Growing Up With My Mate

20. Last Days

In school, the majority of my friends are angry with me. The ones that are willing to talk to me are just straight up disappointed and keep the conversations to a minimal. I’m so f*****g miserable. I know I f****d up, but I can’t even get a chance to apologize. Brighton has blocked my number and I haven’t seen her in school. She stopped coming to study hall. Anytime I mention her to Mark, he just tells me I f****d up and walks away. Dustin, Cole, Jessie, Anna, and Sally glare or growl at me if I see them in the halls. Everyone else acts nonchalant about it as if nothing happened, but I feel like everything has changed for me. I can’t even bring myself to smile anymore.

It’s the last day of classes and I bombard Mark once we reach study hall. “I have to talk to her Mark. I have to. It’s the last day of school and I won’t get another chance. You know that once we graduate, we have to leave for training, then it’s college. I need to see her.”

Mark looks at me with sympathy in his eyes and blows out a breath. “What you did really broke her heart Harris. You know how she feels about all that stuff and you used it against her because you were f*****g jealous. You’re lucky that she’s stronger than she gives herself credit for.” She definitely is.

“I know. I just need to try to make it right.”

He lets a hmpff. “She’s in the art room…..DO NOT upset her Harris.”

I immediately turn around and run to the art room. Mr. Chapman is with a bunch of seniors in the hall, working on a graduation banner. I walk in the classroom and I see her. It’s like fresh air enters my lungs, just feeling her presence. Even my wolf perks up at the sight of her. She was always smiling and positive about things, even when they weren’t the best for her situation. And I just want to see her smile one more time, especially because I want to put it there.

I walk slowly and sit down quietly next to her. I know she knows it’s me because she pauses on her sketch, but resumes as if I wasn’t there. After a minute of silence, I realize she’s not going to talk to me, and I let out a defeated sigh.

“Brighton, I met you here 3 years ago. When I first saw you, I knew you were special and I wanted to get to know you. I learned so much about you because you trusted me enough to share your life with me, your insecurities and your dreams. You let me help you and protect you and I let you down. I know I can’t take back what I did or said from that party, but just know I didn’t mean any of it. Your financial status has never meant anything to me and you know that. And I should have never, never tried to make you uncomfortable about your firsts.”

She was still silently sketching, but at least she was letting me talk. “I didn’t want to end my school year hurting a person I care about and I’m truly sorry Brigh. I hope one day you can forgive me.” She continues to sketch, not saying anything. My fists clench as I come to realize I really f****d this up. I get up to head back out the door, realizing I probably destroyed a friendship.

“Harris….” I stop, heart pounding as I close my eyes and inhale a breath, not realizing I missed the sound of her voice. I turn around but she’s still not looking at me, still engrossed in her sketchbook. She finally turns around and gives me a small smile, tears blurring her eyes. ‘’I really hope I can forgive you one day too.” And she turns back around. I know that’s all I can get at this point, so I leave. Graduation is in a few days, then Mark and I are shipping out for training, then college. I won’t be back home for a few years. I’ve never intentionally hurt anyone in my life, and I ended up hurting one of the people I truly cared about.

Brighton POV

About a week after the party, I became a shell of myself. I was numb and was mentally beating up on myself, believing everything that Harris said, to be true. It was hard to let go of my insecurities, but what I said to him was true. He did hurt me. I’ve never had someone hurt me like that. I only cried that night, and the next day I was just emotional-less. My parents tried to get me to tell them what was wrong, but I didn’t want them to hate Harris. All of my friends, including Mark, took turns to visit me, and try to cheer me up in school, but I would just fake smile and wave them off.

After that week, Dustin had enough, forcing me to run up that stupid ass hill to where I confessed having a crush on Harrison. He yelled at me for over an hour about how stupid he was for saying what he said, and how stupid I was for believing them. He held me tight as I cried again, letting the hurt flow through me. After that, I promised him and myself to get back to normal, or as normal as I could get.

The last day of school, I was in the art room during my study hall time- I’ve been doing this ever since the party. I felt him even before he sat down next to me. My heart pounded in chest and the butterflies in my stomach soared as if they missed him. His apology was sincere, but I couldn’t accept. When he got up to leave, tears started forming in my eyes. I knew it would be the last time I saw in in months, if not years. I gave him what I could; a small piece of hope that I wish could come true as well- forgiveness.

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I’m sitting on the grass by the pond at the Glade. It’s the day before senior year starts and I needed some time to myself. The sun is shining and the blue sky doesn’t have a cloud for miles. I tilt my head up to absorb the heat, giving myself a sense of peace. I decided to go in my wolf form today. She seems to need to run more when my anxiety is higher. My ears perk up when I hear the sound of paws coming closer. I look around and see Dustin, Sally, and Anna, all in their wolf forms.

We don’t need words or mind links to talk, we just enjoy the presence of each other. They gathered around me, all of us laying down to enjoy the weather- Dustin and Sally cuddled together, and Anna and I with our heads on our paws. Days like these is what I keep in my memories, to remind me that my friends are my anchor, and that they’ll always be by my side when I need them. I do feel a sense of loss, knowing I won’t have Harrison in school with me this year, but that’s a part of life, but one day, we will meet again.