Chapter 14
1290 Words
The next morning, a dazzling sun lit up a cloudless sky. It was dry and cold on this winter morning and I felt incredibly revived by the freshness mixed with the warm rays caressing my face. I had left Thomas early that morning because I hadn’t planned a change of clothes before going to school. I now felt a certain apprehension at the idea of finding myself alone with Eric. I had left him in the lurch last night when he had come to protect me. Not very proud of myself on this one, I was relieved to see his absence when I got home. I was walking upstairs when my cell phone started vibrating in the back pocket of my pants. No caller’s name was displayed on the screen.
“Hello?”
“Eve, it’s Sam. Look, I need to see you as soon as possible, I’ll be back tonight, so be careful and stay with the Panchaks. I’ve discovered something extremely worrying and I need to tell all three of you, so hang in there with the two brothers.”
“I have to go to school.”
“That’s out of the question! Right now you mustn’t attract attention, Eve, it’s a matter of life and death!”
“No one will make a scene in a high school crowded with students. Plus, Thomas and Eric will be there. Well, I have to go, Sam, see you tonight.”
“Eve…”
I felt guilty for having hung up so suddenly, but I knew that I would never be able to make myself understood by Sam and his overprotectiveness.
After my shower, I had changed into black leggings, a brown tunic and matching boots. I stormed off after putting on my coat. The school was going to close in less than ten minutes, so a brisk walk was in order. When I arrived, I was surprised to note the absence of Thomas at the entrance. On the other hand, Olivia was waiting for me and I had quickly guessed a problem with her attitude. Her eyes searched me furiously.
“Hello, Liv,” I said, before her dark look. “What’s happening?”
“You have nothing to say to me?” she asked, contempt in her voice.
“No, I don’t understand.”
“Well, I’ll do it! Fatou Mangata works with her mother in a wedding shop in Bexley. She was doing the nightly inventory this weekend and when she went out for a smoke, guess who she bumped into? Eric and you both returning to the Hansel Hotel. Are you still sure you have nothing to say to me?”
I broke down. Admittedly, nothing had happened with Eric, but our night was nothing like a slumber party with friends either.
“Nothing happened, I swear to you, Liv!”
“So what the hell were you doing with him in a hotel room, tell me!”
“I can’t tell you, I’m sorry, but I promise you nothing happened.”
“You can’t tell me anything! You could still have waited a week or two before jumping on him.”
“Olivia… I’m sorry.”
“You’re really not, Eve!” she shouted, “hitting your boyfriend’s own brother!”
She twirled around and went to join Sophia Chang’s gang. A sword to the heart would have hurt me less. I tried to gather my wits, but deep down, I was devastated. Thomas wasn’t here but I caught a glimpse of Eric on the porch of The Roundhouse. I wanted to ask him if he knew where his brother was, but now really wasn’t the time. I wasn’t going to speak to him in front of Olivia, and, moreover, nothing told me that he wanted to speak to me when I had left him alone that night.
During the two hours of philosophy, I kept repeating the murderous words that my best friend had just spat in my face. I had made her suffer so much. One thing was certain, she hadn’t completely moved on with Eric, and that, I should have guessed. Her attitude toward him had been different and I understood now that her breakup had no other purpose than to protect her pride. She firmly believed that Eric was in love with me, and I blamed myself for not being able to discern more carefully the depth of her feelings for him. Besides, Thomas still hadn’t shown up. A feeling of unease came over me as I was about to leave Conway’s class when she called out to me.
“Miss Burberry, come see me, please.”
I walked over to her and saw her unreadable expression. She crossed her arms on her desk and glared at me.
“Are you bored with my class, Everliegh?”
“Not at all, miss.”
“Still, you look worried.”
“Oh! I’m sorry, I’m having some... issues at the moment and I’m a bit distracted, I apologise.”
“Mmm. I would like to talk about it.”
“But I have an English lesson in five minutes.’
“What time do you finish?”
“5 p.m., miss.”
“So come to this room at 5 p.m. and we’ll talk about it.”
“Miss…”
“See you later,” she said, pointing to the door.
I left even more distressed than in the morning. All day, I dragged my feet to get to my classes. I had wanted to come to school to continue living my life as normally as possible, but nothing could ever be normal now. After all, what was so exhilarating about my life. Except for the attempted murders, I had never been happier than since my meeting with Thomas. But Johnny pulled me out of my thoughts as surely as one tears off a band-aid.
“So, how are you, little slut?”
“Johnny!”
“Oh, I’m good! Olivia phoned me for over an hour last night to tell me about her misfortunes, I couldn’t take it anymore!”
“I didn’t do anything with Eric!”
“Sure! You played Scrabble!”
“Look, he just supported me through a tough time, we didn’t touch, I swear!”
“But, darling, I don’t care! And besides, I’ve been perfectly clear with Olivia about this, I don’t want to get involved. But now, stop taking me for a truffle. Even if you haven’t fornicated with your Thomas’ brother, don’t tell me that, in a room barely ten square metres, a guy like him didn’t bubble up what you use as a vagina.”
“Oh! No…”
“Mmm… Whatever happened, you’re going to have to work things out with Olivia. She’s pissed.”
“I know. I didn’t think she’d be this bad considering she broke up with him.”
“She broke up because she realised he didn’t love her, she never said she wasn’t crazy about him anymore, and that’s the whole problem.”
“I’ll fix it, I promise.”
With those last words, I went to Keller’s class. More than an hour to go before joining Thomas at home. At 5 p.m I went to Conway’s class, hoping to finish quickly. I had kept my promise, but obviously, I was the only one, because there was no one in the classroom. I seriously began to wonder if I should leave, but I finally decided to wait, sitting in front of the teacher’s desk and, therefore, with my back to the door. I hadn’t heard the man enter until he was already standing behind me.
“Hello, Everliegh,” said the stranger in a gravelly voice.
- Writer
