I sat in Anatomy class already bored with the day. To add to that, I was also very annoyed. Justin kept pulling my hair next to me. I was so close to snapping at him, a newborn would have seen it coming.
To add to that, I had to go to detention today with Justin. Lucas, like a good student, attended detention when he was supposed to. To add to that, I would have to meet up with Sally, to let her explain. I was honestly still contemplating that. I was also very distant in class because I kept thinking of what happened yesterday during Jacob and I's walk. Then what happened later that night when I went to meet up with Liam.
Flashback
Liam parked at the cafe where we always went to. "So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?" I asked looking at Liam. He hadn't really spoken a word the entire ride.
He looked at me then looked away. It seemed he wanted to talk about something important, but seemed hesitant to tell me.
"Okay, I know I did not risk getting grounded for life for you to not say anything," I said folding my arms over my chest.
If I get caught I'm a dead girl walking. He sighed then looked over at me again. "Listen, Lisa my Dad is back in town. I know I haven't told you about him, but he is, and he is very dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt," he said looking at me with a pained expression.
What was he talking about?
"If he sees you with me, he might do something, and I don't want to risk that," he said holding my hand. He started to draw patterns on it.
I held his hand so he would look up at me. "Look, I can take care of myself, and I have you. So nothing will happen to me, I'm sure. You don't have to worry about that," I said looking him in the eyes.
He sighed, blowing a couple of stray strands of hair out of his face. "Yeah, your right. I won't let anything happen to you."
End of Flashback
All of this combined was giving me an extreme headache. "Justin, for the last time, stop!" I whisper yelled at him. I was not in the mood for another detention. Justin only smirked in response and continued playing with my hair. He intentionally pulled on it and I immediately stood up.
"Ms, I need to use the restroom, " I said walking out of the class, not even waiting for her response. I walked into the bathroom and sat on the floor. I don't care who walks in.
I was tempted to just leave and walk home but thought against it when I remembered that I have detention. I just sat there waiting for this day to just finally be over. The bathroom door opened and in walked the one person I had no intention of seeing right now.
Sally looked a little surprised to see me in here, but she quickly masked it. "Hey, " she said glancing at me, then quickly looking away. I didn't say anything back.
She looked like she was about to leave, but then she turned around to face me. "Lisa, I am really sorry for the way I acted towards you. I know I hurt you, but I swear if you knew the reason why, you would understand, " she said.
"Then just tell me why," I said looking at her. She seemed so conflicted to tell me. She didn't look the same anymore. Since we stopped being friends. She looked something close to depressed. And even if we might not be friends anymore, a small part of me still cares about her.
"I thought you said you would explain. In the letter you wrote to me, you said you would explain. So why aren't you explaining?" I asked when she didn't say anything. She nodded reluctantly as if she had forgotten the note.
"Can't we just wait till after school?" she asked trying to stall. "I have detention, " I said in a flat tone. She seemed shocked at that but nodded again. "Ok, well...um, " she mumbled.
I rolled my eyes. "My God Sally, just spit it out," I said angrily she was really starting to agitate me. "Okay! It was all your Mom, " she said. She looked at me gauging my reaction. I was shocked, to say the least.
"Wh- h-how?" I stuttered out. How could my mom be behind this? "She came to me the night before you invited me to the party. She always knew where I lived. She told me that if I didn't stop being your friend and that if I didn't hurt you, she would do something to my family, " she said. Her eyes were starting to gloss over.
My mom threatened her. I knew she would always threaten me and Justin, but I had no idea she would do it to my Best friend. "I didn't want to believe her, but to know the things that she has done, it almost felt like I had to. "
"I really wanted to tell you, Lisa. Every single day I saw you, I wanted to tell you. I wanted to tell you when I saw you outside the cafe, but I was too scared to. I was scared your mom would find out, and hurt my family. I didn't want them to be in danger. You had your brothers protecting you, but my family had no one." There were tears falling down her face, and I couldn't help but feel guilty for this.
