Bad Boy Fell Hard |✔

Chapter 48

Empty

It's how I am feeling right now. I feel empty and numb—that feeling when you're not necessarily sad but just empty. I don't know why I'm feeling like this. Yes, I had started to develop feelings for Ryder, but we weren't in a relationship or anything. I don't feel angry or annoyed at him. I am just.....hurt.

"Are you okay?" Carol asks from beside me with a concerned look.

No.

"Yes, I am. I mean why wouldn't I be?" I smile, but it looks forced, and I can tell Carol isn't buying it.

"You know you can talk to me, right?" she says while holding my hand.

"I know. But just not now?" I say as I hold onto my bag and head out of the closet.

I head to my locker to pick up the books that I need for the first and second periods. I still have twenty minutes till the bell goes, but I feel like going early.

"Hey, wait up!" Ryder jogs towards me. I ignore him and move faster; I don't feel like talking to him now. I need time to myself.

"Leave me alone please." I say as I turn a corner and head to my class. He catches up to me and grabs my shoulder, spinning me around to look at me.

"what do you want from me?" I snap at him with a glare. I wish looks would kill because he wouldn't be standing here talking to me.

"I'm sorry." He says, looking sad and defeated,

I laugh bitterly, "why are you apologizing, it's not like I'm your girlfriend or anything." I say with a stern look, trying to cover up any of my emotions. "You have your own life, Ryder and I have mine so we can both do whatever we want, so keep your apologies to yourself." I say icily and turn around to go to my first-period class.

I take my usual seat in the corner of the class, Dannon comes and takes a seat next to me, and he turns to look at me with a worried expression.

"Are you okay?" he asks, which reminds me of what happened with the father.

"I'd ask the same question to you." I say, looking at him with worry. He really looks malnourished and weak.

I ask him, and he looks at me, confused, then it hits him, and he looks back at the front of the class.

"you know I'm always there to help, right?" I say to him just before the teacher enters and starts the lesson.

"Same goes to you." He says with a smile, and I chuckle at that.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Hey Chipmunk," Jason says as he approaches me. He slings his arm around my shoulder as we head to the cafeteria, and it's me like déjà vu. The day he dared to sit at our table, I smile at the memory though it was just last week.

"Hi and don't call me that." I say as I join the line of the cafeteria.

"Chipmunk, why are you joining the line?" he says as he guides me to the front of the line where everyone has cleared the way for him.

Perks of being the school's bad boy.

We get our food, and he guides me to his table, where his friends are, including Ryder. I don't want him to be around him.

"I don't want to go near him," I whisper to him, and he looks at me understandingly and allows me to go back to my friends' table.

"See you later." He says, and I nod at him. I look at their table and greet Cole and Daniel with a small wave, and they nod back at me. I avoid Ryder's eye and even a glance at his face, and I can already feel his piercing gaze at the back of my head as I turn to my table.

"Hey guys." I say as I take a seat next to Melisa, who is glaring at Ryder's table and probably Ryder. The others look satisfied like they have done something terrible to him in revenge.

I sigh, "What did you guys do?" I say while looking at all of them expectantly.

"Us...pft..what do you mean?" Pat says, and you can already tell she knows something. She is terrible at keeping something.

"Pat!" I hiss.

"Okay fine, Amelia hired some guy to put a rough green snake, spiders and a Centruroides vittatus, striped bark scorpion in his car after he arrived. We also vandalized his car and sliced his car tyres, by the way, it's his best car." Melisa explains.

I don't know whether to be happy that they did this or to be worried that they might get in huge trouble. That explains Carol was the one I met today morning.

"And I'm this close to cutting off his balls." Amelia threatens.

"I don't what to say guys... thank you. I appreciate all that you've done but right now...... I just feel empty and numb..." I say as I cover my head with my hoodie. I feel Ryder's gaze piercing through my skin.

It's true. I don't know what to feel about all of this. I just can't believe all of this; I feel like this is all a dream. I even slapped myself five times to make sure I was not in a dream. People's stares were annoying me, and I felt like I am a disabled person.

"I just feel like there is more to the story. But even though there is, I don't feel like I'll do anything about it." I sigh

"We shall take care of him." Carol says, holding her hands like Pete from Mickey Mouse when he is planning revenge.

"No, no and no. I don't want you all to fall into trouble. Just let him be, it's not like he was my boyfriend or anything." Sadly, I say yesterday's events flash in my head, and I start to feel a lot of pain in my chest.

I thought that i've been hurt before but no one's ever left me quite this sore. Shawn Mendes sings in my head.

Well, he's not wrong

"Excuse me.." I get up and head out of the cafeteria straight to the girl's bathroom. I feel tears forming in my eyes, and I quickly blink to take them back. I'm not the type of girl to cry over a stupid thing. I sit on the toilet seat and try to take deep breaths to calm myself down.

I hear some people enter the bathroom; I don't think it's my friends because they always give you some time alone then help.

"Did you see her run out of the cafeteria like the pathetic girl she is?" Some girl, probably a former minion to Mariella, sneers.

Are they talking about me?

"I knew Mariella would get her revenge."The other one says.

Revenge?

"Oh yeah, the spiking of Ryder's drink and the hiring of the strippers. That was epic!" Another one says while clapping her hands.

"Ryder likes the girl, I hear he kept saying, 'I have my girl' and all while refusing to take the seat.

"So what happened?" The second girl asks.

"Mariella tricked Ryder's older brother who was also at the party into lying to him that it was Nora and he fell for it but he still doubted it was really her so they kept giving him many drinks that were spiked." The first girl explains.

WHAT?!

"That's really wise." One of the girl muses. "I know right," the other one says as they laugh and head out of the bathroom.

Oh, My God!!!!!!

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