Wishful Thinking [Completed]

Chapter 17

"WAKE UP! WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!" A voice screamed in my ear as a hand shook my arm in  desperate hope of waking me up from my quiet slumber.

I mumbled something and then rolled over and put my pillow over my head. There was no way I was getting up.

I could hear sleep calling my name!

Candy....
Candy...come back to me!

But it was no use the irritating voice continued to scream at me making me frustrated and exasperated and so slowly I pulled myself up from my sleeping bag and rubbed my beloved sleep from my eyes all the while glaring at the person who awoke me from my wondrous slumber.

Jill glared right back at me for a minute we just glared at each each other.

"You better get ready," Jill said breaking her gaze away from mine and heading to my kitchen.

I hopped out of bed and rushed towards my room and I quickly threw on clothes and rushed back to the kitchen eager to start the day. Jill handed me a egg sandwich which I ate slowly savoring the deliciousness and then seeing the time we rushed out my apartment giggling like little girls only to literally run into Caleb as he was walking to the bus stop.

"Morning!" I say happily as I salute him as if he were the captain.

"Morning!" Jill echoed making a silly face that made me burst out in laughter.

Caleb gave me a look that asked if I was actually friends with her and I nod sticking my tongue out at him. His eyes widened with mischief and he picked me up with his strong hands and spun me around until we were so dizzy that we almost fell.

I imagined the kids at our bus stop thought we were crazy but we could care less. Even the shock of seeing my caseworker here couldn't phase me. I was just happy.

The bus came rumbling down the street and we all began to run, but we were a block away when it got to our stop. Surprisingly the bus waited as we sprinted to it with huge smiles on our faces and I thought my bucket of happiness was seriously going to overflow.

The ride to school was full of jokes and laughter along with questions that helped me get to know both Caleb and Jill.

Don't get me wrong, I know a lot about Jill because of her little rants, but I really only know about her family not about her.

When we arrived at school we couldn't hide our disappointment at our ride full of fun coming to an end, but we continued to chatter all the way to the cafeteria where we sat at our normal spot.

"Candy, will you show these new students around?" The principal asked interrupting our talk.

"Sure," I say standing up.

In front of me stood twins. One girl and one boy, but obvious twins. They were both about the height of Caleb but with dark brown hair and hazel eyes.

"Hi! I'm Jules and this is my brother Daniel," the girl said holding out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Candy, this is my boyfriend Caleb and this is my best friend Jill. They will be helping me show you around if that's OK," I say shaking her hand and then motioning them to follow me.

I couldn't help but feel as if this situation was similar to the one before I spilled my guts to Caleb. I laughed to myself and received curious looks from Caleb and Jill which I completely ignored.

Before long we were all chatting like we had known each other forever. We became a group of five friends. It was something I had never experienced before and I couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of being surrounded by people I loved.

This feeling was a feeling that I never wanted to forget.

****

But of course like everything in my life, something always goes wrong. At first, the change was so subtle that it was easy to ignore. Then it became obvious to me that Jill no longer cared to talk to me, but rather Jules and she would always be sneaking off to a corner without the rest of us making me feel worthless and unwanted. 

Like I had always said, the ones closest to you are the ones who end up hurting you the most. But being free of the pain of hiding everything and for once being happy, well, I let my guard down. Obviously, I let it down way too much because Jill hurt me. She left me in the gutter wondering why I was even friends with her when Jules was obviously much better than I was. Needless to say, I was hurt. Beyond hurt and every time I saw them leaving me out of everything, I caved and began to build up the walls that had kept me safe the first time.

"You don't need them. You have me" Caleb whispered in my ear as he watched me shut down. 

He was right. I shouldn't let the fact that Jill no longer seems to care that I exist bother me. I mean I was used to this kind of treatment right? Now it was just up to me to keep going and let go. 

But it was hard. Jill was the first person I knew I could trust. She was the one who would support me when I was falling down. She helped me find myself again. I mean, yes, Caleb had a big role in the entire process but there is a difference. Caleb cares for me in a deeper and different way which yes brought me out, but it didn't help me discover myself. Losing Jill was like losing a limb, but what could I do? She was slowly fading away from me, leaving me empty and broken-hearted.