What Remains of Elizabeth Clove | COMPLETED & IN EDITING

Chapter 8

Even though I hated Victoria, I decided that I had to do something about what I had seen in the bathroom. I had come to this conclusion during chemistry, and barely escaped a detention.

I might've shouted "oh!" during a lecture.

Mr. Taylorzen was not happy, let me tell you. It's a good thing that chemistry was one of my stronger subjects, which is why he liked me so much.

Cam texted me as soon as the last bell rang, telling me to meet him outside.

"Yes?" I asked him, absentmindedly thinking about how to talk to Victoria. "Max!" He snapped a finger in front of my face. "Hello?" Smiling innocently, I said, "Sorry, missed that." Cam sighed. "After I drop you off at your place, I'm going to Fiona's, to talk more, okay?" He said as I nodded. "MmHmm. That's cool with me." Not like I'd be jealous of her or anything. Cam was just my friend, and I never wanted it to be anything more.

I had decided to do a little adventure myself anyway. No Cam this time.

I was going to Byers Bridge, to think things over, maybe read some more, and do a little investigating.

My bike wheels turned quickly against the asphalt as I rode toward Byers Bridge. Surprisingly, my painting was still up, and no one had vandalized the tiny shrine. I was shocked about how many people actually cared about her death.

Byers Bridge was, and always will be, one of my favorite places to go when I needed space. Max, you of all people know this.

It's where we met.

Tears fell from my face into the raging river below me. I wasn't even aware that I had started crying. Her words were enveloping me and taking over my life so much, that I hadn't even noticed my eyes welling up.

Yes, it was true. I had met Liz here, at this bridge. It was the middle of the night, and I had needed some space, and escape from my family, and so did she. That's how we originally bonded. Parents can be useful sometimes.

Byers Bridge is where everything happened, where I died, if my plan worked. If not, then it's where I would've died.

There it was again. Her 'plan'. I still refused to believe that Liz actually planned her death. She always hated planning out ideas, always said that planning was tacky and useless.

Planning just wasn't in her nature.

I swung my legs over the river underneath me, thinking.

But then my thoughts were quickly interrupted.

"Why did you want to meet here?" Victoria said, a hint of a whine and annoyance in her voice. "Because, Victoria, no one ever comes here." I replied bluntly. "I don't understand." She started, sitting down next to me. "Why do you care anyway? All I've ever been is nasty to you." She said softly."Helping me isn't some sort of revenge plot is it?!" I cracked a smile. "No. It isn't. I just want to help." I put my hand on her knee, and smiled at her. 'If you'd let me." I added quickly. Victoria sighed. "Fine, since you're the only one who really cares so much anyway. Shows what fantastic friends I have." She muttered.

"I originally was repulsed by the idea of starving yourself in order to lose weight." She started off. "But then my brother got sick.." She paused. "Like really, really sick. And everything he had to eat was liquified and sent up in a fucking tube." She muttered. "I didn't think that it was fair that he couldn't eat actual food, so after we were done gorging ourselves, I threw it up." She looked over at me. "I never intended for it to go this long but-" Her voice cracked. Victoria was starting to cry now. I had never seen her cry before. "but then I started to see how good not eating made me look, and so I continued to do so. No one ever knew." She glanced over at me. "Until you." Victoria looked away as we locked eyes. "You and Elizabeth Clove." My heart dropped suddenly. More secrets?! "Wait, what?!" I exclaimed. Victoria shrugged as she glanced at me. "Yeah. I told you she was cool didn't I?"

I felt betrayed. All those years spent whispering curses and complaining to and about Victoria were for nothing. Slowly, I realized that I was always just Cam and I doing those things. Liz never stood up to Victoria. She stayed quiet in the background.

"Max?" Victoria wrapped her arm around me. "Elizabeth was a really great person and..." She paused to wipe a tear from her eye. "...and you were lucky to have her as a friend." She started to stand up. "Victoria?" I called out to her softly. "You're beautiful just the way you are. You don't need to starve yourself to look the way you already are." A rare smile spread across Victoria's face. "Thanks Max." She turned away from me, walking back towards home, and I was left alone once more.

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