One and Only

Chapter Nine - School

I probably would have slept in the following morning if it weren't for the buzzing in my ear. I could have accidentally missed school that day if it weren't for the buzzing in my ear. Shaun had decided to be cute and text me good morning, probably without realizing that I was not a morning person.

I squinted at the screen: Good morning Ruby:)

"Leave me alone," I mumbled and rolled out of bed, reluctantly moving further and further away from my bed. The soft, warm sheets beckoned me to stay curled up in them. My pillow was almost irresistable. But I had to go. It was Monday.

Breakfast was toast and a cup of milo. I pulled myself into my clothes and did my hair up in a pony tail with loose braids on either side of my head and some loose curls hanging around my face and neck.

Mum came in when I was putting on a layer of mascara.

"Do you want me to drop you off at school today?" She asked. She was ready for work.

"Yes, please," I smiled and grabbed my shoes and bag, snatching up the necessities: lip gloss, moisterizer, wallet, phone.

In the car I put my shoes on while mum talked me through what I would do that day. Avoid Lottie and especially Blake, but if Lottie approaches me, be kind and don't say too much.

Got it.

When we rolled into the school car park, a funny feeling pounded me in the gut. I fought it off as I kissed mum goodbye and jumped out of the car.

I walked slowly, drowning in my thoughts. Something didn't feel quite right.

When I reached my locker, I saw what would be the first of my worries that awful day.

In black, permanent marker. All over my locker.

'Whore'. 'Skank'. 'Hooker'. 'Tramp'. 'Dog'.

In that moment, everyone around me saw the blood cascade through my veins, down, until my face was as white as anything. They saw my mouth drop open and my eyes stare fixedly at the words. They saw me begin to tremble as I dropped my bag with a thump on the ground.

But all I could see was hurt. I saw my whole world tumbling around me and flipping itself upside-down. I saw the loss of every friend I held dear. I saw my heart, as though it was crashing to the ground and shattering into a thousand pieces.

After a while, I was able to take my eyes off the black words. I looked around me, but could see no one I knew that well - if at all. But everyone stared at me in disgust, as if they saw the whole thing on Friday. As if I had betrayed each and every one of them. As if the words on my locker described me with utmost accuracy.

I shoved my bag into my locker and walked quickly away, ignoring the lazer-like stares. I made my way to the girl's toilets. They were halfway across the school, but I could think of no better place to -

And there they stood. Lottie looked like she had been awake for months, crying for weeks, tossed about in a washing machine and then hit by a car.

What surprised me more was where she stood.

In Blake's arms.

They both stared at me in horror, as though I were the grim reaper. As though I would dare hurt them again. Blake held Lottie protectively. But it wasn't cute. It was far from cute. It was sick.

That boy had the guts to cheat on his girlfriend, to kiss another girl in his girlfriend's on bedroom! And yet three days later she stood in his arms, as though he was the only person in the world she could ever trust.

When he was the last one anybody could trust.

Before any one of us could make a move, I turned and took the other route to the bathroom. A million questions rushed through my head. Why hadn't they broken up? What had Blake said to her? Did she still forgive me? Who had written those horrible words on my locker?