One Month

21. I don't care

I don't care

Aaron's P. O. V.

She hasn't shown up at all today. Her desk was empty in all of the classes we share and I haven't seen her around the halls either.

At first I thought it's because of how drunk she got last night, that she's having a bad hangover, but that would only explain her being late, not absent. Even though Vic doesn't have the role-model student lifestyle she's pretty set on her schedule. I imagine it would be difficult to balance work and school and still have time to hang out if that wasn't the case.

Her door was shut and locked this morning and I thought I shouldn't wake her up so I didn't even knock to check on her but now I regret it. It doesn't look like she's coming at all and that's rare.

I'm starting to feel worried so I decide to ask someone who knows her better than I do in hopes she's given them some sort of explanation. I walk around the school's outdoor area and find the remote spot where some of the students smoke. I spot her friend among the crowd and make my way over ignoring the stares I'm getting from him and the rest of his surrounding people.

"Where is she?" I ask him, a bit more bluntly than I originally intended. He stares at me blankly while keeping up his smoking and seemingly thinking, probably of what to say to me. He doesn't look surprised but he does look cautious.

"Home." He finally says confirming what I thought to be true.

"Is she okay?" I ask him and immediately earn a disbelieving look on his part as well as a scoff from one of her other friends who's name I don't even know but their face is familiar. Tommy glares at me for a short while in which time I stare back at him blankly waiting for him to finally reply to me. He eventually sighs and gives me an answer.

"No. Her dad died five years ago today. She needs some alone time." He explains briefly and straight to the point. It's clear he doesn't intend to give me any more information of any kind or say more than necessary, obviously because he doesn't like me yet also, as it seems, he's protecting her from me.

I'm partly shaken by his answer yet it's no surprise that the matter would have such severity. There isn't much that would have such effect on Vic as far as I know, even Jenny is near the bottom of that list. I feel her friends stare at me and gossip about my intrusion to their spot as I process the data Tommy gave me. I nod my head and step backwards preparing to leave.

"Alright. Thanks." I say and walk away as quickly as I came. I don't have to turn my head to know he is watching me. He has come up to me before and confronted me about the way a treated Vic, violently and more than once. It makes me as glad for her as it makes me jealous yet today felt different.

I've been wanting to talk to her for some time now but I'm not even sure I should anymore. Although I hate how we left things and I hate that she hates me I know there's a very small chance we'll ever be okay after everything, but at least I want to know I tried for us to be.

I don't think today is a good day to talk to her either. She has enough on her plate as it is, she doesn't need to be confronted with someone she's been so actively avoiding. I'm starting to think there will never be a good day.

°°°

Vic's P.O.V.

I put out what's left of my cigarette and throw myself back down on my back staring blankly at the ceiling as I've been doing for most of today. I don't have a lot of energy left, I barely had any when I called in sick for work this morning.

There's an enormous weight on my chest and a constant lump in my throat all day long and I didn't make it any better when I went through dad's stuff I've kept, or when I started letting myself remember what life was like before he was gone. I've cried so much today my eyes are dehydrated and burning.