My first crush (COMPLETED)√

Chapter 21

My alarm rang at seven in the morning, but I slammed it off and rolled back into my tangled sheets. Ugh, today was already shaping up to be miserable. Falling asleep last night had been a war in itself—I had drunk too much, hiding the empty bottle under my bed, convincing myself that a few hours of oblivion could erase the chaos in my mind.

This morning, reality hit like a punch to the gut. I'd called Stephen forty-six times. Forty-six! My hands shook as I scrolled through the call log, memories of last night flashing back—screaming in front of my mirror, singing sad songs at the top of my lungs, rolling across the floor as if the world had collapsed just for me. Everything had been fine, calm even, until Eric barged in yesterday and ripped open all those old wounds I had tried so hard to bury.

"Tori!" I shouted just as a splash of freezing water hit my face.

"Stephen!" I yelped again, still half-drunk from the night before.

"Tori! What was that for?!" I scrambled up, hair plastered to my face.

She smirked, arms crossed, unimpressed.
"It's ten, and you're still in bed."

"Jeez! Could it get any more miserable?" I groaned, flopping back onto the sheets. She couldn't even pick a more important reason to drag me out of bed.

"Well, your life's been miserable for some time now," Tori said, grinning as she left my room. I knew she was just finding creative ways to make me get up, but I didn't have the energy to fight with her.

I sank back against the pillows, muttering, "It's just a freaking Saturday."

I grabbed my phone, scrolling through the messages I had sent in the middle of my self-made chaos.

"How could you leave me?!"
"I thought you loved me!"
"Why aren't you replying me?! Reply now or else I would kill myself!"

My fingers hovered over the last sent message. And then the response came—calm, indifferent, yet stabbing my heart anyway:

"Go to bed, Sharon."

I sighed, finally dragging myself up to take a quick shower. Water sluiced over me, washing away some of the haze from the alcohol and the restless night. After dressing and straightening my hair, I made my way downstairs for breakfast. The simple act of walking on my own—without crutches, which I hadn't even realized I'd abandoned—felt almost like a small victory.

I poured myself a bowl of cereal and sat at the kitchen table, spoon trembling slightly in my hand.

"You look terrible, Sharon. You're eating like a cow," Tori remarked, her eyes glued to the TV.

I rolled my eyes so hard I almost saw stars. She doesn't even know how a cow eats, I muttered under my breath.

Breakfast passed quietly. I finished my cereal and cleaned up, deciding that what I needed most right now was a friend. Bella. I needed her, and maybe her mum's comforting presence wouldn't hurt either.

My driver took me to Bella's place, and as we pulled up, I noticed movement through her window. Bella and her mum were in the middle of a heated argument, voices raised. My stomach twisted nervously. Just what I needed to see today.