Hope

Chapter 9

        It's now Monday. Riley has gone home to her house and her grandmother is now watching her as her sister gets worse. Asher is still at his house, life normal.

•••

        I wake up slowly to see my grandmother beside my bed. I rub my eyes, confused of why my alarm isn't going off.
        "Good morning darling, I made you a nice breakfast because I know times have been hard," she said. I nodded and smiled then looked at my clock.
My alarm hasn't gone off because it's before it's supposed to. At least I get some good breakfast. Maybe today won't be so bad.
       I roll out of bed and follow my grandma down the steps and to the kitchen. The smell of burnt bacon instantly stains my nose.
In the kitchen, there is blackened bacon on the tiny stove and a pan with some runny scrambled eggs next to it. I just smile to my grandma and thank her.
Opening the cupboard, I take out a plate. I put two pieces of bacon onto it and a slop of the eggs. Well this will be interesting.
I grab a fork and sit down in the living room. I take a bite of the eggs. They don't taste terrible, I just hope all the salmonella has been cooked out if there was any. I crunch down on a piece of bacon, and it just tastes burnt.
Could've been a lot worse. It's cool I actually had a breakfast for once.
I finish up the eggs, then get out of the chair and scrape off my plate into the garbage, the burnt bacon falling it. I rinse my plate off and set it down in the sink to be washed later. Thanking my grandma once more, I rush back up the stairs, taking two at a time.
Maybe I should put some effort in today and make myself appear a little less depressed.
Too much work.
I plug in my straightener, picking out a nicer outfit than usual. No sweatpants or sweatshirts today.
I pull on some high-waisted slightly ripped jeans, throwing on a blank gray tank top that's a little tight, and a black and red flannel.
Today will be good. I will make today and the situation better. It will be good.

•••

The bell rings, signaling to go to the next class, the class where we were working on the social hierarchy project.
        I hope Riley's feeling better. Hopefully this class is ok.
        I start walking to class, still walking with an attitude even though I've been nice to Riley. No one else knows that yet though, so I can still act like a douche for now.
        Walking into the classroom, I see that Riley hasn't gotten there yet. I go back to the corner and sit in my regular seat to wait for her.
        Not soon after I sit down, she walks into the classroom. And she looks almost kind of confident for once. It makes me a little bit happier.
        But that's short lived. Olivia and Kayden were already in the classroom and had picked out their target.
        I can tell something is up. It won't be a normal trip or a punch today, they look too proud of themselves. My thought is confirmed as Olivia starts walking over towards me.
        Gosh, she's a jerk but she knows what to wear and how to walk. She must exercise, or she's just naturally that way. Stop it, this is stupid. Shut up brain.
        "Hey Asher!" Olivia says and waves to me, and then keeps walking so she's right in front of me.
        She even smells nice.
        "What do you need?" I say almost nonchalantly, using my usual "I don't care" tone.
        "Am I not allowed to come talk to you? I just wanted to compliment you on how well you're taking the situation of this project," she says, batting her eyes and looking extra flirty.
        Now I know for a fact something is up. I quickly glance over her shoulder to look for Riley and see if anything happened. She's not over there anymore.
        It looks like someone else is missing too, but I can't figure out who and I don't have time to think about it.
        "What do you mean 'the situation?'" I ask, kind of confused of what that's supposed to mean.
       "You got stuck with little misfortune, that sack of crap called Riley," she says, rolling her eyes. "I can't believe she got to be your partner, I wanted that to be me," she said, still being super flirty.
       I don't know what to do. I want so badly to back Riley up. Ok, this is what I'm going to say. I'm going to say she's not as bad as everyone perceives her to be, and I'm glad I got to work with her.
       "Listen, Asher. I'm going to stop stalling," she said. I didn't get the chance to back her up.
       "You're a really cool person, and I really like you. You're taken for granted, and I think you should be recognized for how great you are," she said, a very cute little smile on her face and looking at the floor as if she's embarrassed.
       Maybe this isn't a plan, maybe she just actually wants to tell me that she wants us to date.
       A small smile spreads across my face, and she notices it. Before I can even think, she gets up on her tiptoes and leans forward.
       I connect our lips as she goes in as well.
       I pull back slowly, not showing my shock. That didn't feel right.
       At that moment I see Riley and the other person that had been missing in the doorway. Kayden was beside her, pointing at me and Olivia.
        My heart stops. Riley and I make eye contact, and I wish I could unsee the hurt in her eyes. Kayden whispers something to her, and I can see her soul being crushed beneath her pupils.
         Before I can say or do anything, she rushes out of the classroom, Kayden grinning evilly across the room.
        What have I done.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I hope this was worth the wait! I finished this up tonight and it is a school night, but I really wanted to get it out. Drama, eh? I have so many ideas on where I could take this and what path I should choose that you will see. Thank you so much for the love and feedback!