Page 2 of Mayhem

It’s not like this was my decision and I can’t stay behind while my mom moves across the country. I tell myself, wishing I could say the words out loud.

“No.” He finally says as he lets go of me, and shoves me out of the way to get to the food.

I stumble a little, catching myself from falling. I stand frozen where he left me, not knowing what to do next.

He silently hands me my meal before sitting down on his bed. I take the food and sit back down on the floor where I was before. We stay eerily silent while eating. I glance at him a few times, but he never looks at me. His eyes focused on his phone.He still looks pissed, but there is a playful smile on his face. Whatever is on his phone is changing his mood at least. Maybe he won’t be so angry with me now.

Yeah, right. Keep telling yourself that.

When we finish, I get up and throw both containers in the garbage. I awkwardly lean against the wall, waiting for Evan to decide if I should stay or go.

“I love you, Serena.” He finally breaks the silence. “I am not about to lose you. That is why I do not want you to do it. I understand you don't have a choice, but I don't like that you are leaving. You should be here with me. No one else.”

“It would only be for the school year.” I take a tentative step towards him. His eyes zeroed in on me and I freeze at the end of his bed, not daring to go any further. “I can move back when I graduate in June.”

He nods his head, but he doesn’t look any happier. “I will have some rules for you while you are gone. One, you arenotallowed to speak to any other guys. Two, you will keep up your appearances. I will not have you changing on me while you are gone. The last thing I want is for you to gain any weight. You need to stay on your diet.” His eyes gaze up and down my body, sneering at the thought of me gaining weight after I lost so much.

I nod my head, agreeing to his terms. I expected more of a fight from him about this, but at least he is a little agreeable right now. He pats the bed beside him, and I awkwardly crawl to him. He opens his arms for me, and I curl into him, my head on his chest. He starts lightly stroking my hair.

“When do you leave?” He whispers.

“Friday.”

The rest of the evening we spend in silence. Evan put on a movie for us, but I have never enjoyed Zombie movies, so I quickly zoned out.

After a few hours of movies, I look at my phone and notice the time.Shit, I am going to miss my curfew.I kiss him goodnight before getting out of his bed and walking out of his room.

I jogged down the stairs while ordering an Uber. Luckily, one was nearby, so I won’t have to wait long. I start walking towards the academy entrance, my head down, looking at my phone. I send a quick text to Mom, explaining I am sorry and I would be late, but I was on my way home now.

“Oh, honey, he wouldn’t even drive you home?” I clench my teeth. I know that voice better than I wish I did. I look up, and Cleo is walking towards me.

In typical Cleo fashion, she is wearing what I like to call “the five-dollar hooker express”. Nothing against sex workers. Power to you. I wish I had the confidence that they did. Cleo just looks cheap and easy. She is wearing a neon pink tube top and a black mini-skirt that almost shows everything. Her makeup is thick and cakey, making her look ten years older than she is.

Seeing her brings back some of the worst memories of my life. When I was fifteen, I developed a crush on Evan. If I am being honest, it probably started long before that. He was the only boy I knew. Sure, I thought other boys were cute, but I wasn't allowed to talk to them. If I did, it would always become a big fight between Evan and me. He would threaten our friendship. That was the last thing I wanted, so I always listened to him.

One night, I was out with Cleo. I told her about my crush. She promised to keep it a secret and even find out if he liked me back. I went home that night with so much happiness and hope. I always secretly thought Evan never wanted me to have any other friends because he felt the same way about me. He didn’t want to take a chance at losing me to someone else.

The following morning, I went to school with so much optimism. I walked the halls, ready to find Cleo and see if she had talked to Evan yet. I turned a corner, and my heart shattered. Cleo was making out with Evan against my locker. I dropped my books, and they jumped away from each other. Cleo gave me a wicked smile like she had finally won. I still don’t understand why she looked at me like that. She always got everything she ever wanted. She had freedom and friendships, something I never had the luxury of experiencing. Evan looked crestfallen when he saw me standing there and tried to explain. I gave them a fake smile and told them I was happy for them.

I ran away, trying to hide the tears cascading down my cheeks. Later that day, Evan cornered me in the hallway and explained that he was waiting at my locker when Cleo admitted that she had a crush on him and kissed him. She told him she had always liked him and wanted to take the next step with him. I congratulated him again before pushing past him and walking away.

I had no one else to hang out with, so after a few days, I had no choice but to return to their sides. For the next two years, I had the ‘pleasure’ of watching their fucked up relationship. They broke up and got back together at least once a month. They fought all the time, and I was always in the middle. I never took sides, not wanting to upset the only friends I had. Even though most of the time, Cleo was in the wrong.

That went on until one night when they went to a party. I stayed home that night. I was never into the party scene. Plus, Evan always told me I shouldn’t go anyway. Evan caught Cleo cheating on him with one of the guys from the baseball team. They were hooking up in a bathroom. Evan broke up with her in front of everyone. It was the gossip of the century at our school.

He left immediately and went home. He texted me, demanding I come over. He was angrier than I had ever seen him. I was sitting on his bed while he screamed at me for introducing Cleo to him when we were younger. He blamed me. It was my fault that he was in pain. He slapped me across the face. Telling me I should feel the pain he did.

That was the first time he had ever laid a hand on me. Tears instantly started falling. He dropped to his knees, begging for my forgiveness. Saying he would never do it again. I believed him.

Cleo spent the next couple of weeks begging him to take her back. She apologized to him continuously, telling him that she was so drunk that she barely remembered the night and that it did not mean anything. He would not listen to her. Evan told her that he never wanted anything to do with her again. I was not allowed to talk to her either.

Cleo instantly turned around and started a rumor that I was to blame for the relationship ending. Claiming that I sent that guy to hit on her and sleep with her because I was jealous of her relationship with Evan. She told everyone that I had always had a crush on Evan. Everyone believed her, except Evan. No one knew anything about me, so it wasn’t hard for her to convince people I was like that. I had always been a quiet, shy girl: no friends or life.

Evan stood up for me when he could. Kept the bullies. Cleo and her cheerleading friends turned vicious towards me, and it became their mission to make me miserable. High school quickly became hell for me.

It got even worse when Evan asked me to be his girlfriend. After everything Cleo had said and done, I never thought he would ask me out. He was my saving grace for the last few months of school. Evan was the popular guy. Everyone liked him. By association, people started liking me too.

Things changed between us when we started dating. Evan became a man who loved me and loved me hard. He spoiled me continuously and paraded me around like a prize possession. We laughed and played together again like we were kids. He would say that he was my Prince Charming. At the time I agreed with him.

---