The Apocalypse of Plants

Preston

I have no one.

Johanna's dead because of me (but not really because she was "insane") and I thought Laina liked me a bit more than friends.

She doesn't.

I have Nina, I guess, but who knows how long she'll be here for. Eli's probably worried himself to death because they're still here. They'll probably leave tomorrow.

Morgan comes over to where I'm standing and I spot a pleading look in Laina's eyes from where she stands. Is Morgan actually going to try to talk to me about this?

"So, um, Laina wants me to check on you," he says, kicking the ground with his foot. He kicks harder as the silence grows on.

"Either the ground did something to you in the past or you're really uncomfortable talking to me about this," I say casually, trying very hard to not be sick. Why him?

He looks straight into my eyes. "Look, Laina told me that you kissed her and I know that Johanna killed herself because of it-"

"Hang on, is that what Laina told you? That Johanna killed herself because of the kiss?" Morgan frowns and his eyebrow raises.

"Didn't she?"

"Technically, no."

"It's a yes or no question, Preston." I inwardly wince. In some ways, it was easier when I thought she killed herself because of me. Now, I'm just so confused about why she didn't tell me and how much longer she could have lived for before the poison spread to her heart.

"She got scraped by a thorn that had poison in it. She didn't want to give Mother Nature the 'honor' of killing her, so she took matters into her own hands. The kiss was just an excuse, I guess." Morgan whistles.

"That's messed up."

"Yeah. But, please continue with your little speech about Laina," I say, not wanting to think about Johanna. Morgan straightens up and clears his throat.

"Right. So, I know you and Laina have a history and I'm kind of sorry that she doesn't like you cause that really sucks, but I can't say I'm too sorry-"

I hold up a hand to cut him off again. "I'm sure there's a point to what you're saying, but I don't really need to hear about how you got the girl. It's no secret that I like her. She just doesn't like me back. And you're right. It does suck. But she deserves the world and if she'd rather be with you, then so be it." It physically pains me to say those words and I just want to curl up into a ball and cry.

"I'll do my best to give her the world," he vows. I nod.

"But if you hurt her at all-in anyway possible!-I will kill you. Very, very painfully," I promise. And it's the truth. He better not break her heart.

"What if she hurts me?" I glare at him to let him know that I'm not playing around here. "Got it, got it. If I hurt her, you'll kill me, yeah, yeah, yeah. Heard it all before."

"Somehow I'm not surprised," I say in a flat voice. He chuckles.

"I'm just kidding. I've only had two girlfriends." That is surprising. He seems like the type of person who's into one night stands and what-not.

"Seriously?" Maybe he doesn't count the girls he's hooked up with as girlfriends. That makes more sense.

"I've had a few crushes-my first was when I was eleven-but I've only dated two girls. Well, three now, if we're counting Laina." Which we aren't, I silently add.

"How many girls have you hooked up with?" I can't help asking. He looks genuinely shocked, then mad.

"You really think I'm that type of person? The type that just fools around with girls then leaves?"

"Kind of," I mutter. He hears and his face colors with rage.

"Well, then let me tell you something, Preston. You don't know anything about me, and until you do, don't assume you know who I am. Because if you ever figure anything out about me, you'll realize that I'm not who you think I am. Quite the opposite, actually."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I fire back, very confused about what he's saying.

"Nothing. You wouldn't understand."

"Yeah, but I'm sure Laina will. So why don't you just go make out with her and rub it in my face a little more about how you're so much better than I am," I say bitterly, green with envy. I know exactly who he is. He's the person who gets everything and pretends to have a tragic backstory so other people will be sympathetic towards him.

"Are you serious? I'm not rubbing it in that I'm better than you! I don't even think that! Are you really this jealous? At least you know how Johanna felt now." My blood freezes and my heart stops at his comment. I hate him. I hate how he knows exactly where to hit to make it hurt the most.

Laina must know that we're fighting because she appears next to Morgan and pulls him away by his hand. I can hear him muttering something about jealousy and one night stands and I take deep breaths and count to ten. I'm not sure how someone can be so infuriating.

"You like her, don't you." I turn around to see Nina. I blush.

"Is it that obvious?" Nina shrugs.

"I saw your face when they were kissing. I'm guessing something happened between the two of you?"

"We've kissed," I say casually. Nina's jaw drops open.

"What?" she yells. "Didn't your mom say something about a different girl a few months ago?" Johanna. How come, everywhere I go, I am reminded of her?

"There was another girl," I say cautiously, trying not to lead Nina into asking anymore questions.

"Nice to see you all were freaking out about me leaving," a bitter voice says.

"Tally!" Laina runs up like she's going to hug her, but stops. There's blood dripping down the whole left side of Tally's face. "What happened?"

Tally gingerly touches her face and, when she pulls away, her hand is drenched in red. She winces at the blood that dribbles off her fingers.

"Awesome," Tally mutters. "Me and a branch had a little misunderstanding."

Morgan steps closer and inspects the wound. "It doesn't look like a branch did this."

Tally moves away from Morgan. "I'm fine."

"You're obviously not," Marley says, coming out of nowhere. "We need to get that cleaned up."

"No, really, it looks a lot worse than it actually is," Tally insists. "I'm fine."

"Remember what happened to Johanna?" Laina asks and it's like all the air has been sucked out of my lungs. "We need to clean your face up."