⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MENTIONS OF ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Chapter 6

I looked like a mess.

Dark circles decorated under my puffy eyes. My greasy-looking hair was sticking out every which way, only proving even more that I had a restless sleep. It made me feel better after talking to my mom about everything.

We didn't get to have these heart-to-heart talks anymore since her and dad became full time nurses. It was admirable what they did and I knew I was being selfish to their patients who need their care, but I only get to see them a few nights a week.

I was clad in a baby blue button-up cardigan sweater, torn jeans and a custom-made pair of Nikes with sunflowers printed on the side.

Making the bed, that was when I was brought back to the dream I had last night - of Kayden. At first, he was on top of me. Igniting a flame of lust inside me as he left a trail of kisses from my collarbone to my jawline.

My fingers fisted the sheets and my teeth were clamped over my bottom lip to keep myself from moaning. Then, I felt cold. His hands were no longer holding me down. My bare skin was exposed to the cold air in the room.

He was on the other side of the room with his arms draped around Angela. She looked over her shoulder at me with a devilish grin worming its way across her face. I felt my eyes shimmer with tears at the sight before me.

My hopes of us ending up together fell down all around me. I jolted up and automatically felt blood rush to my cheeks, simply by remembering the intimacy in the dream. I broke myself out of my thoughts and proceeded to make the bed.

The first thing I did once I got to school was meet Olive by her locker. Her hair was curled and in a half-up ponytail tied up with an orange ribbon, she was in her favorite black Halloween hoodie with a skeleton dancing with pumpkins in its hands printed on the front.

Halloween was my second favorite holiday-second to Christmas, of course. I'd dress up as a cheerleader or a princess, go trick-or-treating with Zach and Kayden and eat candy all day the next day until my stomach hurt. Clearly, it was also Olive's favorite.

Our first Halloween together, she threw a party at her parents' house and dressed up like Catwoman. Zach and Kayden accepted her right into our group seeing they were comic book nerds at the time. My phone made a noise from my back pocket.

Zach:

Where r u? Seriously. I need to talk to you.

I cursed under my breath. Between the talk I had with mom last night and the intimate dream about Kayden, Zach's persistence to get me to talk completely left my mind.

Once I looked into those concerned eyes, I just knew my resolve was going to crumble and I'd end up spilling my guts right at that second. Thank God Olive was nearby so I could hide behind her as she was putting books into her bag. She was taken by surprise, but still went along with it by staying in front of me.

"Umm, is there a reason for this?"

"Zach wants to talk to me."

Olive inhaled a fake gasp, but then her brows furrowed. "So?"

"He wants to talk to me about why I was starting to tear up in the-"

"Wait. You were crying? Why were you crying?" Her tone switched to one of genuine concern and she lightly held onto my wrist for comfort. She really was a true friend. Without letting me finish the explanation, she automatically interrupted with a glint of worry dancing across her eyes.

"Remember when you and I had that talk about me and Kayden and I was starting to feel better about him having a girlfriend?"

"Yeah?"

"Turns out, I lied." I ducked behind her when I heard Zach's voice calling my name. It sounded like he was getting closer and I cursed under my breath once again. Peeking over her shoulder, he turned the corner and looked like he was on a mission to find me.

Olive remained shielding me with her arms behind her back and acted like she wasn't paying him any attention. Who was I kidding? Who the hell casually stood by their locker and looked around the halls? No one.

This was definitely a mistake. She leaned back and whispered into my ear, avoiding eye contact with me.

"Why won't you just tell him about your crush?"

"I can't. What if he thinks I only kept being friends with him because of Kayden? I can't lose him as a best friend." If today was the day that I told him everything, today would mark the day that our friendship was ruined. He meant the world to me. I couldn't mess that up.

"Belles, you don't know that. Maybe he would understand."

"Bella."

Oh crap!

Busted.

I peeked my head out from behind Olive before standing away from her. With my fingers intertwined behind my back and my head tilted to the side, I feigned innocence. "Oh, hey, Zach. What's up?"

"What's up? Bella, just—"

"Zach. I'm fine. Honest to God, I'm okay."

"Then why did I see you starting to cry yesterday?"

I had to say something. Anything. But I came up blank when I searched my brain for an excuse to get myself out of here. So, I said the first thing that popped in my head. "I'm on my period." As soon as those left my mouth, the corners of my lips twitched upward into a smirk.

That was genius!

Why didn't I think of saying that before?

Zach froze; his eyes wouldn't blink, his feet were glued to the floor and his arms were stuck crossed against his chest. He cleared his throat as a deep red blush spread across his neck and cheeks. I giggled as he was stuttering and rubbing the back of his neck.

He was clearly uncomfortable and I was enjoying every little bit of it with curled pursed lips to prevent myself from bursting out laughing. Even Olive was snorting behind me and stomping her feet as if to tame her laughter.

