Transformed || l.h.

Chapter 12

When her phone goes off for the third time that night, Georgia feels her chest tightening. “Stop being so cute,” she mumbles with a groan, looking at her phone that’s sitting on her counter top. “I just need time to think!” She throws another pillow at the wall in frustration and grunts. Georgia puts her head in her hands and closes her eyes tightly, wishing that she could think clearly.

On one hand, Georgia loves the euphoric feelings she gets when she’s around him. She loves the way his fingertips graze over her skin and how his lips feel against hers. The way his eyes light up when he smiles and his chest vibrates when he laughs make her giddy just thinking about it. Now on the other hand, Georgia feels a weighing ton of guilt upon her shoulders with every touch she receives and delivers. She feels like she’s betraying the closest thing she has to a best friend and it hurts deep in her chest, a dull ache that resonates for moments after.

“Ugh!” she screams, falling onto her back on the bed. Georgia remembers what Luke so easily reminded her: Penelope slapped you. “She’s not your friend anymore,” she sighs, closing her eyes. “She probably never was.” Georgia rolls her eyes behind opaque lids, wishing that she would’ve just been alone throughout high school and not befriended the bottle blonde.

Georgia rolls over in bed and curls up with her pillow clutched to her chest, forgetting her phone that’s buzzing and forgetting all the voices in her head that are screeching at her. She forgets about everything and just lets the world fade to black as she falls into a dreamless slumber.

~*~

Sunday passes the same way as Saturday night did with Georgia ignoring Luke’s text messages, and finally they stop. Then comes Monday morning. When she pulls up to the school, she really wishes that his Jeep wasn’t parked a few slots away and he wasn’t standing at the trunk, picking up his backpack and jacket. She huffs and makes herself get out, trying to come up with a cover story in her head if he does try and approach her.

When she stands up, they make eye contact and she swears that if someone were to walk between them a glass wall would’ve shattered. Finally Luke just rolls his eyes and huffs, his nostrils widening before he turns his body and walks on without saying a word. Georgia sighs, “I deserved that.”

Walking to her locker, she watches as Luke splits off and instead walks straight to science class instead walks straight to science class rather than standing by her locker. Georgia sighs, and doesn’t go after him, choosing to instead go where the group is waiting. Without a word to the others, she unlocks her locker and pulls out her books.

“Geeps?” Ashton asks, leaning into her.

She turns and looks up at him, masking her upset and confused emotions. “Yeah, Ash?” He sighs, “Why are you doing this?” They begin walking toward the science room, side-by-side with Calum and Michael in tow. When she doesn’t answer, he persists. “Georgia, seriously, he called me and said everything was okay Saturday morning. He’s really confused, and so am I. Care to explain?”

“Maybe I am too, Ashton, did you ever think of that?!” she questions loudly, drawing the attention of everyone in the classroom. When she looks up at meets Luke’s eyes, she sees the hurt, pain, and confusion swimming around. In a whisper, Georgia speaks, “Maybe I’m confused too.”