As I lay on my bed, my phone rings. It's Jana. I answer and hold the device to my ear. "Hello?"
"Finally," she groans, "you should really answer my texts. Talking on the phone freaks me out."
"It freaks you out?"
She ignores me. "Something happened between Harrison and Daniel—"
"What," I interrupt her and swiftly sit up.
"Should have answered the texts, you would have known about this much sooner," she scolds me, but I could care less at the moment.
"Just tell me what happened."
I hear her take a deep breath. "Jordan heard from Bradley that Daniel confronted Harrison in the locker room, pushed him against a wall and asked him if he abuses girls."
My eyes widen. "No way."
"No one knows what else was said, but I'm almost positive it's because of what happened in the cafeteria yesterday. I mean, what else would tell Daniel that Harrison abuses girls, other than a 'don't touch me' with a flinch?"
I run my hand through my hair. "So what? Daniel thinks Harrison hit me?"
"That's what I'm guessing."
I fall back onto my pillows and let out a loud, dramatic groan. "This is terrible."
There's a small moment of silence from Jana. "Well, I mean, it is kinda sweet that Daniel pushed him against a wall and stuff—I don't know. It doesn't seem like him, to care about other people's problems and all. I know Harrison hitting you would be a horrific situation, but no one else did anything. It seems like a humane thing to do, but maybe there was more reason behind it."
"What are you trying to say? That he likes me? He doesn't even know me, Jana. He was just trying to stop Harrison, not help me."
She sighs. "Fine. Whatever. But I'm sticking with my theory."
For the rest of the night I cannot help but wonder, what did Harrison say back? Did he say that he never abused me? Did he tell Daniel to back off? I can hardly sleep with the question constantly prodding at my mind.
The next morning, with no sleep at all, I pick up Jana on the way to school and let her drive. I don't tell her of my plan to ask Daniel what happened, she would probably think that I believe her theory. I don't. I don't believe that Daniel cares about me, even a bit, but that isn't going to stop me from digging. How can someone care for a stranger? We hardly know each other. We've only spoken once, and that was at Trent's pool party. Sure, I think he is very attractive, and sure, I think what he did was amazing, but I can't let that fool me into believing things that simply aren't true.
When we arrive, Jana and I go our separate ways for the first period. Daphne isn't here today, and I am thankful for it. Everyone seems less tense when she is not around.
I wait until lunch, until we are all sitting down, minus Daniel. It is tricky because some days he doesn't sit with us, and I don't know where he goes then. Luckily, I spot him entering through the main door, and before he can reach us, I take a deep breath and approach him.
Some people around us watch as I do so, maybe they heard what happened. Jana's eyes are one of the more intense ones. I have an urge to turn back and tell her to knock it off.
Daniel looks down at me, and I don't waste another second. "Can I talk to you, in private?"
I don't know what to expect. Will he say yes? Will he keep walking? A moment passes, and I begin to crumble.
He looks onward to Jordan, then back to me. "Yeah, sure."
I don't focus on the fact that his voice was emotionless, or the fact that Jordan probably told him to say yes, I just nod and lead him out of the crowded room. We walk around the corner in the hallway to one empty and quiet, then I look up at him. I have to admit, if I was not determined to get an answer to this question, then I would be trembling right now.
"I heard you confronted Harrison yesterday, asked him... Well, you know. I was just wondering what he said back, if you could tell me," I say quietly, paranoid that someone might hear. I add on a short, "please."
His eyes roll to the side, looking at the locker to our right for a brief moment, then he looks back to me. "He said he didn't know what I was talking about."
Daniel has the type of voice that one can listen to all day. It doesn't matter what he's saying, even this bad new sounds lovely. I snap myself out of the school-girl trance. "Oh, thanks."
He makes a move, telling me he's going to walk away, but he stops. "You know, if he's abusing you, you should get professional help." There is no concern in his tone. It is as if he's doing me a favor by telling me this.
Suddenly, I grab his arm, bringing him to a halt. "He's not abusing me," currently, I say to myself, "we're not together, we were never together, but thanks for the advice," my tone matches his, but is a tad colder.
Instead of watching him walk away, I do the honors and slip past him, heading back to the cafeteria.
If he's abusing you, you should get professional help, thanks, buddy. For someone who pushed Harrison up against a wall and questioned him in such a way, Daniel can sure sound uninterested. I'm embarrassed that talking to me was such a chore. Never again, that's for sure.
