Winona ✔

Seven

Seven

"They're getting worse?" Becca asked as we walked around the edge of the track, our feet stepping through the long strands of grass.

"Yeah," I answered. "I still don't know who is sending the messages or creating the group pages, or why, honestly."

"Sorry this is happening to you," Becca said. "Surely, the messages will stop soon. People can't still talk about this video forever."

"Maybe," I tried to agree. "But, it feels like every message is just fueling a fire. There's a whole group of pages all about me and they've been viewed hundreds of times. People keep checking back for updates and more new posts. It's obvious people are enjoying it."

"Not everyone agrees," Becca told me. "You said so yourself that some of your friends think it's wrong."

"Some," I said. "Not all. There are still a few who ditched me."

Becca stopped and bent down to tie her shoe laces. She looked up at me, her eyes squinting from the sun that glared into them.

"Do you think we'll ever know who's sending the messages and making the pages?" she asked.

"Honestly? I don't know," I sighed. "I couldn't even take a guess. It's such a hateful thing to do, something that I don't even know the motive for. It's not something I can just blatantly accuse someone of."

Becca nodded. "Well I hope one day you do find out."

Becca stood back up and tilted her neck from side to side, rubbing at the tension in her shoulders.

"It's my fault, anyway," I mumbled.

"How?" Becca asked, surprised.

"I shouldn't have kissed Drew," I said. "If I didn't kiss her then the video would have never been made, it would have never got out, and someone wouldn't be using it to get to me. If I'd just thought things through then this wouldn't be happening."

"You couldn't have known."

"But I should have," I said sadly. "I should have been more aware, I shouldn't have thought that for even a few seconds I could do something that made me happy."

"Winona..." Becca trailed off.

"Kissing Drew is my biggest regret," I said. "It was such a stupid, stupid thing to do."

I continued to walk around the track even as Becca slowed down and looked at me with concern. I didn't need concern. I didn't need anything. I just needed to leave. I just needed to be alone. I just needed to shut everything and everyone out and pretend like none of this was happening.

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I slid it out, opening the app and looking at the page. Becca looked confused as she glanced over my shoulder at my screen.

"You still let notifications go through for the messages?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I want to know what they're saying."

"That's not healthy," Becca said.

"None of this is healthy," I replied.

I put my phone back in my pocket and we began to walk again. I slid my arm through Becca's and we slouched against each other.

"I'm sad we stopped hanging out at the beginning of high school," I said.

Becca nodded. "Me too. Things just got a bit busy, I suppose."

"Yeah, life tends to do that."

"But it's fine now," Becca smiled. "If this problem did anything then at least it brought us closer together."