The Triangle

Chapter 2

 The next day, when I'm putting my books away, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I spin around quickly, and my leg jams into my locker. I wince. That's going to leave a bruise for sure.

Wes is standing there, a smile on his face. "Hey, Mel! Sorry, did I scare you?"

I shake my head and try to cover up the fact that there's a big, ugly bruise forming on my upper thigh. "No, you didn't scare me... I was just thinking about stuff." I realize how stupid I sound, and want to slap myself.

But Wes just smiles. "Oh okay. Is it your dad again?"

I nod, my face falling. "Yeah... Things are just complicated now."

Wes looks down at his shoes. He loved Dad almost as much as I did, and I can tell that this bothers him too. "Look, Mel... I'm really sorry about what happened, but do you think we could maybe just focus on something else for awhile?"

His words hit me like a slap in the face. Focus on something other then how my life is falling apart as we speak? I know that he means well, but still... "I...," I whisper. "I need to go."

Wes tries to stop me. "Come on, Mel! You know I didn't mean it like that!"

I try to stop the tears from flowing, but they do anyway. "You meant it all, Wes!" I say, and then I run. I run despite the fact that my eyes are blurry and I can't see three feet in front of me. I run even though I can hear Wes calling me.

I just keep running.

I don't even notice when I run into someone. My books and papers scatter the floor. Startled, I look up.

I see a tall boy rubbing his shoulder. He has dark brown hair and blue eyes. I realize that I'm staring, and immediately look away, my face burning with embarrassment.

The boy smiles a little. "Hey. Maybe try not to run as fast in the future!"

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I know I should apologize for running into him, but I can't.

His smile falls a little. "I was just joking, you know. Are you okay?"

"Yes!" I croak. I tell myself to focus, to stop looking into those eyes, but I can't.

He picks up the stuff I dropped and hands it to me. Our fingers touch momentarily, and I feel my heart skip a beat.

"So. What's your name, Clumsy?" He winks, and I blush.

"Um. Melanie. Melanie Wilson." I manage. God, he's so beautiful.

The boy winks. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Melanie. My name's Lincoln Jones. I'll see you around, I presume?"

I nod. "Yeah!"

Lincoln smiles again. "Bye, Melanie!"

Then he's gone. I can't focus, let alone breathe, as I enter Mrs. McDonald's English class. I guess I'm pretty obvious, because as soon as I sit down, Noelle turns around.

She raises her eyebrows. "What's up with you? You look like you stayed out in the sun way too long."

I smile dreamily. "Lincoln," I say.

Noelle smirks. "You mean that new senior? Wow girl. You're really crazy, you know that?"

I don't answer. I can't get those blue eyes out of my head.

______________________________________________________________________

Wes tries to talk to me twice- once during math, and the other during study hall. He even stuck a letter in my locker, but I don't forgive him. I can't.

If Noelle notices, she doesn't say anything. She just talks about how hard yesterday's homework was, and how she wishes she had a boyfriend like me.

I consider telling her that I don't even know who Wes is anymore, that he keeps changing and I can't keep up, but I don't want to vent about it just yet. Even if what he said hurt, Wes is still my boyfriend, and I can't just badmouth him behind his back.

When I get home, the house is silent. I check the table for a note from Mom, but there isn't one. Shocker. She's spaced out more and more lately, and I don't even bother trying to locate her.

Instead, I grab an apple and some grape juice and go up to my room.

I do my homework, and then I open my Instagram. Might as well check the new posts. As I'm looking, one catches my eye. At first, I think it's because of how colorful it is, but then I realize who the picture is of:

Lincoln. I gulp. Somehow, I feel as if I'm floating, that I'm not in my room but in outer space, and the whole world is changing.

I feel dizzy. Quickly, I scroll down to a different post of a cat drinking from a fish bowl. I don't look at Lincoln's post again, and by the time Mom gets home, I've already forgotten I even saw it.

As I'm going to bed later, the post comes back to my mind. I have a thought that makes my stomach churn. Is it possible that if Wes had posted a picture of himself that I wouldn't feel this way? That it wouldn't be a big deal?

And then I have another thought: is it possible that I've been chasing after the wrong guy this whole time?