"You know how women can be during their TOM. Overemotional over nothing. Hormones." I surveyed him up and down and he appeared eager to leave this conversation as soon as possible. His feet carried him away, but then when he came back, he tried to speak. No sounds came out of his mouth-only an exhale.

He gave up on trying to come up with a response. With his head downcast, he speed-walked passed me and turned the corner. When he was out of sight, Olive and I burst into laughter, holding onto each other as he laughed so hard, we almost lost our balance.

-

"What would you do if you had telepathic powers?" Olive wondered.

Pig's blood had been poured down over Carrie and that was the last straw before the students learned about her telepathic powers. Chaos ensued as Carrie was lifting and throwing things with her mind.

Carrie was the only 'horror' movie that I'd agree to watch. The ending was more satisfying than scary when the bullies that were harassing Carrie finally received their karma.

My ex-boyfriend, Gray Vance, was the first answer that came to mind. Perhaps, he didn't count as a boyfriend to me. A boyfriend is a man who truly likes you and would treat you like you matter. Gray did no such thing. He was more like my tormentor.

He beat me. Bruised me. Scarred me physically and emotionally. When he approached the boys and I at the coffee shop, he held a cigar between his fingers and he had a few tattoos peeking out from under his neckline.

Sure, with the smoking, he looked troubled. However, I overlooked that. His veiny muscles were big. His wild green eyes caught my attention. He was good looking.

Despite the boys' protests, I accepted his invitation to go out with him. He was charming; he called me beautiful and seemed like a gentleman. Little did I know how badly my naiveness would screw me up.

Naturally, my parents would never let me date someone who was ten years older than me-which was revealed when he came over for our date. After he left, they told me to never see that man again.

It wasn't that easy.

I forced those memories out of my head and returned my focus on the present. Olive couldn't know about that. Not yet.

"I'd use them on anyone who dares to cross with me like Carrie did. Duh."

My phone pinged and I found a message from Zach.

Zach:

You wanna come over for game night with Kayden and I?

Since the whole 'I was on my period' fiasco, the roles were reversed and he was the one trying to avoid me. We passed by each other in the hallways in between classes and he kept his head down, awkwardly giving me the side eye.

That was why I was actually surprised that he texted me. I thought he'd keep this up for a week until my emotions were in check. I glanced at Olive who was stuffing her face with popcorn and giggling at the bullies getting their comeuppance.

Bella:

I'm at Olive's. We're having a girls' night.

It didn't take long before the three dots bounced around on his side of the screen.

Zach:

You can bring her too. Please? It'd be fun.

"Olive? Pause the movie. We're going over to Zach's for a game night."

-

We stood at his porch step, the cold chill permeating our bodies. The cardigan sweater did nothing to warm me up and each exhale came with a puff of fog.

From outside, I heard music from the two thousands blasting through the speaker and the boys cheering at what was most likely the football game.

I knocked on the door, bouncing up and down on my heels as I anxiously waited to be greeted by the heater. Shortly after, Zach opened the door and Olive and I wasted no time in rushing inside.

"Sure. Take your time in opening the door for us to watch some dumbass football game while we freeze our asses off." I scoffed to myself.

What was so special about football anyway? Adult men prancing across the field for five hours straight as they passed a ball to each other? Mom even banned football during the holiday season so dad would have no choice but to spend quality time with his family.

She wasn't a believer in the 'women slaving away in the kitchen while the men sit on their lazy asses watching football' stereotype. My smile immediately dropped when I noticed that Angela was there.

She was under Kayden's arm and looking at him like he was a dessert her sweet tooth was craving. Her hand was on his chest and she was snuggling with him under a plush blanket. She paid me no attention as she continued to be handsy with him and kissed his cheek, whispering in his ear.

"Once I told Kayden that you could bring Olive, he insisted on bringing Angela." Zach mimicked a gag with a finger in his opened mouth as he walked passed us.

"I hope you don't mind." Kayden briefly tore his eyes away from the TV when he spoke to us.

It wasn't like I had a choice. She was already here. I shrugged it off with a fake smile and a shake of my head, but on the inside, my heart was bleeding.

Olive dragged me to the farthest side of the couch away from them and whispered in my ear, "When you tell me you can't handle it anymore, let me know and we'll leave. I understand how hard this is gonna be for you."

In order to ignore the two lovebirds, I watched as Zach brought all the board games into the living room and pulled up the Heads Up game on his iPad. I planned to avoid looking in their direction as much as possible because otherwise, I'd break. "I'll be fine."

Olive interlocked our fingers together on my lap and looked at me like she didn't believe me. I didn't believe me. "Are you sure? Because, believe me, I wouldn't mind at all leaving if you feel uncomfortable in the slightest. I understand how heartbreaking this could be."

"That's really sweet, Olive, but I'm sure."

Oh, who are we kidding?

This is gonna be a long night.

-

AUTHOR'S NOTE-

QUESTION: What's YOUR favorite holiday?