For Real? ✅

Chapter 28

TESS

The next lunch break, I walked up to Leah with a determined look on my face.

I was going to tell her everything. There was no point in hiding my secret anymore. If I did, it only showed what a bad friend I really was.

Leah's large green eyes light up as she sees me, looking jubilant. I wonder why she's so happy, and I get my answer as soon as I near her.

"Tess! I think... I think I'm in love with Adam," She tells me, before letting out a shy giggle.

What?

I place my lunch tray on the table, worry swirling through my brain.

How had things escalated so quickly?

"What do you mean?" I ask her, flabbergasted. "You've known him for a month!"

"So what?" Leah smiles, before launching in to another tale. "Yesterday, Adam took me to his secret spot, a lake in the middle of the forest and-"

"Did he hurt you?" I interrupted, my heart throbbing in my chest.

"No, of course not, Tess," She rolls her eyes. "Are you still on about the 'Adam is a player' rumour again?"

I look away from her, trying to keep my emotions at bay.

"It's not a rumour, Leah," I breathe out, trembling at the thought of telling her my secret.

After a brief moment of silence, she responds.

"Tess? Are you okay?" She asks softly.

"Adam raped me," I'm barely audible, feeling so weak and vulnerable as I say the words aloud.

Leah freezes, her eyes widening almost immediately.

"Adam? My boyfriend Adam White?" She asks, stunned.

I nod in response. Her mouth hangs open, disbelief splattered across her face.

"It happened nine months ago," I tell her, forcing the words out of my mouth. Her look of pity is almost overwhelming, and I wonder if I could bring myself to relive the whole scenario.

The sudden blaring of her phone jolts me from my thoughts. Leah silences it, and glances back at me again, her eyes unexpectedly filled with concern and warmth.

"Tess, that's terrible. Why didn't you tell me before?!" She looks anguished on my behalf. Maybe I was wrong in judging Leah, maybe she cared more about me than her love for Adam.

I give her a sad smile, and let out a sigh. She squeezes my hand, waiting patiently for me to continue.

Her phone rings again through the silence, and I notice her mom's caller ID flashing upon her screen.

Leah's hand moves to silence it again, but I stop her before she could.

"You should pick that up," I tell her. "Your mom hardly ever calls you-"

"It's okay, Tess," She tells me. "It's probably something lame-"

The caller ID now displays her dad's picture on the screen, and Leah stiffens.

"It could be important, pick it up," I urge her, and Leah complies.

"Hello Dad... What?!" Leah's eyes bulge out of their eye sockets.

"When... How..." Her jaw drops, throwing me into a panic mode.

Something was highly wrong.

"You've already booked a flight? And...wait, it leaves in an hour?" She stands up, looking confused and troubled and extremely worried.

"Alright, dad... I'm leaving right now," She answers, and I could see the tears filling up in her eyes.

"What's wrong-"

"Ben, my cousin, is dead!" Leah exclaims, wiping away rapidly at her face, and ignoring the stares of other students in the cafeteria.

"Oh my god, what?!" I gape at her, stunned.

"He died today, Tess. A car crash. They say its a suicide because they found a note." She says rapidly, picking up her bag, and swallowing her tears.

"Leah, I'm so sorry-"

Her breathing is tense, and I notice that she's not crying anymore as she draws back from me.

"I really need to leave, Tess, my parents want me home immediately," She says, giving me a bear hug. "I'm sorry that I couldn't hear your whole story-"

"Leah, it's okay. Just go!" I draw back away from her. "Stay safe!"

Leah nods, before hurrying away from the cafeteria, as her phone began to blare again.

I sigh.

Atleast, she'd taken my side when I told her about the Adam incident.

Maybe, just maybe, Leah could still save herself.

*****

That wasn't enough to convince me though. What if Adam again fed her another story, that painted him as the victim?

At this point, I'm so confused about what Adam wanted with Leah.

Was he going to lead her on, only to break up with her later?

Did she truly mean anything to him, like Leah had said?

Or was she just another girl he was using?

I still don't understand why her relationship has to be a huge secret. It makes no sense, until Adam wanted to take advantage of her in the dark.

Too bad I was going to confront him before that and stop this nonsense at once.

Because, as stupid as she is, I wouldn't want to see Leah hurt again.

I search for Adam after lunch, and surprisingly find him alone at his locker.

"Hi, Adam." I tap his shoulder.

He looks surprised to see me.
"What do you want?" He asks roughly.

"Listen, I know about you and Leah, okay?" I start, wanting to get this done soon.

"What?" He looks confused. "Who's Leah?"

I raise my eyebrows at him. He looks as clueless as ever.

"I told her everything. I just want you to know that you can't fool around with my friend, okay?" I state seriously.

"What are you even talking about?" He asks, looking genuinely confused.
As much as I hate him, I have to commend him on his acting skills.

"I know it's been a month since it started, between you guys. She's really into you, so don't lead her on to break her heart!" I force out the words.

Adam shakes his head at me. "Honestly, I don't know what you're saying."

"But..." I start when he shuts his locker loudly.

"Teresa, I'm sorry for what I did, okay? It was an accident, I don't rape girls on purpose like that... But claiming that I'm taking advantage of your friend is a bit too extreme, especially when I don't even know her." Adam tells me sternly.

"I-" I start, not knowing what to say anymore.

"I'm a different guy, now," He suddenly smiles. "I have eyes only for one girl."

Was he talking about Leah?

But didn't he just say that he didn't even know who Leah was?

"Who is that special girl then?" I ask him, still suspicious.

"You'll find out soon," He answers, still smiling.

I watch him leave, wondering why nothing made sense anymore.

*****