Obsession

06

The days flew by and I started to get really close to Taylor. We started hanging out a bit more regularly, both in school and outside of school. I must admit, she had become a ray of sunshine in my gloomy world. I felt more comfortable around her than I did around anyone else, including the guys. She brought out a side of me that I didn't even know existed; she had me doing things I wouldn't have dreamt of otherwise, and her influence on me was beginning to show.

My sister was the first person to notice, which was surprising because we hardly ever managed to string together a conversation.

At this point in time, she had given up drinking for, and I quote, "a healthier lifestyle for the both of us". I was not fooled though. This was not the first time she had "quit". Usually, it lasted a few days, and something would trigger the monster in her.

This particular time though, she had outdone herself and kept the act up for a whole two weeks, and I was grateful. Taylor practically invited herself into our home whenever she was in the building, and I did not want her to chance upon my sister doing something I'd rather not describe.

The only downside to my sister being sober was the fact that she began to notice things. All of a sudden, she cared about my grades, who my friends were, what I ate and what not. It was during one of these raids at dinner when she started asking about Taylor.

"I see you've been around that girl a lot lately."

"That's right."

"Well is there anything I should know?"

"No."

"Rhian, if there's anything, like you two being a couple, for example, you can tell me. I may even have some advice for you. At this age you can have urges, and-"

"Wait a damn minute," I cut her off. "If you think you're just gonna waltz right back into my life just because you managed to take your mouth off them bottles, you are sorely mistaken. Also, I'm a little too old for the birds and the bees talk, if you haven't noticed."

That was enough to shut her up. I could see from the look in her eyes that she was hurt, but I couldn't care less about her feelings. She had spent years neglecting me, and it was annoying that she was trying to exercise some sort of moral authority on me just because she was temporarily off the booze.

The rest of dinner that night was uneventful, except for my occasional remarks about having to eat a salad for dinner. I'd never had a salad before, not even when grandma was alive, unless you count fruit salads.

The next person who noticed was only person in the world I hoped wouldn't notice. If you haven't guessed it yet, it was Jack.

It was a week after the incident with Anne, and I was minding my business as usual in the hallways at school. Jack literally popped out of nowhere.
How does he keep doing that, I thought. He looked a little angry, and I couldn't blame him. I had been actively avoiding him for weeks now, and from the look on his face, he had had enough.

"Now before you say anything, I told you your plan was dumb ages ago. You couldn't have expected me to help," I said, hoping to make things better for myself.

"That's not why I'm angry," he replied.

My expression changed from fear to surprise. "It's not?"

"No. This is!" As he yelled that at me, he shoved his phone so close to my face I could almost make out the individual pixels on the screen. It was a little video of a cat playing with a ball of yarn.

I didn't understand why that video would make him angry, or what it had to do with me in the first place, but I asked anyway.

"Wrong pic, sorry," he said as he swiped to the next picture. Apparently, that wasn't it either. He swore he was looking at it just before he came over to speak to me, but for some reason he couldn't find it.