"I take back what I said the first time we met. I never could have been more wrong."
"Oh, and what would that be?"
"Every thing about you - every thing you do, or say, or even when you scrunch your nose when you don't really like something - just ma...
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I SIGHED AND FED A hand through my hair. I didn't want to deal with Casey, Harry, Rose, or the twins asking questions, and I most certainty didn't want to deal with seeing Johnny or Val. But I had already tried "being sick" and Dad hadn't bought it for even a moment. So I rolled out of bed, put on my best fake face, and pulled on a cohesive outfit. I tied my hair back in a half bun with a chunky, fuzzy, silvery sweater and light washed, demolished jeans. But no matter how much I put myself together on the outside, I still felt like a broken, thrown away toy.
When I sat down on the old leather bench seat of Billy Black's old truck, the smell of cigarettes and laundry detergent clogged my nose. "Do you wanna talk about it?" Isabella asked, her voice so soft and careful that it was almost as if she was walking on air. I laughed sarcastically.
"Nice try," I retorted. The two of us hit a silence, but I didn't care. I just sat and stared out the windshield as the vibrant green trees passed through the foreground. There was something about the forest, and the rustling leaves, that seemed to calm me. The smell and feeling of dirt could surround me in a blanket, and the wet air drained all the tension from my body. It connected me to something I didn't understand and pulled me closer to a better sense of myself. Being in such a pure and raw climate could pull me into a trance-like state, where the only important thing to me was seeing the success and survival of the natural world.
But my trance broke and we arrived at school much too quickly for my liking. For the first time, I was slow and hesitant to make my way out of the car. I could tell that Isabella's eyes were trained on me worriedly, but to hell with that. I could also see Johnny watching me, his shoulders tense and his face trying to seem expressionless.
I sighed, leaving my older, more annoying sister to her own vices and her obsession with the strange, off-putting, silent man that was currently her boyfriend. The two of them fed off one another as if it was the only thing they needed as sustenance and the only thing that could fully satisfy either one of them. It was some sick, absurd, toxic relationship that I wanted absolutely nothing to do with.
So I huffed, rolled my eyes, and took strong, confident steps toward the tall, outdoor, concrete staircase. I brushed past Johnny without even batting an eyelash his way, though I couldn't help but notice the confused expressions on everyone else's faces. It wasn't until the third period – Modern World History with Mrs. Valen – that someone was able to talk to me about it.
Christian walks in, a smirk on his face, even as he falls obnoxiously into the seat beside me, and drops his bag to the ground. "So Jojo – you and Johnny Boy get in a little bit of a tussle last night?" I snort.
"Yeah, if you can fucking call it that," I mutter harshly, slamming my notebook and folder onto my desk. Christian's eyebrows furrowed, and he seemed a little shocked at my reaction to Johnny's name. Usually, I blushed or I giggled. But a frown covered my face and a bitter emotion clouded my eyes.
"Woah, woah, woah..." he begins, holding his hands up high into the air. "Damn girl, what's got you in such a tizzy?"
"Did the last ten seconds just escape your memory?" I snap irritatedly, turning to look at him with almost wild eyes and profound irritation.
