Star Light Star Bright

Chapter 22

I avoided Chris for the rest of the week, going so far as to stop what I was doing and leave the room if he so much as put one toe through the doorway. I denied every call from Sam, not even letting them ring, before hitting end. I made it clear I didn’t want to talk to her. My parents noticed something was wrong, but after shutting them down the first couple of times they asked they left me to my own devices, figuring I’d get over it on my own time.

Every morning I woke up expecting to find another note on my dresser, but after the night of the party no more came. He had said his apology, and I guessed that if I didn’t have anything to say to him, he didn’t have anything else to say to me.

I had to walk past his door on my way in or out of the house, and a few times I heard him on the phone. A couple of times he actually sounded excited and the same rage that filled me when Sam was talking to him, burned deep inside of me. I quickly shook it away before it could consume me. Let him talk to some other unsuspecting girl. I didn’t want him playing with my emotions anymore. He had done his damage.

Bethany was the only one who didn’t ever give up on trying to figure out what was wrong. Every morning she woke me with a soft rapping on my door and then she would walk in and sit on my bed and ask if I wanted to talk yet. When I told her no, she would ran her hand over my hair and nod.  “Let me know when you do?” she would say, then walk out of the room.

When I would leave a room because of Chris, she would be on my heal in seconds, and follow me no matter where I went. When she noticed that I had an impenetrable glare on my face from a run in with Chris, or another one of Sam’s never ending calls, or from over hearing Chris in the middle of one of his calls, she would walk up to me and wrap her arms around me, not letting go until I forced myself out of her arms.

At first it was sweet and I enjoyed her company. She would tag along when I went on a drive, or sit in my room while I worked, but after a while it became the most irritating thing I had experience in my life.

I yelled at her and pushed her, a little to forcefully, out my door, but she stuck around like a tumor.

On a particularly bad day, when I’d had at least five run ins with Chris – which is five to many - I snapped. Bethany had followed me up stairs after I glared and ran out on Chris. She was about to wrap her arms around me in a hug when I yelled, “Fine! “You want to know what happened?!”

Bethany only nodded calmly. I glanced at the door, which was closed, like it so often had been in the past week.

“Chris kissed me.” I growled, and her eyes widened in shock. I smirked at her reaction, getting a sick kind of amusement out of it.

“When?” She choked out, her eyes still wide and her jaw on the ground.

“The night that we went out. We went to that party that I wanted to go to with Kyle. He helped me sneak out. Some things happened at the party…” the memory still made me flinch, and I was relieved I hadn’t gotten any calls from Kyle in the past week. That probably would have been too much agony. “Something happened at the party and Chris took me out to an open field to look at the stars, then he kissed me.” I refused to tell anyone I kissed him back. I was a sickening thought that made me wince.

Bethany’s expression softened and she raised her eyebrow, giving me a skeptical look. “That’s what you’re upset about?” She scoffed. She stood up off of her chair and started to walk through the door, apparently thinking my story wasn’t interesting enough to stick around and comfort me.

“Yes! Don’t you get it? He used me. He just wanted something… someone to do while he was here and I just happened to be nearby!”

Bethany turned to me, glaring and I cringed away, not used to that look being used on me. “You really don’t get it do you?” She scoffed. Her words stung as I remembered Sam saying the same thing, a few days before, but unlike Sam her tone was harsh, as if she were mad at me. “Chris really likes you, and you’re angry with him because he kissed you.” She shook her head and turned away, disgusted by the site of me. “Not everyone is out to get you Sage.” With that, she walked out the door and closed it behind her softly, which was worse than if she had slammed it. It meant she was disappointed and not angry.

Disappointed was worse.