Aquaphobia

02. wingorium leviowhat?

A PERSON would think that if an old friend invited you out to lunch to explain what he's been up to, he'd actually talk. When I went out to lunch with Hayden, it was dead silent. I half expected him to laugh and tell me it was all a prank, but to no avail. Lunch was silent.

And even worse I was stuck in detention with this new character I've never met before.

He sat on a chair a couple rows in front of me. Instead of sitting next to him, I opted for the seat in the back, hoping to make a run for it once detention was over.

Suddenly the door opened and a guy with black shoes walked in taking the seat next to me. I shifted my head to see who it was and to my surprise, I came face to face with Brett.

He stared at me before turning his head to the front smirking at Mrs. Huerman who seemed to notice his presence. She narrowed her eyes at him but returned to what she was doing. Is she afraid of Brett? Well wasn't this interesting. Hayden noticed Mrs. Huerman's glare and turned to see Brett. He mirrored Mrs. Huerman's glare and looked back to the front.

God, I shouldn't care what happened to my old buds, but I hated seeing them so distant and cold. I wanted to know what happened to cause this. No, I needed to know. Despite the fact that they broke my heart, a part of me still cared for all of them. It was the sane part of me that I so desperately wanted to cling onto because if it slipped, I didn't know if I could recover.

Once detention ended, I ran up to Hayden surprising both him and Brett. Brett growled and stuffed his hands in his pockets before leaving.

"Hayden, please tell me what happened. It's killing me not knowing. Besides, don't you think I deserve to know? I was a member of the group after all." I pleaded, clasping my hands together in persuasion.

He sighed and grabbed my hand dragging me outside and into the library.

"Llegra, before we went our separate ways, we all promised never to speak of this again." He said, "But you're right, you deserve to know."

"It was a year after you left, of course we were all heartbroken even if we didn't show it. Brett especially. And before we continue, I just wanted to say I'm really sorry for treating you badly on your last day here. I- I didn't mean it. It's just- well- I couldn't cope with the fact that you were leaving our perfect little group. That nothing is permanent in life. Everything is constantly changing and I hated you for making me realize it. I felt so guilty for saying those harsh words to you before you left. And I still feel guilty about it. I hope you can forgive me."

I sucked in a deep breath and stared at Hayden sympathetically. He was- is my best friend. And because of that, I knew I had to forgive him. Besides, if I managed to rekindle my relations with my past friends, maybe life here won't be so bad. Maybe the accident wouldn't come back to haunt me. And maybe, just maybe, one of the old routine breakdowns wouldn't occur.

Hayden looked around the library, then ushered me deeper inside before continuing.

"Okay, first take a deep breath because what I'm about to tell you is hard to comprehend. A year after you left Bethany got really sick. She was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. She only lived for another eight months after that. It was traumatic. Watching her lay on the hospital bed. Her skin was so- so cold. And her eyes, they used to sparkle. In there, it was dull. Her soul died the moment she got diagnosed and the rest of her just caught up eight months later. But the worst part? I couldn't do anything except watch. I watched as hundreds of doctors rushed into her room on the daily. I watched as they stuck IV after IV. I watched as she died." He choked up, failing to hold back sobs, "S- She didn't stop thinking about us though, even you. That day our group grew dark. It was the worst day for us all. And there was nothing I could do. Nothing I could do." In a matter of seconds, he bursted out crying something I've only ever seen him do once.