Ryan: I miss my sister.
Stephanie: Oh, I'm sorry... (is she dead??)
Ryan: Dear heavens, I hope not!
Stephanie: Oh, so she's on a mission, right?
Ryan: She's in a different country, but not on a mission... as far as I know.
Stephanie: Why does she live in a different country? Does she ever come to visit?
Ryan: ... um
Ryan: divorce happened
Ryan: my dad took me away from my mom and sister
Stephanie: oh...
Stephanie: that's really sad 😢
Stephanie: I'm sorry
Ryan: It's not your fault.
Stephanie: do you ever see her?
Ryan: Yeah, but not in the way you'd think.
Stephanie: ...
Stephanie: ...??
Ryan: *sigh*
Ryan: only inside my head
Stephanie: Oh!... That's even sadder.
Ryan: Thanks.
Stephanie: No, no wait! I mean.. you're good a coping with it..?
Ryan: Funny joke. You know I tried to kill myself.
Stephanie: I mean...
Stephanie: um, I don't know what I mean, but I still care about you.
Ryan: I don't know what you mean either 🙃
Stephanie: Welp, I'm about to fall asleep
Ryan: I know. I can see you.
Stephanie: WHAT?!
Ryan: Jk! 🤣
Stephanie: I should have known. See you tomorrow!
Ryan: ❤️
Ryan: Oops, that was for my mom, not you, sorry!
Stephanie: Sure it was... 😂
Ryan: .... 😥
Stephanie: ❤️ 🤣
Peter comes bursting into my room. "There's a spider!" He screams.
I sigh. "Why don't you go tell Mom and Dad?"
"They told me to go to sleep and I won't worry about it, but I can't go to sleep when it's on the ceiling!" He starts crying.
I sit up on my bed. "Then evacuate."
"What does that mean?" He asks.
I roll my eyes. "Leave the room and sleep somewhere else."
"Oh, okay," he sniffles, hopping up on my bed.
"Why here?!" I ask him, frustrated.
He starts tearing up again. "B-because I thought you l-loved me.."
"What?! Peter, of course I love you!" I pull him into a hug.
"Then why do you stay away from me all the time?" He whispers.
I run my fingers through his red hair that I envy so much. "Because I'm an awkward teenager who doesn't know how to express her emotions. Who says I don't love you?"
He calms down a little. "Vanessa Hopkins."
"Why did you listen to her?" I ask.
"Because she's the smartest in the class..." He looks down.
I laugh. "The smartest person in your class doesn't know about how much I care about you."
He smiles. "I don't know why I let her get to me."
~~~
I make my way down the stairs and flow into the kitchen while my mom watches the news.
"... We even found a suicide note from one of the students. It appeared to be a poem at first, but officials say it does have to do with suicidal thoughts..."
My eyes grow wide. Poetic suicide note? That sounds dangerously familiar...
I take an apple from the counter and head out the door, already close to being late.
~~~
I walk into English class, wishing it was an A day so I could make sure Ryan was okay. I can't shake this awful feeling I have, like something isn't going to be right after today.
"We will have an assigned group project today," Miss Ayers tells us. The class groans collectively. She sighs, finally deciding not to keep her reasons hidden. "I always see people getting excluded, that's why it's assigned! I hate seeing people left out!"
The class goes silent. We do have a problem with that. Especially with Stacie. She's really slow, so it's not a secret that no one wants to partner with her.
The teacher puts her list up on the projector, and I wonder if I should start believing in karma.
Stephanie Banks and Stacie Valentine.
Of course she would do that to me.
Stacie takes the empty seat next to mine, showing obvious signs of discomfort. As the teacher explains about the group project, I zone out and somehow get this image in my head of Ryan jumping off the building, just inches away from me. I reach my arm out and shout his name, but he's already gone.
"Uh, Stephanie?" Stacie waves her hand in front of my face.
"Oh, sorry!" I reply. "I'm just a little.. preoccupied."
She nods. "I understand. Emily was your best friend after all."
I almost jump out of my seat. "WHAT?!"
Miss Ayers looks in my direction. "I know some of you might not like your partners, but PLEASE try to get along."
I cover my mouth and give her an apologetic look.
"Wait, so you didn't hear?" Stacie asks.
"Let me guess; she went missing, and it was all over the news." I roll my eyes.
"Mhm," she hums. "Even left a suicide note behind. Seems like her best friend couldn't even help her."
I look at the ground. "So, are we gonna get started or just sit here all day?"
(A/N) Sorry about that glitch earlier. I think I have it all worked out now̶.̶
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YOU ARE READING
Shatter My Heart
Teen Fiction~ Discontinued ~ "Silver Lake High is responsible for more than a dozen missing teens, most of which are victims of suicide, believed to have been caused by bullying..." but Xander Hopkins was no suicide victim. Niether was Allison Packer, Caleb Col...
