Sick Love

Part 6

After my first class was over, I had stopped worrying over the whole thing with Chad. I figured it was no big deal. He did say he had friends that were in 12th grade so that must of been them. I figured that if it was anything important then Chad would tell me. I trusted Chad. I had no reason to think he was doing anything wrong.

The rest of my day was pretty normal until lunch. I sat at my usual table full of all of the other people with no friends. I didn't know any of their names but we never talked anyway. Usually lunch involved me eating and reading on my phone. I kept to myself and constantly looked down out of fear of people talking to me. I always secretly wanted people to talk to me but my anxiety got the best of me.

I was reading and looking down when I heard a few people laughing close behind me. I continued looking down pretending I didn't hear them. I didn't know why they were laughing but I figured it had nothing to do with me. I sat there looking down trying to decipher what they were saying when I heard a guy say my name. without thinking, I instantly turned around in my seat to look at them. As soon as I looked at the group of guys, they ran off. I slouched down in my seat and stared at the spot on the floor where they had just been standing. "What the fuck" I mumbled to myself and then returned to my food.

After school, I went to the parking lot and waited for Chad. He said he would meet me here. I stood there for about five minutes awkwardly shuffling my feet and staring at the ground when I heard a familiar voice. "Mel. What's going on? Your mom is freaking out. She keeps calling me asking if I know where you are. I thought when you didn't come to my house you went back home." Mia was yelling at me. I stood there frozen. I didn't know what to tell her. I couldn't tell her about Chad because she would kill me. "I-." Just before I was able to respond, a hand grabbed my shoulder. Fuck I thought to myself. "Hey Mel. Who's this?" Chad asked in a curious tone. "Who am I? Who am I? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Mia was now screaming at Chad. Mia wasn't good at handling situations that were stressful or confusing. Chad took a step back from me and raised his hands as if he was surrendering. Mia didn't look amused. She shifted her gaze towards me and placed a hand on her hip. "Mel, who is he? Have you been staying with him? Why the hell cant you talk to your mom...or me? Since when do you go hoeing around? What the hell are you doing? Does he even go here?" Mel had lost the anger her tone. She now sounded hurt and confused. I could tell she just wanted to hug me and drag me back home and fix everything. But this time, that wouldn't work. I knew I had to see my mom but if I go too soon then I will flip out on my mom and make things worse. I want to tell Mia about Chad. I want to tell her I'm okay. But part of me feels like I just want to grab Chad's hand and run. I want to escape this mess. I want to forget everything. I want to get away. I shook my head trying to stop the tears from pouring out of my eyes. I looked at Chad and he gave me a small concerned smile. Then I turned to Mia. She was looking at Chad intensely trying to figure out who he was. "Mia. I have to go. I-I can't do this. I need to time to figure out whatever the hell is going on. Tell my mom I'm okay and that I'll come home when I'm ready." Before Mia had a chance to respond, I turned to Chad and motioned for him to come with me to his car. Chad grabbed my hand and walked me to the passenger side of the car. He opened the door for me and I sat down letting go of his hand slowly. As he closed the door, I turned to look at Mia. She was shaking her head and staring at the ground. I knew what I was doing was hurting her but I knew if I went with her she would make me see my mom. I turned to see Chad sitting in the driver seat silently watching me trying to figure out what had just happened. He gave him a week smile and he reached out and gently stroked my knee. I placed my hand over his and he intertwined our fingers on my thigh. With his other hand, he started the car and drove out of the school parking lot.