It was my mom that caused this. She was in this situation because of my mom. How could she do that to someone? And to think I was the core reason for this? What did I ever do to her to deserve this? Sally did nothing to deserve that. "I'm so sorry, " I croaked out looking down.
Sally looked at me surprised. "It's my fault. It's all because of my mom's hatred of me. But I had no idea you would get dragged into this. I'm sorry it's all my fault, " I said now full on crying.
Someone walked in and Sally glared at them immediately making them go back out. There is plenty of bathrooms in the school. They will be fine. "Lisa, it's not your fault. It's your mom's fault. You are your mother's child, but you are not her, " she said resting both of her hands on my shoulder. I nodded. It all made sense now. Why Sally switched her attitude towards me almost overnight. Why she was crying on the bench that one day at the cafe.
I felt like a terrible person for thinking of her the way I did. I was just really hurt. "Look, Lisa, you can't tell anyone, what I told you. I don't want this getting to your Mom. I can't risk my family, " she said looking me in the eye the entire time.
I nodded completely understanding why she would ask that. "But we have to get to the bottom of this ourselves. I don't want your family in danger either, " I said. She nodded back. It was like a weight was lifted off of my shoulder. I finally knew the real reason Sally acted the way she did.
But that was replaced with another weight after finding out that it was my very own mother behind it. I don't know what I am going to do about that.
I sighed resting my head in my hand. One problem solved. Another one added. Sally and I just sat there until the bell rang. I would definitely have to hear from my anatomy teacher about missing the rest of the class. Sally and I had a silent mutual agreement. We wouldn't keep things like this from each other again. No matter what the circumstances.
We got up. I was about to say something when Sally suddenly pulled me in for a hug. "You don't know how long I have been wanting to tell you that, " she said while hugging me. I smiled and hugged her back. Her actions were 100% justified.
"I'll text you tonight, " she said. "We have a lot of catching up to do, " she said. I nodded agreeing with her. She doesn't even know about Liam. I would also have to properly introduce her to my new friends. That one would be a bit of a challenge.
I walked out leaving Sally in the restroom. I went to my locker and saw Lucas and Justin both standing by it. Justin was holding my books in his hand. He looked a little worried and guilty.
He sighed of relief when he saw me walking towards them. "Where were you?" he asked. I didn't even get to answer when Lucas asked a question. "Were you crying?" he asked looking a little closer at my face.
I totally forgot to wash my face with cold water. "It's nothing, " I said taking my books from Justin. "Don't you guys have a class to get to?" I asked taking out my books for my next class.
"Fine, but we are going to talk about this at home, " he said before walking away. I noticed Lucas was still standing there, but when I turned to talk to him he walked away. He was a weird kid. I closed my locker and went to my next class.
~Overprotective~
I walked out of 8th hour exhausted. I kept thinking of what Sally said to me. Could my mother really be behind all of this? That's such a petty thing to do? Surely one cannot hate their child that much that she tried to destroy every single aspect of her life?
"Earth to Lisa, " Justin said waving a hand in front of my face. I blinked and looked at him. He was giving me a concerned look. "You keep spacing out. Tell me what's wrong?" he said stopping us in the middle of the hallway.
"I don't want to talk about it right now, Justin, " I said trying to maneuver around him. "Yes, you do, " he said stopping in front of me again. I sighed of frustration. "Fine," I said reluctantly.
We went to the detention room, which was surprise surprise, the anatomy room. We weren't allowed to have our phones, only homework or classwork to work on. Justin and I sat in a corner of the room while other people started to file in.
"Are you gonna tell me now?" he asked facing me. He turned the desk so that they were facing each other instead of next to each other. "Excuse me, Mr. Johnson, did I tell you to move the desk?" the teacher asked.
Justin glared at him. "Do you remember telling me?"
The teacher stayed quiet. "Alright, then no you didn't. I moved it under my own free will. Now leave me alone and go bother someone else, " Justin said turning back towards me. The teacher just scowled at him and, just as Justin said, went to bother another student who was chewing gum.
