Dear Tess

Chapter 6

Her eyes widened at the sight of the comfortable contact that her friends made. She could practically hear the cracking of her fragile as glass heart cracking and shattering into a million pieces, but a miniature self of her was picking it up as quickly she could, trying to stick the little shards together, trying to console her sub-conscious and remind her that it may not be what she thinks it is.

She let out a gasp and looked up to find five pairs of eyes staring at her for making a sound and disturbing whatever Kevin was talking about. "I just realized I left my biology journal in the lab. I'll be right back." She said, her lower lip quivering as she stumbled away from the table and sprinted across the cafeteria and out the doors to the hallway. Tears began to blur her vision as she found her way to the nearest girl's washroom, holding on to the ceramic sink to keep her from collapsing. She let out a breath and entered one of the cubicles and locked herself in. The sound of the lock clicking cued her tears to start streaming down her cheeks and her miniature self tried to shush her while still sticking the little pieces together.

That was probably an accident. Mike wouldn't do that. He doesn't like Mavis. I have seen the way he looks at her, and it's not the way he looks at me. Right? She let her back slide against the cubicle wall as she dropped to the floor, her legs too weak to hold her up any longer. She let her hands run through her hair, sobbing and biting her lips to keep her from letting out to much noise. Her green eyes swam in tears that didn't seem to stop coming, replacing every drop that escaped her eyes and staining her cheeks till they fell off from her jaw in continues drops, like a broken pipe.

"Tess?" Brie's familiar voice reverberated from the walls of the tiny girl's room, her brown lace stiletto boots coming into view from under the cubicle door. She stopped right in front of the cubicle Tessa was in, not making any movement, hoping that she wouldn't have to force her out. Tessa wiped the tears and calmed her nerves, taking in a deep breath before she got of the floor and pulled the door open. Brie's eyebrows furrowed at Tessa's very evident red and puffy eyes, her blue eyes questioning. "It's nothing." Understanding the question with just one glance at her best friend's eyes, but knowing that it won't keep her quite, but get her to probe more. Brie pressed her pink lips into a thin line and said, "It's not nothing if it makes you cry in the washroom." Tessa splashed some water on to her face, looking up into the mirror and taking in Brie's concerned expression, her red hair framing her face so perfectly. Tessa turned to face her, her head bowed low, staring at her red shoes as she asked, "Do you think Mike and Mavey are seeing each other?"

"What?" Brie gawked, making Tessa look up into her piercing blue eyes. She slapped the sides of her legs as she questioned, "Tess, do you realize how delusional that sounds?" Tessa was caught off-guard by her response, making her fumble and think of words to explain what she saw, but only managed, "His hand on hers." Brie pressed her hands together, joining them as she spoke, "You have known Mike for 15 years, Tess. If he were interested in anyone, you would be the first to know. You always are. No matter what it is about." Tessa's gaze fell back to the ground, realizing how stupid her doubts were now that she heard it come from Brie's mouth. She felt Brie holding her shoulder as she spoke, "I get why you feel that way. But it will only get worse if you don't tell him. How long are you going to keep pining for him, like lovelorn Orlando writing poems about Rosalind?" The analogy brought a hint of a smile to Tessa's face, giving her friend, a person who turned away when someone asked her to read a book of any kind, a taunting smile. Brie shot her a half smile and answered the unasked question, "I only remember that because you spoke so much about in middle school." Making Tessa giggle.

The remainder of the day was uneventful, as she walked with a mind blank, her legs taking her home like she was on auto-pilot. Brie and Chris were going out for a date, their first since she returned from Texas, leaving Tessa alone on her way home. She managed to avoid Mike, Mavis and Jason for most of the day, except during English Literature which was a period that both Mavis and she shared. The sky was overcast and the dampness in the air made her hunch her shoulders involuntarily, and quicken her pace, her body telling her that the weather could get worse if she didn't speed up, her body having been turned into a barometer after the many years that she lived in Franksville, Seattle.

She quickly brought herself back into the present, having reached the sidewalk right outside her house. She jogged up the driveway and up to the front door of the house, unlocking it with the spare key she held in her hand. She shut the door and turned around to punch in the security code into the alarm system, but was startled by a tall and dark figure hidden in the darkness of the living room. The figure stepped out slowly, a small smile on his face, his chin covered with a days old stubble. He stretched out his hands, his palms up like he was defending himself, and slowly said, "I didn't mean to scare you. Sorry. I tried looking for you in school, but I couldn't find you, so I got home myself." Tessa placed a hand on her heavily rising and falling chest and said, "Next time, just text me. I'm not used to having a fifth person home." He nodded, his face blank as he went to his bedroom and locked it, leaving her in silence.

She ascended the steps to her room, closing it softly behind her as she threw her bag and then herself onto her bed, and kicked her shoes off. She lay their silently staring at the ceiling, when she began to hear muffled speech from below her. The words were indistinct, but she could clearly hear a male speaking from the room under her bed. Probably him on the phone.

She turned herself onto her stomach, and was surprised by the way her stomach began to growl. She pressed her stomach, pushed herself off the bed and stalled in front of her full length mirror, lifting up her loose full-sleeved black T-shirt, exposing the white scars on her pale and flat abdomen. She began to run her fingers softly on her scars, her muffled screams resonating from somewhere in the past, making her feel weak. The grumble of her stomach brought her back to reality, making her drop her T-shirt, tugging a little at the hem unconsciously, hoping it would help the scars vanish.

She slowly came down the steps and walked past the guest room, when something caught her attention and made her stop in her tracks right outside the door. She went closer, just to make sure she heard him right, and she heard it again. A low and muffled "Yes, mother."

Hey guys! What do you guys think of the story so far? What do you think is happening here? Are you confused yet? Leave your questions in the comments below! Follow me, or add this book to your library to know more and have your questions answered.

I am actually putting in an early update because I would not be putting up any new chapters till the 21st of April, which is about a month, because I have my finals coming up. I would like to apologize for that in advance, but it will be worth the wait, I promise! Don't forget to vote, comment and share if you like what you are reading!

Until my next update,

Happy reading!