Bitter Heart √

Forty Nine

Skylar's POV

"--it's not so bad here. I like this school." Brody said.

I hadn't been paying much attention to whatever he was saying, not when I was finding it a little too hard to sit upright and not slump over my desk (to doze off). I was tired as fuck. Between all the overwhelming thoughts and one specific nightmare about Alex, I didn't get much sleep last night. I had to keep reassuring myself that no one was breaking into my house, not when Mom and Dad were still here.

But I just missed Alex.

"Hey." It was when Brody gently nudged my shoulder with his, that I looked up at him. "Why do you seem so down today?"

I inhaled slowly. "I'll give you an answer when I find one."

I was counting down the seconds, waiting for this class to just be over. The teacher wasn't present today and the substitute one had been kind enough to give us a free period. That, however, hadn't given me a chance to take a nap, but the others to talk louder than they usually did--chatting and gossiping and not letting me have even the slightest bit of peaceful silence.

I was glad that Brody was here though. Listening to him talk proved out to be a lot more comforting than sitting here alone and being enveloped in my own miserable thoughts, even if I wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying. Brody had been a nice company ever since Alex stopped coming to school--for days now--and I appreciated that.

He slung an arm around my shoulders--which I took as a friendly gesture. Alex did that to me all the time. And now I missed him.

"I shouldn't bore you off with my stupid rants then." He said, giving me a cute, sheepish smile. I returned it, though it must've come out way unreal.

"Anyway, for that biology project, we need to meet up after school." He pointed out. "Your place or the library?"

I was a little confused why he hadn't mentioned his place as an option too, and as if reading the silent question on my face, he added, "I kind of have my place booked up for the night. So mine isn't an option."

I wasn't so sure about my place either. Thankfully, the bell rang right on time.

"I'll let you know before my last class," I told him and got up. He agreed to it with another one of his charming smiles.

I didn't get the time to catch up with him though, not even when all my classes ended. All because I got detention from my Calculus professor since I had forgotten to submit my assignment on time.

Was it my fault that I hadn't had the energy to do anything after yesterday's event?

The truth was, there had been no Alex to help me out with it. Even though he wasn't any good at helping me out with my homework, he always stayed holed up in my bedroom and did his best to help me out with Calculus problems. Remembering that just made me more sad--sadder than usual.

When I entered the classroom where the rest of the detention kids were, I decided to sit down at the very back of the class, near the window overlooking the empty parking lot. Everyone had already left the school grounds, excluding me and the other, few students who got unlucky with some nasty detention.

I didn't remember ever getting detention before. My life was starting to feel so messed up. I missed those days when I just cared about my sleep and Netflix.

Blowing out a tired sigh, I placed my head on the desk.

"--who am I kidding? You'd always find her sleeping during free periods. Especially since Alex stopped coming to school." I heard a voice from somewhere in front of the class. A hushed whisper. "She arrived so late to class today. I wish you guys could've seen Mr Nicholas's face."