I swear that the teacher just loves messing with kids. It's as if he is on a search for them, he should partner up with Dora. Justin gave me an expected look to go on. I told him everything that happened since I left the class up until I left the bathroom.
Justin had a neutral look on his face. "So she said it was all because of Mom?" he asked making sure he heard everything right. I nodded putting my head in my hands.
"If Mom didn't hate me so much, Sally would have never been in this situation, " I said thinking of the heartbroken look on her face when she told me about the threat against her family.
I knew it wasn't directly my fault. But it still felt like it was. I mean she was my mother. "Does that mean you guys are on good terms then?" Justin asked.
I guess we were. I wasn't completely sure though. I don't know why. I shrugged answering Justin's question.
I just wanted one break from reality that's all. Then I sat up straight remembering what Sally told me. I wasn't supposed to tell Justin. Now he knows, and Justin's mouth runs like a water fountain.
"You can't tell anyone, " I said looking at him. He gave me a confused look. "Why not? This is the sort of thing you want to tell someone, " he said slowly as if I was in kindergarten.
I shook my head. "No I mean if you tell someone else, you risk putting Sally's family in danger, " I said. I thought of Sally's little sister Bonnie and her parents. I don't how much damage my mother could do to them, but it seemed she had people everywhere now.
And it would be all my fault if they were to get hurt. All of my fault for not keeping my big mouth closed. I started to cry thinking of all the horrible things my mother could do to Sally's family. I thought of how Sally would look at me, knowing that it would be all of my fault for going against what she said.
I could feel my airway closing up, as I was basically having a panic attack in detention. All of this anxiety was just building up on me. "Lisa, calm down. It's okay, I won't tell anyone, " he said rubbing my back.
But I couldn't stop myself. The panic attack wouldn't stop. I could hear my heart beating like a drum in my ears. It was so loud, basically blocking out every other sound. Justin's voice sounded like an echo far, far, away.
I balled my first trying to stop this attack, but it was useless. I tried to steady my breathing as Jacob and Jason taught me. Counting from 1 to 10 and then backward. I could feel it helping a little. Justin suddenly picked me up and carried me out of the class.
I was still having an attack as he carried me to the nurses. The room was bright causing me to shut my eyes. I continued to do all of the breathing exercises I could think of to help stop this attack.
I opened my eyes and could see Justin frantically talking to the nurse, but I couldn't understand anything they were saying. It was as if they were speaking another language.
The nurse took me to another room, a dimly lit one with fewer lights and more warm colors. I had never seen this part of the school yet. She looked at me and placed my hand on her chest and started talking to me. At first, I couldn't decipher what she was saying, but then it started to make sense.
"Feel my heartbeat against your hand. Do you feel the rhythm?" she asked. I shakily nodded. "Good, now try to copy it. Think as if my heart is also beating yours, " she said keeping my hand on her chest.
I felt her heartbeat, closed my eyes, and tried to mimic it. After about 5 minutes I could feel a difference. I was starting to get more air into my lungs and relaxed a little. I was still on edge, but I felt a little better.
"Very good. Now just relax and think of all the warm colors in here and let your mind relax, " she said in a soothing voice. I did just as she said. Picturing the warm blue as the sea and the light yellow and oranges as the sunset. It worked perfectly.
"Are you better?" she asked. I nodded wiping away at the tears. She handed me some kleenexes and I gratefully took them.
Once I finished with them I threw them away. I had been on a 3-week streak of not having any attacks, but today ended it.
"Good. Now your brother should be on his way already, I will have you wait in here until he gets here, okay?" she said looking at me.
I nodded then she left. I once again rest my head in my hands. I definitely overthink things too much. I need to work on that. My mind can only handle so much before it goes on overdrive.
About 5 minutes later there was a knock on the door. The door opened to reveal Jason with Justin behind him.
I immediately smiled, feeling much better seeing that Jason was here. "Hey, sweetie, " he said pulling me in for a hug. I hugged him back tightly. "I'm not going to ask how you are feeling. I have a feeling I already know," he said pulling out of the hug.
