The Prophecy Of The Black Day

Chapter 26

"Are you sure he's avoiding you?" Didi watched Selene try on one hideous sweater after another.

They were the only ones awake in their room that morning. Ruth had gone for an early jog while Laura was snoring softly on her bed with her mouth wide ajar and her earpiece stuffed into her ears.

"Yes, Didi. Benjamin is avoiding me. Can we stop talking about him now? I really need to get ready for my date with Larry. He'll be here soon." Selene selected a hideous shapeless sweater from her box.

"Did something happen between you two? I noticed he's been acting a little...off since...Wednesday?" Didi ignored Selene's comment about wanting to get ready for her date. No living soul would ever go on a date wearing that sweater. She tried to bite her tongue so she wouldn't show her true feelings.

Perhaps if Larry saw it, he'd run for the hills, and Selene would finally open her eyes and be with Benjamin.

"Nothing happened." Selene tugged the sweater angrily over her head.

"Are you...hurt by what he's been doing?" Didi watched Selene slam her box shut. She glanced at Laura who gave another reassuring snore.

"What has he been doing, Didi? Tell me." Selene tried to sound as bored as possible.

"For starters, I've noticed he walks off in the opposite direction whenever he sees you. I've noticed he's been avoiding being in the same room with you and I've also noticed how stiff and formal he sounds when he's talking to you." Didi enumerated on her fingers.

"If you could already tell he's avoiding me, why did you ask?" Selene rolled her eyes.

"I dunno. Does it bother you?" Didi eyed Selene's face for any emotion whatsoever.

Selene rolled her eyes again. It bothered her a lot more than it should have. It hurt so much that she barely thought about the fact that she had cheated on the boyfriend she was about to go on a date with.

She hated the way Benjamin avoided her after she kissed him. Selene had never been brave enough to try anything like that before. It was crazy, wild, and reckless but she just couldn't help it.

Asides from going around the corner to avoid her, he'd completely ignored her in all their combined classes together even though he always sat in front of her.

He pretended like he couldn't feel her kicking his chair and acted like he didn't notice when she tugged on his shirt. After that day at the shed, he made it his life's goal to pretend that nothing happened between them. It made Selene feel even worse because she was dying to talk about it.

She wasn't even sure what she would say if he did agree to talk about it. She just wanted to shout out all the crazy and scary thoughts on her mind but he insisted on pushing her away whenever she tried to get close.

To be fair, Benjamin didn't completely avoid her since he was her partner. He just made sure he avoided her eyes and spoke pointedly about their work without talking about anything else. It was stupid, childish, and downright annoying. It just proved to Selene that once again, she had lost her head because of him. It seemed like nothing really changed.

For years she had been hopelessly in love with him. She had wanted him so badly that she'd have given anything for him to notice her.

He claimed that he also liked her back then but it hadn't seemed that way to Selene. Even before she got brave enough to try asking him out, he never spared her a second glance and never acted like he thought she was anything special.

His aloofness added to the appeal. It had hurt more than anything when he slammed her down before she even got the chance to ask him out three years ago.