Ships on the ocean

Chapter 3

Monday
Simon woke up with his stomach aching, and he knew it had nothing to do with hunger. He was so nervous and tired that his hands were carelessly shaking. He had been up until midnight, trying to solve this impossible dilemma. Should he say what happened to May ? It was an impossible choice. He wanted to be honest with her, but he knew it would destroy his relationship with her. He could almost hear her screams in his head. That love, that relationship was all he had, literally. He couldn't afford to lose it.

Surprisingly enough, he wasn't blaming Nick for all of it. He knew he also had his fair share of responsibility in it. Actually, he was a bit more angry at Fred and Tom for not coming to the party. They could've stop him from diving in this nightmare.

When he finally got out of bed, he shivered from the coldness of the floor, and walked sleepily to the kitchen. There, he took the kettle, filled it with water, and started it. He sat on a chair and closed his eyes.

Except for the noise of the water heating, the house was silent. For a moment, he almost felt normal. A normal high-school student with a beautiful girlfriend and a loving family. No secrets, no weird sexual orientations. But he wasn't. He was a cheater with an obnoxious girlfriend and an abusive father. It was so unfair. He just stopped hiding things from May. Now he had to start again. He was so tired of it, of everything. He buried his head in his hands and started sobbing softly, the sound of his gasps echoing through the silent house. In a few days, his life became a lot messier than it ever was. The worst was that he couldn't do anything about it. He was trapped.

The high-pitched noise of water boiling made him jump scare. He wiped his tears with the back of his hand and stood up, grabbing a mug and the kettle. He poured the hot water in it and dropped the tea bag in the sizzling water. He grabbed an orange and peeled it, sitting at the table. He slowly sipped his tea as he ate the orange, the soft sting of the acidity drenching his mouth. When he finished eating, he got back in his room. He chose some clothes in his closet and dressed up, leaving his loose sweater and his boxers. He was brushing his teeth when he heard rumbling downstair. His mom was up. It sure wasn't his dad. He wouldn't be up until noon. At 8:45am, he took off, hugging his mom and diving in the cold of February.

When he arrived at school, he was so nervous his stomach was aching and he had difficulties to swallow. He fidgeted nervously as he opened his locker. When he heard a familiar high-pitched voice, he jumped scare.
- Hey Jumpy, she chuckled
- Hey May
- How was the party ?
- Pretty nice, but I wish you were there
- Me too. Though Bianca told me it was a bit boring
He gulped loudly.
- Bianca ? His voice cracked
- Yeah, she moved here in November. She's really nice
- No doubt
May looked a bit concerned about him.
- Hey, by the way. Are you alright ? You act a bit weird this morning.
- Actually, I'd like to talk to you about something
- Sure. At lunch ? I need to study for the test this morning
- You do know that it's a practice, it doesn't count.
- That is not a reason for not studying
He sighed and she pecked his cheek. She walked happily to a table, a smile on her, while Sim letted his face crumbled into a worried expression.

Fred, Tom, Nick and Rosa, Nick's girlfriend, were waiting for him at the table. When they saw him, they all stopped talking and smiled to him. Everyone but Nick. Simon hated it. Right now, he didn't care about his smiling friends. He just cared about Nick. And the fact that Nick wasn't even looking at him made him sad... and jealous.
- Sim ! Tom shouted
- Hey!
- Hi, Nick said in a cold voice
Simon smiled sadly at him and turned to Tom and Fred.
- Why weren't you at the party ?
Fred snapped her head to Tom.
- You didn't go !
Tom raised his hands, trying to calm her.
- I... I couldn't go ! My mom wouldn't let me, he said, suddenly finding his feet really interesting. "And for all we know, you also didn't go !"
- I had a thing to do, she shrugged
- Does "thing" have a name ? Nick smirked
Fred scoffed and sat down, pouting playfully. Simon sat beside Nick, an awkward feeling passing through them.