Bind Me To You

Chapter Four

Avery stayed in the toilet for the next two hours until the sound of the lunch bell rang loudly throughout the school. By the time she had stopped sobbing the gatorade had dried into her hair and clothing. Her tears had helped to wash away the blue stain from the majority of her face. The white sweater that she had decided to wear today was ruined, not even her mother could remove the dried in stains from the drink.

As Avery lifted herself from the toilet seat she could feel what was left of the blue liquid yet to dry sticking her sweater to her chest. She had stopped crying long ago but her eyes were still red and puffy.

Before exiting the toilet she turned on the sink to splash some cold water against her face. She couldn't believe the redness that remained after she had stopped crying over an hour ago. Tears welled in her eyes as she wondered how many more days she would have to endure this torment. The joy that previously sparkled in her eyes was now extinguished.

When Avery heard the creak of the bathroom door she quickly turned the tap off, scrubbing the tears from her eyes before heading towards the door. She kept her head down but this didn't stop the girls from stepping aside, looking Avery up and down from the stained blue sweater to her dry crusty hair.

Stepping past them she heard them whisper to each other, "Isn't that the girl who was hitting on Aiden?", "That's disgusting" they both giggled. Avery's tears returned as she clenched her fists at her sides, shoving the door open as she quickly walked into the busy hall.

People around her turned silent as their sights set on her. "I wonder what happened to her?", "Isn't that Avery Hughes?", "Maybe someone caught her with their boyfriend". Some people laughed as they saw her, others stared, some gave her pitying looks before turning their backs. She kept her eyes down as she hastily headed for the entrance of the school.

Avery wasn't going to stay, not when she didn't have a change of clothes. She had only waited for it to be lunch so that it would be easier to leave without being noticed. Now, hearing the snickers of the shadows in the hallway, she had wished that she hadn't sat in tears on the cold sticky toilet seat and let the blue dry into her skin and clothes.

Suddenly Avery felt her forehead hit something solid and she stumbled back, almost falling backwards before a gentle grip took her arm, stabilising her. Avery mumbled a quick apology before trying to walk past. The grip on her upper arm tightened as the person softly tugged her back."You're soaked in... what's this...?" The stranger began, leaning down to get a closer look at the blue stains on Avery's sweater. She glances up, catching the bright green eyes of Ethan Wilson as he gave her a soft smile, "Gatorade?" he concluded. His voice was deep but it had a calming effect on her, he looked genuinely concerned for her.

Being able to see the blonde's expression Ethan's lips set into a deep frown, "Have you been crying?". Avery was lost for words as she stared up into the emeralds that looked at her with such a tender gaze and she felt all of the sadness that had been welling inside her begin to boil up.

"I- I..." She stutters as tears began to fill her eyes again, one escaping to roll down her cheek. Ethan's eyes softened as he gently reached down to brush his thumb under her eye, brushing the tear off her cheek, "What happened?".

"It's..." She begins, her eyes shifting to the tall figure that had walked up behind the tall jock. Paige brushes her long brown hair over her shoulder as she crossed her arms, her jaw tightening in disgust.

Avery glanced back up to Ethan and her nose crinkled, swallowing the saliva that had built in her throat, "It's nothing, please excuse me". Avery pulls her arm from Ethan's grip as she brushes past him, hurrying past Paige who simply glared at her.

Avery took a deep breath, knowing that this accidental encounter was going to bring hell upon her in the near future. Avery quickly shoved her way through the crowd as she remembered the kindness in Ethan's eyes and the way it brought up so much emotion in her. She had been longing for someone to look at her like that for so long, but it happened to be the one person that she could never keep by her side.