Witness to a Love Story

Nine: Don't forget

I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew my twin was poking my side with a fork. I groan as I turn and slap the fork away. "What do you want?" I grumble as I squint at him with my eyes half open.

"I guess you can get to school by yourself then." Josh says as he stands up. His eyes linger over to the box that I'm clutching to my chest. "Bea..." his voice trails off and now Josh looks worried.

Looking down at the shoe box I say, "It's nothing. I was just having a bad day." I shove it back under my bed and give Josh a stern look. "What are you still doing in here?"

Avoiding my question, Josh says, "You can always talk to me." He gives me a half smile.

I roll my eyes. "I don't need to talk to anyone. Just get out of my room!" I stand and point at the door.

Josh turns and leaves with his head down. "I miss her, too. I miss both of you." He says solemnly and closes the door behind him softly.

Huffing, I make my way to the closet and pick out random clothes. Ten minutes later, I'm out the door and ready for another day of hell. Josh and I don't say anything on the car ride to school. As I go to open the door and get out, Josh opens his mouth. "It's not your fault." He whispers and I can hear the slight crack to his voice.

I grip the door handle. He should have kept his big mouth shut. I don't need no damn words of comfort. What I need I can't ever have. I get out and lean back in. "I know it's not my fault. It's that bitch Sharon's fault." I angrily inform Josh. Slamming the door, I make my way to first period.

Sitting down in the back, I entertain myself by doodling on my notebook. Josh always comes to school too damn early for my liking. I'm so focused, or rather bored, that I don't notice when someone is standing in front of my desk.

"Hello, Beatrice." Rebecca's voice pricks my ears.

"Hello, slut." I say without glancing up.

I hear Rebecca click her tongue. "Guess you don't want this back then." She puts my phone down in front of me. Now she has my attention. My hand reaches out to snatch it back, but Rebecca was faster. "Not so fast, big shot."

I look up at her with a glare. Rebecca hasn't changed at all during summer break. Her straight black hair falls down around her, and her dark brown eyes glower at me. Her double Ds are literally casting a shadow onto my desk, which I don't appreciate. In Rebecca's neon blue nails, my silver iPhone remains hostage.

"How did you get my phone?" I barely manage to keep my voice at a whisper so as not to attract the attention of the few students in class.

Rebecca gives me a smug smile. "Oh, this shitty thing? Some Irish boy gave me it. What was his name again?" She asks while thoughtfully looking off into the distance.

"Shamin?" I ask while secretly plotting to hunt that freak down.

Rebecca chuckles. "Yes, that was his name." Now you know why I hate the damn chuckling. It's because Rebecca's the only bitch that does it to me. And her's is just annoying.

"I'm not surprised you couldn't remember it, considering there's nothing in that big head of yours." I say with a smirk.

Rebecca gives me her signature pout. "He told me to give this to you, but I think I'd rather keep it. It would make some nice pocket change, don't you think?" She sneers at me then turns around to leave.

Like lightning, I'm out of my seat and have a handful of Rebecca's hair in my fist. "Or I could just take it." I growl and see my opportunity. Snatching my phone out of Rebecca's hand, I release her and sit down with my signature smirk.

Rebecca whirls around and gives me a dirty look with her hands on her hips. But I don't care. And I can tell she wants to say something. That just makes me smirk more. I wave her off. "Shoo before I catch any of your skankiness." I tell her. Without another word, Rebecca storms out of the classroom.

I guess it's not so bad coming to school early. At least Mr. Halter, my teacher, wasn't in the classroom, otherwise I would have been dead meat. Just then the bell rings and I ease back in my chair. Not like it matters to me because soon I'm being called up to Snyder's office over the P.A. System along with Jay. "And just when I got comfy." I mutter to myself.

I pick my bag off the ground and toss my stuff in. I have a feeling that I'm not coming back to class. As I walk down the now desolate hallway, I realize that maybe I should explain yesterday to Jay. Then I remember two things.

One, if I tell Jay what happened with Sharon, I can kiss the plan goodbye. Maybe?

Two, why should I have to explain myself to Jay? Why do I even care? He doesn't care about me and he doesn't even need to know what happened.

Remember, Bea, you are just using him. Jay isn't your friend. So what if you guys use nicknames with each other? So what if you love his motorcycle? So what if you begrudgingly enjoy spending time with him? Jay isn't your friend. No one is. And you're better off without them.

Don't forget what Sharon did. Don't forget Natalie.