In order to start anew,
I turned away from them.
~~~
"Quinn? He left about ten minutes ago. He said he had something to take care of. Do you know what he might have been talking about?"
Violet let out a long sigh. She shook her head before thanking Quinn's mother and leaving the Hayes' household.
He left early today. Is he avoiding me? Did I say something?
She tried to think of what she could have said or done to make him avoid her like this. She couldn't come to any conclusion; she only remembered his expression and tone before he ran.
"I told you, it's nothing."
Such a simple line was able to pierce right through her. She stopped in her tracks to think, and looked up at the light gray sky. Shaking it off, she continued to make her way to school before she could get scolded for being late. For the first time since the school year began, she walked alone, the yellow and orange leaves crunching underneath her shoes.
It's ironic, huh? After all, I expected everything to be this way when I moved: living alone, walking to school alone, going home alone. And here I am, alone, just like I expected, and I'm... sad.
She sighed, grasping her bag strap as she continued, shivering whenever a gust of wind came over her.
I don't know what I said to you, but I'm sorry if I hurt you.
~~~
Not wanting to reach his home room in the first place, Quinn dropped his bag next to his desk and sat down reluctantly onto the chair.
I can't see her. Not yet. I'm not ready for it.
As much as he didn't want to see Violet after what he'd said, he wanted to talk to her about it. He wanted to apologize, but he knew that he'd most likely end up hurting her again.
As if on cue, Violet walks into the classroom. Quinn tried to avoid eye contact, averting his eyes to a book he took out from his bag. Violet looked over to him once she walked in, but frowned when she saw his attention was somewhere else. She sighed as she placed her bag by her seat, deciding not to go talk to him that morning.
Quinn glanced over to her, still holding his book in his hands. Since she walked in, Violet didn't look back at him, making him feel both relieved and disappointed.
I can't be with you. I don't want to hurt you anymore.
~~~
"I noticed you've been feeling out of it lately." Olivier looked across the table to her. "I know you're probably just gonna refuse my offer like usual, but you don't have to tutor me all the time like this if your workload is heavy. After all, you are a transfer student, so I wouldn't be surprised if you are having trouble adjusting."
"Don't worry, it's not school." Violet denied. "Just got a lot of things jumbled up in my head."
"That's what you say all the time." He sighed. "If you have something to say, say it."
"I'm fine, really. Thanks." She assured him. "We're getting off track. You seem to be messing up a lot over here. Concentrate!"
Olivier sighed before his eyes returned to the paper. However, he had other things at the back of his mind.
~~~
It was around 8pm that same day when Quinn sat in his room, doing homework as usual.
"You're not working as fast as you did." Mrs. Hayes half scolded, slightly concerned about Quinn's recent behavior. "You'd usually be finished half an hour ago. You may as well be disciplined again from the bottom up."
"I'm sorry, Mother. There are a lot of things on my mind nowadays, and I'm having a little bit of trouble getting rid of them. But don't worry, it shouldn't affect me too much."
Quinn's mother sighed. "If you need to talk about it, let's talk about it. I don't want this to be the reason you fail in your studies."
"Since when were you this considerate?" Quinn raised an eyebrow.
"That's very rude of you, you know that?" She scowled before frowning again. "Must be that friend of yours, Violet, was it?"
"What are you going to say about her this time?"
"Don't worry, it's not a bad thing. Her situation with her family taught me that one can be greatly affected by their surrounding circumstances. Which is why I'm talking to you here now, because I don't want to be the one responsible for your suffering like Violet's in Paris."
It was as if Quinn was talking to a new person. His mother's concern seemed to always be her children's grades. He never had the opportunity to talk to her like this, let alone spend much time with her.
"Well, actually..."
YOU ARE READING
Masks
RomanceTW: abuse Throwing her entire past away, she moves to a new town at an attempt to start anew. No one could understand just what was he thinking, but he figured that it was for the best. What people can't see behind the barriers, are the scars of t...