I sniffled and nodded, not feeling up to explaining anything just yet. We walked out of the nurse's office presumably heading home. I was definitely not going back to detention. I could finish that some other day. I saw Justin already had my notebook and both of our bookbags.
Jason went to talk to our teacher about us skipping detention early. I hope he understands and doesn't insist we finish it. But then again, he would probably do that just in spite of us. Justin hasn't exactly been the best student
Justin sat next to me in Jason's car while we waited for Jason to get back. "Listen, Lisa, if it scares you that bad, I won't tell a soul," he said holding both of my hands. I knew he would try...but it was Justin for heaven's sake.
"I just don't want anything bad to happen to her family. It would be my fault," I whispered. Justin gave me a side hug and rubbed my back, as I put my head in my hands. "Okay. Just don't overthink it. You are gonna cause another attack," he said.
I nodded. I really didn't want to overthink it, but I couldn't help it. If I was like this after only hearing about it a few hours ago, I wonder how Sally could have dealt with it after all of this time?
"I promise, I won't tell anyone...yet," he said. I shot up in my seat. "Justin, you can't tell anyone at all."
"We have to tell someone eventually. Mom can't just get away with this forever," he said. As much as I hated to admit it, he did have a valid point. I nodded. "I know. We just need to figure out some things on our own first, then when it's a little safe, we can tell Jason," I said.
He shook his head in disbelief. "That's dangerous Lisa. You two can't just go around trying to solve things that are too big for you to solve," he said looking at me like I had lost my mind. I shook my head. "Well, I am not asking you to tag along now am I?" I asked looking at him.
I was starting to get agitated. "You don't have to ask, because I am going whether you want me to or not. If you say no, I will tell Jason everything," he said giving me a stern look. He looked so much like Jacob when he did that.
I started at him for a straight minute before giving in. "Fine, whatever, " I said slouching in my seat.
Justin gave me a victorious smirk. Nothing ever serious for too long around him. Jason got into the car and started it.
"Do we have to make go detention?" was the first thing Justin asked. Jason shook his head. "Nah. I convinced him to let you guys off this time. But next time..." he stopped and let it hang in the air.
Justin and I both nodded, knowing what he meant. "Are you feeling a little better Lisa?" Jason asked briefly glancing at me through the rearview mirror.
"Yeah. I just have a slight headache, " I said. I saw him nod and we continued in silence until we got home.
Everyone was home when we got inside. "Why are you guys home so early?" Dylan groaned out from the couch.
"Gee, you missed us that much?" Justin mumbled throwing both our backpacks somewhere on the floor and sitting near Dylan.
"As if. It was actually really relaxing here while you were gone. Now it just feels...annoying, " he said smirking at Justin who glared at him.
He then rolled his eyes and went upstairs, as if forgetting why he sat down in the first place. Dylan looked at me and his eyes immediately clouded with worry. "What happened?" he asked standing up and walking over to me.
I guess I must have looked like I was crying because of the bags under my eyes and tear stains. "She had a panic attack at school," Jason answered for me. "Why? What happened?" he asked again leading me to the living room.
"Dylan, ease off a little. She is probably exhausted." Jason took the words right out of my mouth. "Get some rest, Lisa. We can talk about it later," he said kissing my forehead. I was very grateful that he didn't push for an explanation. I nodded and went up to my bedroom. Dylan following all the while.
Did he not just hear what Jason said? I went into my room and stopped, turning around to face Dylan. "Did someone do something to you at school? Cause if so you better tell me right now," he said placing both of his hands on my shoulder and looked me in the eye. His had a mixture of anger and worry.
I shook my head no, not in the mood to explain anything. I just wanted to go to sleep and forget everything. He nodded then kissed my forehead as well. "Okay, then we will talk later," he said before leaving.
I sighed and plopped onto my bed. What a long day!
~Overprotective~
Wow, who would have thought it was the Mom!? Poor Sally. Having to bottle that up for so long, all the while having to ignore her best friend. But is that all to the story?
What about Liam? What kind of vibes are you getting from him? Next update should be on Friday, April 19.
Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. You know what to do...
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Until next time...
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