Page 109 of Withered

I splash my face and clean up the mess. The bell rings, and everything clicks. I need to hurry to the class. I chuck the tissues in the bin and dash for the door.

The hallways are empty, which means it was the second bell. I’m late. I make a quick stop at my locker and run for the class.

“Professor Williams, I’m so sorry for being late,” I say, leaning against the door, breathing heavily, and closing my eyes for a second.

“Come on in, you two,” she speaks.Did she just say you two?

No one is by my side, so I look behind me and find Jake towering over me. Not meeting his eyes, I turn around and enter the class. Fortunately, the first row has an empty seat, so I take it.

Jake shoots me a death glare, enough to give me shivers, but I avoid him.

Whispers break into the class and are silenced when Professor Williams starts her class.It’s going to be a long day.

I manage to make it through the class without looking behind me and ignoring all the whispers. Gossip spreads like fire in this school, so it doesn’t bother me in the least when everyone is talking about it. I knew this would happen.

In history class, my phone blows up with texts and phone calls from Kristy, Tyler, and other friends. I put it on silent and try to distract myself.

When I make my way toward the cafeteria, I stop, realizing Jake will be at the table too. I dig out my phone and call Kristy.

“Hello.”

She says, “Where the hell are you? What is this shit I’m hearing?”

“Where are you now?” I ask her from outside the cafeteria.

“Waiting for you at our table.”

“Is he there?” I hope she knows whoheis.

“No. He isn’t here today,” she says.

“I’ll be there,” I say as I cut the call.

The cafeteria is in full swing. Few people give methe look, but I make it to the table without bursting into tears. Tyler and Kristy give me pitiful looks, but I just smile.

Kristy speaks, “Care to explain why you’re suddenly the hot topic today?”

I let out a sigh, quickly glancing at Tyler. “Just fought with Jake.”

Kristy turns to him and says, “Ty, could you give us a moment?”

He nods, then faces me. “I’ll knock some sense into him.”

He then walks away. “So, what happened?” Kristy asks.

“He said we’re good friends,” I say, shoving some fries into my mouth.

“And?” She adds, clearly asking for more.

I grumble. “He also said there’s nothing between us after what we did.”

Confusion clouds her features, and it dawns on me what I just blurted out.

“What do you mean by what you did?” She asks, sipping on her juice.

I avoid her and put some more fries in my mouth.

“Rose?” She asks again.

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