mom when I got to the school and grabbed my backpack before heading inside. I really wasn't ready. Back to school meant I was more than likely gonna have to confront both Esther and Avi about why they felt the need to ignore me over the break. I probably wouldn't have been so mad had I not known that they had been keeping in touch with the others. It hurt.

The first half of the day went by perfectly fine aside from neither me nor Esther saying a word to each other. I tried, but every time I'd say something, she'd either turn her head the other way or look at me and not say anything.

I sat silently at the lunch table, moving my food around with my fork as I listened to the conversations everyone else was having. Party this. Homework that. Christmas this. Hanukkah that. I wanted to say something, but I couldn't. My mind was still filled to the brim with unwanted thoughts. "You wanna come?" I kept my eyes down on my plate as Scott spoke again. "Sarah?"

Reluctantly, I looked over at him, my jaw clenching several times. "What?"

"You wanna go see a movie with us Friday after school?"

I shook my head as my gaze dropped back to my plate. "Can't. Court date." I still hadn't told them.

"What illegal thing did you do?" Mitch asked, his voice raising a bit.

I shook my head a bit and set my fork down. "Nothing. My parents are getting a divorce and are fighting for custody." The silence that fell over the table was deafening, despite the noises coming from everyone else.

"I'm sorry," Kevin said, looking over at me. I shrugged a bit, never moving my eyes.

"What about today then?" Scott asked, trying to lighten the mood, but it didn't work.

"Practice," I said, finally standing up and grabbing my tray, starting to walk away.

"Practice for what?" Avi's voice cut through the air like a knife and almost threw me off completely. I turned to face him, trying to keep my emotions in check.

"Skating practice. See you'd know that if you two hadn't been too busy ignoring me over the past month," I said, turning back around and walking away quickly as I felt my heart speed up.

After that, I couldn't find it in me to talk to any of them the rest of the day. Given, in my last class, I still sat next to Avi, but despite his constant attempts, I didn't say anything to him. The moment the last bell rang, I got up and walked out, barely managing to get out the door before I heard someone start calling my name. I didn't stop until I got to my car, not wasting any time as I got in and left, ignoring my phone's constant chiming and ringing.

By the time I got to the rink, it had stopped, but I didn't have much time to change. I switched over to my only skating dress and pulled my hair back in a neat bun before sliding on my skates. I made my way onto the ice, smiling a bit at my coach, Anastasia.

"Good to know you can make it on time with school," she said as she gave me a brief hug.

"Traffic was good," I told her, and we began training. I was so focused on getting my turns right that I didn't hear the front door open or the sound of footsteps until I made a turn and caught sight of Avi watching me, and nearly fell on my face. "What do you want?"

"No visitors while she's training," I heard Anastasia say, but I held my hand up and shook my head.

"This will only take a minute." I skated over to the wall he was at, stopping with ease. "What do you want?" I repeated.

"I want to know what was up with you at lunch. You didn't hardly talk and when you did, it was kind of bitchy," he said, his hands gripping the wall tightly.

"I wouldn't have to be if two people I thought were my friends weren't ignoring me. You know I thought it might have been service until I found out you two had no problem talking to the others. Not to mention your sister barely looked at me today in class, so I should be asking you what the hell's going on," I said, poking his shoulder. "And why you thought it was a good idea to leave me out on the fact that you weren't even in town the entire break. I had to find out through Kevin, and I still defended both of you!"

"What do you mean defended us?"

"That's right. You couldn't even check in so you don't know."

"Know what?"

"That my dad was a complete homophobic racist that thought religious discrimination was okay. He doesn't like any of you and despite knowing that you and Esther didn't care to talk to me, I still almost burned him to ashes for all of you."

I could see the look of shock in his eyes, but stubbornness quickly took over. "Well maybe Esther doesn't want to talk to you because of me! And maybe if you didn't keep sending mixed signals, I wouldn't be ignoring you. I'm sorry your life sucks but that's no reason for you to touch my feelings only to squeeze them so hard it hurts!"

"I'll see you tomorrow Sarah." Anastasia's words went in one ear and out the other, barely registering.

"Mixed feelings? You've got to be kidding me! That's what this is about?! I haven't been sending mixed signals, Avi! Maybe you should start looking at Mitch! Every time I tried something, he'd but in and ruin it!"

"What could you have possibly been trying?! Please clarify!"

I didn't like him raising his voice, the deepness only made it more scary, but then again, I did start it. "You really want to know?"

He nodded, crossing his arms over his chest impatiently. Without thinking, I grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled him closer as I leaned over the wall and pressed my lips against his. I could feel him relax a bit, and I finally pulled away, staring up at him. "Happy?"

He hesitated before nodding slightly, casually looking up a bit. I noticed his jade eyes widen slightly just before she shoved me back, causing me to land hard on the ice, barely avoiding hitting my head just as a loud gunshot rang throughout the arena.