Willow's Tree

20

The next morning, I found it easier to breathe. Over the night, I told myself that I didn't care if Trey didn't want me anymore. I told myself that I would be fine. I told myself that it would be no different from before. Before I met him.

When I arrived at school, I was surprised to see that Drew was at the breakfast table, talking and smiling with my friends. Even more surprising was that my friends were smiling and laughing back at whatever he said.

I walked up to them and Drew looked up and greeted me with a warm smile before standing up and motioning for me to sit in my usual seat. I slowly sat and looked up at him with confusion.

"Good morning Willow." He said with a nod before looking at my friends. "It was nice talking to you all. I'll see you later." Then he turned and walked away. I stared after him for a moment before turning to my friends who were all staring at me. Isaac was grinning.

"I like him." He suddenly said and Olly nodded.

I blinked. "I thought you guys didn't like him from before?"

"That was just a misunderstanding." Olly waved it off. "But geez, Willow. First you get Trey, and now it's Drew? What's your secret?" she whispered.

"What are you talking about?" I said confused. "What did he want?"

"He came up to ask stuff about you." Rebecca answered simply.

"Stuff? What sort of stuff?"

Rebecca observed her nails. "Like how you were doing these days and stuff. Just casual stuff." She shrugged.

Olly stared at our friend with confusion. "What, Rebecca? You don't like Drew?"

She shook her head. "It's not like that. I just think...he doesn't fit Willow as much compared to Trey."

Isaac scoffed. "Drew's a nice guy. Why wouldn't he fit Willow? Besides, she needs a bright guy. Not someone moody like Trey."

"Can't." I said and they turned to me with confusion on their faces. "Drew already has a girl."

"How do you know?" Isaac asked suspiciously.

"I just do." I said, not wanting to tell them he had a fiancée. That wasn't my secret to tell.

The bell rang and we headed our separate ways. As Olly and I walked into class, we saw that Trey was already at his desk with his head down. Lately, he would be about ten to twenty minutes late to class, so it was a surprise to see him here so early. Part of me wanted to wonder why, but I slapped the thought away, not wanting to think about Trey any longer.

I saw Olly give me a look at the corner of eye, but I ignored her as well. We took our seats and as class began, I felt a pair of eyes dig into my back. I knew it was him, but I didn't acknowledge it.

The day went smoothly from then when I stuck to my plan. I did my best to not think about Trey and I wouldn't follow him with my eyes. I treated him as if he was any other student and didn't bother giving him a glance when we passed each other in the hallways. But of course, I was still aware of his presence. I wasn't strong enough to forget him in less than a day after all.

Surprisingly, Helen wasn't by his side and it irritated me that I actually noticed.

In my classes, I doodled my willow tree again and saw that Dog was still in the picture. And he had gotten more defined. I glared at the drawing and crumpled it up, preparing to throw it away. But I couldn't. I sighed and tried to flatten out the sheet as much as I could before placing it with the rest of my drawings.

Throughout the day, I found myself making contact with Drew more than often too. It was annoying at first, but I got used to it after about the third time we saw each other in the hallways. The fourth time, it was during lunch and I was walking to the cafeteria.