Begin Again

Three - Mackenzie's POV

"She's such a traitor..."

So when I was popular, I was perfect? But now that I've made one mistake, I'm suddenly a traitor?

"What a boyfriend-stealer!"

As if I had any sort of choice.

"I swear she better not go anywhere near my man..."

I've learned my lesson the first time through, thank-you very much.

"Stay away from her. She tried to steal Celina's boyfriend!"

Old news, new ears to hear them. When would this end?

"She's a whore."

I've heard worse. Bring it on, sweetheart. There's nothing you can do to make me feel worse. I'm practically bulletproof. . .

Ok, not really.

The rest of the day was simply bloody hell. I heard irrelevant gossip everywhere I happened to walk, the conversations numbing me. Whispers, rumors, laughter---it was all the same. It was an endless cycle, an irreversible circle of hurt and stupid lies. I'd heard it all before, and ironically had said it all before. How does it feel to have the tables turned? It hurt. I wasn't about to make excuses. Not when everyone else was already doing it for me.

Once the last bell rang, signaling the end of classes for the day, I was the first one out the door. Practically sprinting to my locker, I unlocked it and was about to shove my inessential books in, when I noticed a single folded note. Hestitantly, I grasped it and with my free hand, I inserted my books in and shut my locker.

I adjusted my bag on my shoulder and as I opened the note, I lowered my head, making my hair fall around my face like a curtain. Maybe someone pitied me and had decided to leave me a reassuring note? I almost laughed. As if someone would be caught dead doing that. It was more likely that it was yet another fake secret admirer note, I'd been getting plenty of those lately.

The hallway was becoming more noisy and more crowded. People soon surrounded me; voices, laughs, shrieks -all filled the air. But as my eyes roamed through the piece of paper, all sounds became distant and indistinct. It was in that moment when it felt like everything around me was happening in slow motion.

Eleven words marked the piece of paper. Eleven strange, yet frightening words.

You cannot escape the past.

And now, you're going to pay.

I felt my hands begin to tremble as fat tears blurred my waning vision. Holding back the scream that was threatening to escape from my throat, I felt a whimper wiggle from my chest.

I exhale, slow and sharp, the oxygen horrendously allowing me to maintain consciousness. The world around me spins, the color and shapes seeming to fall apart and come together again, voices and conversations picked apart and taped together.

Suddenly, I feel a rush of adrehnaline, of fear for my life. Picking up and running, I slam my locker door shut, shoving past walkers, pushing past teachers and students alike. I'm running towards the doorway, sprinting to the end, when out of nowhere, I'm on the ground.

It all happened in a blink of an eye. One second, I was so close to the exit that I could almost taste it and the next second, I was sprawled across the floor, with my things scattered around. Near me was Copernicus, who was rubbing her head, pain and shock etched on her panicked face.

Instantly, I sprung up and began collecting my things then shoving them into my bag. Heat spread up my ears and cheeks as laughter pointed towards me soon became the only thing I could hear. I didn't blame them, though. I knew what I looked like - a stupid fool.

Once I gathered my things, I stood up and stole a glance at Copernicus. She, too, had gotten up and grabbed ahold of her things. Not bothering to say anything, I shoved my way through the crowd, finally making it to the exit.

Rushing to the parking lot, where Colby was waiting at near his car, I blew out a breath of relief. I had, thankfully, stopped crying, but I knew it was still evident from my appearance. I quickly walked over to his car and once he saw me, concern crossed his features.

"What happened?" he questioned, as he began to walk over to me, his hand already reaching out to wipe the tears from my eyes.

I raised a hand, stopping him. "No. Just unlock the car so we can get home. I'm exhausted."

Frowning, he seemed to think about it before he finally nodded and went to unlock his car.

During the ride home, nothing but silence engulfed us. I was tempted to say something - at least, to get him to stop worrying, but I didn't know what to say. All I could concentrate on was the anonymous note left in my locker and I itched to read it again. But I knew the words were already completely memorized and I had a feeling those eleven words would be staying with me for a long time.