Before it ends

Veronica Matthews

"I know you're awake." Ryan's morning voice sent a shiver down my spine. "Babe come on. We've got school." I felt his warm kisses on my shoulder and his hand swoop my hair away from my face. "Stop playing with me Rhys." It took everything in me to not open my eyes. "If that's how you want to play it." In seconds my sheet was ripped off of me. I wouldn't have minded if I wasn't absolutely naked underneath. I lay on my stomach and groaned into the pillow.
"God Montgomery."
"Oh looks who's awake now." I smiled and turned to him. He seemed momentarily distracted before tearing his eyes away form my chest. His head hit the pillow and this time he was the one groaning.
"Just get dressed babe or we're never going to leave. Dan and Grace are already there."
"What? What time is it?"
"10:00."
Shit.
I huffed in defeat and made my way to my bathroom. As soon as the door shut, every single memory from yesterday night came flooding in at once. I traced my lips where he'd kissed me, my neck where he'd left his marks, my chest where he'd shown me exactly what I meant to him. My eyes were shut tight, trying to hold on, trying to remember every feeling and every moan.
"I don't hear the shower running." I heard Ryan's calls from the next room. I smiled lightly. Every nerve was on fire. It was better. So much better than my first time, better than when it was with someone I didn't love, a drunken mistake.
I tried to push Jake to the back of my mind, I showered and got dressed. I succeeded for a short while. I was able to forget but every time Ryan kissed the back of my hand or pulled me in for a hug, I remembered. I remembered that I'd lied, I remembered that at any moment he could be told the truth, and I remembered that he could leave me, that I couldn't let that happen.
"Babe?" We'd just pulled into the school parking lot. "Hayley if you're regretting last night-"
"No." I took his hand in mine. "Last night was perfect. You're perfect." I'm just plagued with the guilt that you weren't my fist and I lied about it. "It's nothing." I said. Two transparent words that only seemed to anger Ryan.
"It's not nothing." He shook his head and got out of the car. I followed him into school.
"Ryan, stop. Don't be like this." God, I was fucking everything up today.
He stopped outside his locker.
"Let's just talk." 

He finally turned to me."Talk? You're the one that doesn't want to. We've had this argument before, just trust me, okay? That's all I ask and you can't even do that. To be honest, I wish I knew that before we did what we did."

"So what?" I must be getting this wrong "Are you saying that you're the one regretting last night?"
"I'm saying-" his sentence was cut short by a voice calling my name.
"Oh my God, bitch. Is that you? Hayley fucking Rhys." I turned to see Vee calling my name. Vee. My ex-best friend. The bitch that used to run this school. The girl who represented everything I wasn't when I was with Ryan, the girl who was me, the old me. The worse version- much worse.
She hadn't changed at all. Not a single bit. Her hair was a wavy blonde, she had piercing blue eyes and wore skinny jeans that emphasised all she had to offer. Her legs lasted for days and her tanned skin was just as perfect as I remembered. She was the embodiment of every mean girl stereotype. Me, I'm a sinner- but this bitch, this bitch is the devil.

I looked around to see the three of us had formed quite a crowd. I looked to Ryan and saw the hurt in his eyes.
"Your fans await." And then he walked away from me. He turned his back the same way I had before. He did the same thing that caused me days of going without him, days of feeling so guilty. He did it and he didn't look back.
"Who was that?" Vee stood beside me. "What a snack! Do we still share our men Hayls?"
"What the hell are you doing here Vee?" I wasn't in the space to be polite.
"My dad caught me sleeping with his best friend. Seems he couldn't handle me so he shipped me over back to my bat shit crazy mum."
"So you're here to stay?" Please say no.
"Yes," Fuck me. "and last time I checked you were fucking Jake." She whispered the last part and my eyes widened.
"Okay everyone clear off." I shouted to the crowd we'd somehow formulated. No one moved.
"I said, Back. The. Fuck. Away." That did the job.
"Wow, look who became queen bee. I am gonna need that title back though."
"You nearly aired out my whole business to the whole of the school."
"Funny. Secrets have a way of coming out." She flipped her blonde hair behind her shoulder. "Come on. I taught you that."
"Yeah you also told me that exploiters can always be exploited."
"Are you threatening me? You're best friend."
"A lot has changed Veronica."
"Not this time." Her eyes darted everywhere and wave of sadness swept over them before they finally landed on me. "Look, I need you. Please, okay? My dad left my mother for a man, my mum hates me and you're the only bitch in this school that can tolerate me."
"Yeah well, even you are starting to get on my nerves." I went to walk away but she grabbed my wrist. The vulnerability was wiped from her eyes when she said her next words.
"I can tell that guy you where talking to meant a lot. Judging by the way you tried to hush me he doesn't know about Jake. You want to keep it that way. Now so do I. All I need is friends."
"Are you really trying to make me submit? Bitch I invented that. I'm on top now. Since you've been gone I have taken and earned my authority. Now no wack ass wannabe is gonna take that form me." I yanked my wrist out of her hand and turned once more.
"We'll see." I didn't offer her a response. "Ryan wasn't it?" I turned around and looked her straight in the eyes.
"Your wouldn't." She smirked slightly.
"Same table for lunch right?" Before hearing my answer she walked straight past me.

Ding dong! The wicked bitch is back.