FALL (DIMENSION Series #1)

CHAPTER 19

The image of Isabelle Bree leaning into Derek stayed with me as I made my way to class. I was in a daze. And for the first time I was relieved that my fall was widely known and that it could serve as an excuse for my distraction.

      I tried to listen in class, but I was unable to focus. I kept being haunted by the image of Derek and Isabelle. Her fingers clasped around his wrist.

      And every time I saw Isabelle in my mind's eye, I was reminded of the fact that she was beautiful. Petite and vivacious with a big smile and a contagious laugh. And of course nobody could deny her swagger or her cool vibes.

      During English, I could see Ms. Galardi looking over at me and I weakly nodded at her. I hadn't heard a single word she'd said, and I wasn't up to being asked my interpretation on anything. She nodded back at me with a sympathetic expression and didn't ask me any questions. It was a relief.

      Julia wanted the details of my fall, whispering at me whenever she could. But at some point she realized that I wasn't able to say much and she let it go.

      Derek wasn't in calculus and that was a further disappointment. It felt like he'd allowed himself to get close to me only because he'd had some escape route planned. And he seemed to be on that escape route now.

      I didn't see him during lunch either. I sat with Mary Rose and Julia and they repeated the things people had said to them about me. They seemingly enjoyed the attention of being associated with me. People were approaching them to discuss my wellbeing because I was unable to formulate clear sentences. I think my sudden muteness caused everyone to assume that I was still in a state of shock.

      "Veronica McCall asked many questions about you," Mary Rose said.

      I shrugged.

      "I wonder why," I said. And as soon as I'd spoken it dawned on me that Veronica might have witnessed some of my interactions with Derek and that she might have been curious about me. I thought it was likely that she had a thing for Derek too, considering the way she'd draped herself across him in the past. I should have known that interacting with Derek would put me on the school's social map.

      "I don't know," Mary Rose said and both she and Julia looked at me with expressions of concern. I knew that I wasn't saying enough and acting too detached. It was causing them to worry about me.

      Thus I dug into my salad, locating some small tomatoes and scooping them up. It was almost the end of lunch, but I was just getting started. Neal walked over to say hello, to see how I was doing.

      "You look pale," he said and I caught the worry in his voice.

      "Yeah," Julia confirmed, nodding over at me. "You don't look so good."

      I didn't feel well. But it really didn't have anything to do with my fall. It had everything to do with Derek and the very strange cycles of our interactions. He appeared to be playing a game of hot and cold. Whenever he got close to me it didn't take him long to bail on me. Sometimes he'd stayed with me, but sort of vacated his body, when his eyes went dark green and flat. But now it had gone beyond that. Now he wasn't around at all. He hadn't even found it in himself to say hello or to ask how I was doing.

      "Maybe you should go home," Neal said, still looking at me with a concerned expression.

      Mary Rose and Julia nodded and I found myself nodding along with them.