stozier

Chapter Twelve

The day Ash came back, I didn't suspect anything going downhill until I came out of the bathroom and started to walk back to class. That was when I started to hear voices from down the hall. I hid behind the corner and stared down the hall, thinking that maybe it was a group of guys sneaking out of their classes to vape in the bathroom. It wouldn't be the first time. You can pick up on a lot of things when people think they're alone with their friends.

But I was wrong. The voices sounded like they belonged to a group of girls. They came from a flight of stairs, and then I could see them. Richie was there with the girls, Ash included, and I started to panic. They were definitely going to see me, or figure out I was there somehow. But I didn't move, instead deciding to freeze in my spot and go from there if they did happen to catch me.

I recognized most of them. Richie was the only guy, and there were a few other girls from band that I knew, but there were some that I didn't know. Ash's freshman friends? I didn't have many classes with other freshman.

"Just explain." Ash's voice. They were all facing Richie, as if he commited a crime and was about to be thrown in the slammer.

"I didn't fucking kiss her! I don't even like her, and we broke up a long time ago, whoever told you that is fucking lying." Richie's voice. "She's a bitch. You know she talks shit about me all the time, why would I go ba-ck to her?" he tried to explain, his voice cracking. I believed Richie, but he was almost at his breaking point. I considered stepping out from behind the corner and stopping their little interrogation, but what good would that do? I needed to hear more, and this wasn't my time. Not now.

One of the girls, a heavier one, pushed Richie down onto the ground without warning. Even if he wasn't off guard, it would still be easy for her, due to the weight difference. "You wouldn't hit a girl, would you?" she said innocently, as he sat up on his elbows and looked at them from below. I, again, considered stepping in, but decided not to. Maybe that was a bad decision on my part.

"What if I died, Richie? What if I died, just because you wouldn't keep your lips off of that ugly Asian whore? You made me try to kill myself. You did it on fucking purpose." Ash again. She walked closer to him as he stood up and used the rows of lockers to support himself. "You never loved me."

Even I could recognize that this whole scene was fucking crazy. Ash tried to commit suicide because Richie allegedly kissed another girl? Richie's real good at finding keepers, isn't he?

Richie shook his head, not daring to look her in the eye. He was staring down at the floor. "I fucking didn't! You're delusional. I wish you died, I re-ally do." He was crying now, and I couldn't blame him for his choice of words, but why was he crying? Did he still care about her? One of the girls looked in my direction, so I quickly moved away from the corner. These girls were crazy, blaming Ash's attempted suicide on Richie. He never kissed Vivian, I should know, because I watch him all the time. They never even came close to each other. Plus, Vivian liked me. She asked me out. Why on Earth would she go back to Richie?

None of it made sense, and I was convinced that Ash never even went into a mental hospital for her attempt. She could've made it up, but nobody knew where she was for a week, and now she was blaming it on a boy?

"Richie, you're disgusting.You think anyone will actually want to be with you after this?" This wasn't Ash, just another one of her friends. I wished Richie understood that this was all overdramatic, stupid high school drama. I wish he wasn't crying, and I wished he never had his heart broken in the first place. He wasn't at the point of full on sobbing, but I was having enough of it. I came from around the corner, pretending I wasn't listening to what they were saying, and paused when I came closer to them.