The Last Chance (Book 2 of the Cheer Series)

Three:

"Stop it!" Allison shouts, as I try to reach for a bite of her pop tart, when she isn't looking. "I know you want a bite, but you had your own pop tart and then you finished it. You did not choose to savour it, so no. I am most certainly not giving you a bite of mine."

"Come on Allison!" I urge, eyeing the delicious treat in her hands.

"This is a counselling session so tell me your problems." Allison says, finishing her pop tart.

"Nah Ah." I say. "I don't want to talk about my problems. I want to talk about something else."

"Ummm... I'm not so sure this is how a counselling session works, but, what do you want to to about then?" Allison responds, and I roll my eyes.

"You aren't even a real counsellor you idiot. How do you even know how these things work?" I ask, but she stays silent, a sad smile on her face. Then it hits me.

"When did you go for counselling Alli? Why didn't you tell me?" I ask, and she goes blood red.

"I didn't want to make it a big deal. Steven was in his coma, and I didn't want you to carry more burdens you know?" She states. I put my hand on her shoulder.

"Please tell me in future, Alli, you've been my best friend since play school, and I need to know these things, no matter the situation." I state. "Tell me why you went. Please Alli."

"I-I was depressed and on the verge of committing suicide. I think it was the cheerleading thing, but so many things went into it too, my parents were speaking of divorce, as you know, but at that stage, all they did was fight. I had to go, because I felt so alone, especially when you became a cheerleader and I didn't. I know I sound so selfish and jealousy is such a nasty colour, but it as a stage in my life that I'm out from. I just couldn't drop that load on you. But, my parents figured things out and I became a cheerleader thanks to you and everything became better. I went through that stage, but it's over, and now, I can help you." She said. I look at her, my eyes full with sorrow.

"How could you not tell me?" I whisper. "You went through such a terrible time Alli! I could've helped you!" I shout.

"No! You couldn't have! I was ready to commit suicide! You couldn't have helped me because you were the one who pushed me into that corner in the first place!" Allison blurted.

"W-What?" I stumble, I was the reason she wanted to commit suicide?

"I-I didn't mean that Mel." She recovers.

"But you said it. You said it! So, please tell me, what did I do?" I ask, getting angry, how could she? How could I do that to her? How could I not realise that?

"You forgot about me." She responds.

"I forgot about you?" I say it again. I forgot about her? I suddenly don't feel so angry anymore. Now, I feel guilty, guilty and terrible.

"You were so busy with Steven and cheerleading and those cheerleaders that I felt like you didn't need me anymore. We had been friends since play school, and it felt like you didn't care, and that you didn't need me anymore." She replies, getting softer as she ends her sentence.

"I will always need you. I will always care. You are my best friend Allison. You have stuck to me through thick and thin. You are my sister. Don't  you dare, think, ever, that I will never not need you. I couldn't have continued on the way I did without you, Alli. You are everything and more to me!" I end. She cocks her head to the side and I pull her in for a hug, and we sit there together. My head on hers as she and I cry together.

~~~~~~~
No one is in the house when I arrive, considering it's only 3 pm, it's normal. I trudge up the stairs, and I almost fall back down them again, when I see the door open. His door. Steven's room door. I peek through the small crack. He's not here. I make sure to check every room to make sure that he really isn't here. When I've checked at least three times, I creep up to his partly open door. Should I? Should I really? No. No I shouldn't. It's his space.

I open the door wider, and sneak in. It's too late to turn back now, so I close the door behind me. I'm shocked to say the least as I look around his room. The walls are completely bare. Clothes lie everywhere, along with items of trash. The only place that's clean is his bed and his desk, which has nothing on it, except a pencil, an eraser, and a sharpener. His bed, however, has a book on it. I sit on his unmade bed and look at the book lying next to his pillow.

Should I? I really shouldn't, I've inflicted on his privacy enough right? But, I'm just so curious, I need to find a way through and maybe the book will help. I'm certain it will, and so I flip to a random page. I'm shocked at what I see.

It's a picture, and I can see he's drawn it. But it's so dark. It is the top half of a person, whose head is a skull, the person is wearing an old ripped up football jersey, and their hands seem to be trying to tear off the jersey, but it doesn't seem to do anything. The whole picture is done in dark pencil, so most of it is completely black in some places. There isn't any colour. The whole picture seems like Steven is screaming for help.

Taking out my phone from my pocket, I snap a picture, so I can go to the art teacher tomorrow. I don't understand it. I've never really been an artist, and analysing art has always been difficult and the more I look at this picture, the more I can't seem to understand what he's trying to say to me. It's like he's screaming, but no sound is coming out. Then I notice a smaller detail. The background. It's cheerleaders. I can see the uniforms and the hair, they are doing pandora's triangle, but they seem almost evil, their faces portraying an evil, sort of sadistic smile. I feel too scared to turn the page, I'm scared of what I might see. I need to ask for help. To understand what he's trying to say. I need to get in somehow, and if his art will let me do that, I'm going to do it.