The Mistake (A Chlathaniel Story)

14

She wobbled as she rose, holding onto her stomach and taking in a deep breath to calm her nerves. She looked up, freezing in place at the sight of an old classmate in black-rimmed glasses. He paled at the sight of her and managed to swallow down the lump in his throat, adjusting his glasses and doing a one-eighty, headed towards the courtyard. She held out a hand and left it suspended in the air, biting back an insult and sighing. "Max... I'm so sorry-"

"Don't. Don't even bother. It could never bring her back," he whispered, wincing at the memory itself. Chloe flinched and looked away, watching him walk away through the corner of her eyes. She felt memories weigh down on her and felt the urge to hurt him for making her remember pulse through her veins. She managed to make it to the female restrooms and entered a cubicle, locking the door and taking in deep breaths. With shaking hands, she pulled out her phone, meaning to call Nathaniel and stopped when she saw a notification on his newest Instagram post. She smiled slightly and wiped her eyes, peering at the screen and wishing he was with her. It would have been so much easier to survive if he had just left whatever he was doing and...

"Nath... And Lila?! This... This can't be happening. It has to be some sort of mistake..." The picture showed Nathaniel holding up a rendition of Lila, his face red because for some reason, her hand was draped around his shoulder and her lips were pressed against his cheek as she held some mistletoe in the air above them. (Just imagine the drawing in that suspended hand of his, guys.)

So this was the Rossi "guy" he was always talking about. The caption was: Christmas is months away and Santa's already given me a present! @Tomato_Head aka Nathaniel Kurtzberg, thanks for coming to hang out and I bet this tour is gonna kick ass!😚 She felt a piece of her break when she saw the comment section blowing up with ship names like tomatofox and talk about them being the next power couple, feeling her legs give out slightly from under her. "God, I need a drink. Pick up, Cocoa, please stop fucking Alex for a second and answer the damned phone!"

She bit her lip and struggled to hold in her sobs, gasping when she heard a knock on the door. She knew exactly who it was from the scent of perfume. What if Rose been there the whole time, she wondered half-heartedly, glaring at the door, hoping the short blonde run off. No such luck. "Chloe, you've been in there for a while. Now that I'm back from the dead, I'd really like to see all my classmates."

"Leave me alone. I was a bitch to you, simple and short. Go to your goth girlfriend who smokes for a living, by the way, and bother her."

"Chloe, come on. Don't be like that. I know about you and Nath... and about the baby," she whispered. Chloe swallowed and shut her eyes, pressing her palms against the sides of the cubicle and trying to level her breathing. She tried to bring out the more confident side of her, the brazen bitch she used to be and felt she still was but her hands shook instead and she slid to the floor, trailing light circles on her baby bump.

Daddy is a di- I mean, jerk, isn't he jelly bean?

"And I think it's wonderful. I don't want you to hurt yourself, or your kid. Just come out, Chlo." She pulled herself up and used a handkerchief to dab her eyes, sliding her white sunglasses down to the bridge of her nose and hoping they would keep people from seeing how red her eyes were and her eye bags for the rest of the night. Her voice was so sweet, so gentle, caring even. Just like Sabrina's. She opened the door and folded her arms, looking her over. She was wearing a cute pastel pink dress underneath a blue coat and Chloe couldn't help but smile at the playful scent of the flowery perfume that wafted up her nose. Same old Rose Lavillant.