Another World | ✔️

Chapter Three

Trigger Warnings
Drugs
Suicide
Therapy

🌳 🌳 🌳

You went to the park
with Connor Murphy?

Yes, Jared, but that's
not the point.
He had pills in his pocket.
He freaked out when
I saw them too.

Does that really surprise
you? You know he went
to rehab. He got kicked
out of Hanover for
drugs.

No.
Not that kind of pills.
Like medicine.

So? Maybe he's sick.

I don't know.
I just feel like it's different.
You don't think he...

He what?

Do you think he was going
to take them to like
kill himself or something?

Dude.
You're overreacting.
I don't think it's like that
and even if it was it's not
your problem.
It's not like you're friends.

I sigh softly as I click my phone off. Jared may be right, but what if he's not? Sure we may not really be friends but. . . Surely I should still care, right? He's human, after all.

But what could I do? I have no way of talking to him until school tomorrow. And even so, he probably wouldn't talk to me about it. Not after the way he reacted when they fell out of his pocket. He didn't want me to see he had them.

So I spend the night tossing and turning in my bed. I want to believe Jared was right and I am overreacting, but my stomach churns at the thought every time I look at my cast and see his name written in ink.

When morning comes, I'm dragging out of bed. There's a note on my door from Mom; "Hope your appointment went well, Honey!"

Crap.

Mom thinks I went to talk to Dr. Sherman after school yesterday. She has no clue that I actually went to hang out with Connor. She doesn't even know that Connor exists. Luckily, I don't have to worry about that right now. Mom had class last night, so now she's in bed asleep.

I peel the note away so she knows that I have seen her message and start to get ready for school. I hope that I will see Zoe's blue Volvo driving past me as I walk to the bus stop, but I don't see it. I try to believe that they're just ahead of me, but it's hard to be so sure.

It is not until lunch that I finally see Zoe. As always, she's sitting with her friends Bee and a few others; likely some kids from jazz band. I smile softly and go to sit down at my usual seat away from everyone else.

"This seat taken?"

I jump as I hear the voice, but relax as I realize it's Connor. "Oh, no, you can sit here if you want," I say, hoping this isn't some lame joke to make everyone laugh at me. Surprisingly, he sits down beside me and opens up his sack as I do mine.

Maybe I was overreacting after all. Maybe it was really nothing more than him being sick in some way like Jared said. I can see Jared now, peeking over his laptop at me suspiciously before going back to looking at whatever game he's playing.

"So, um, are you good?" I ask after a moment, catching myself off guard. I only hope I haven't offended him with the question.

"Fine," he says simply. He is quick to change the subject. "I talked to Mom and she insisted that you come over for dinner tonight. You don't have to, but she's eager to meet you."

"Oh, okay," I say, my voice shaking a bit. It's nice to be invited, but I'm still clinging onto worry. Meeting Connor's parents means meeting Zoe's parents and sitting down to eat dinner with them. What if I made a fool out of myself. "Thanks, I mean. If you're sure. You don't have to invite me just because your parents want you to. . ."

"I want you to." This takes me by surprise. It seems weird. Was it not just yesterday that, just a few feet away, this same person shoved me to the floor in front of everyone. It doesn't seem right that he suddenly wants to be my friend, but he doesn't have any reason to pretend, does he?

"O-okay."

Connor pulls out his phone, an older model, which is surprising. His parents are well off, best I know. I always assumed he would have the latest iPhone, not a very generations back. I'm even more surprised when he opens up his contacts and I see my name with a blank slot for a phone number. He hands it to me, and for a moment I just stare, uncertain.

"I'll text you directions," he explains, and I quickly type in my own number before handing it back. "Of course, you don't have to come if you don't want to. I just thought you might like to. You are awfully scrawny."

"Yeah, I'm a twig," I murmur, my gaze flicking toward my cast. Connor follows my eyes and I see a hint of some new emotion. Hoping that I've not said something wrong, I try to lighten the mood. "I guess that's why I fell. I'm too small to hang on for too long."

"Yeah, I guess so," Connor says with a shrug.

After a pause, I finally open my mouth to speak again. I've hardly touched my food, but my appetite has disappeared. Again, a lunch where I eat nothing. "I guess I had better head back to class. I'm sure you will have to soon, too?"

"Yeah. See you tonight, Evan."

"See you tonight."