Jana's eyes spring to the door when she sees me entering. I walk back, partly annoyed, and I sit down without saying a word, though everyone is wondering what we talked about. I glance up to find all of their eyes on me.
"Well," Jana hints, "how was your day? Have any interesting conversations?"
I roll my eyes. "Try again later."
Maybe I am overreacting. It's not like we're friends, it's not like he should care. Maybe I started to believe Jana's theory, and that was my mistake, thinking that he did it for me.
The rest of lunch goes by slowly, and Daniel never comes back into the cafeteria. There is a small part of my mind that wonders where he went, that wonders what he thinks, but the bigger part bullies it into quietness.
Daniel isn't my friend. I don't know Daniel.
The most important thing for me right now is to know who my friends are, to know who cares about me.
The sixth-period bell rings, releasing us from the classroom. Everyone shuffles out, eager to move onto the last class of the day. Mrs. Hilliard, my English teacher, says her short goodbyes to the students passing her desk. They chime in my ear as I pack up my things."See you tomorrow.""Goodbye.""Don't forget to revise chapter twelve.""Quiz on chapter twelve is Friday."I sling my backpack over my shoulder and walk past her, but she stops me. "Hailey, you got a great score on your quiz last week, best out of all my classes." She places the perfect score in front of my eyes, sliding the graded quiz across her desk. "Do you have a strong interest in Lord of the Flies?"
I rush out of the locker room and head straight for my car. Harrison is right, I should have never come back. Ditching my last class, I jog to the driver's side and fumble with my keys."Going somewhere?"My heart skips a beat and I jump at the sudden, familiar voice. Turning around, I see Daniel standing at the back of a car, shutting the truck after pulling out a duffel bag with his name sewn on it. It's the track team bag.Realizing my red eyes and puffy face, I turn back and unlock my door. "Yeah, I'm leaving," I mutter and slide in. I shut the door before he can say anything, though I doubt he would. Like some sort of speed racer, I zip out of the parking spot and bolt down the street. My hand wipes stray tears from my face roughly, and I struggle to keep my hands steady on the wh
Instead of slipping through the side gate, this time, Jana and I walk through the front door of Trent Watts' house. Jana calls out, "we're here," and she leads me inside.The lights are dim and we join Taylor on the couch. Sitting across from her is a couple I had seen around school before. They seem to be in a deep conversation with each other, looking into one others eyes, holding hands. The girlplays with the guys, drawing pictures on his palm.Taylor smiles. "Finally, you're here. For a moment I thought you two weren't going to come.""Diddo," I mutter and crash down beside her. She has a glass set on the table in front of her. I can tell it's hers because her berry lipstick is smeared on the rim. I wonder what it is. I wonder what it tastes like. "How many times a month do y
When I first started therapy in Florida, my therapist gave me the idea of journaling. I started a journal and wrote in it for a few months, but eventually, it died off. Most of my entries lacked the topic of the incident—the reason why I was in therapy in the first place—but were about Mr. Russ and my friends in Florida. Though, I suppose they were an escape for me in themselves.With my friends in Florida, I was an actress, pretending that Harrison never did what he had done. With them, I was an entirely different person. With Mr. Russ, I was an entirely different person also. I became so in love with this fake persona that I even created a name for her, well, not created, I stole a name for her. Daphne.Yes, Daphne was my best friend before she turned on me, andDaphne, my persona, did the same.Daph
The four of us attend the football game on Friday, and it is nothing special. Coldgrove High School lost in a close game, but we left happy anyways. Many people gave me dirty looks, some even saying that I shouldn't be here, which was embarrassing in front of Taylor and Jordan. I'm sure they know what happened, but oddly, they don't show an opinion like everyone else. Maybe they believe me, maybe they don't, if they are whiling to be my friends, then who cares. People are free to believe what they want here, in moderation of course.Jana and I say our goodbyes to Taylor and Jordan before heading to my car. We leave later than everyone else, not wanting to sit in parking lot traffic. Once we are in the car, and all the doors are closed, Jana turns to me. "You didn't seem very into it."I wasn't. I hate to admit it, but I was really hopin
I can't help but watch his lips as he talks. He is like the forbidden fruit, and I just can't have him. Jana nudges me and I zip back to life. "What?""We're talking about fall break if you want to participate in the conversation. I was thinking a road trip, that would be fun."Taylor rolls her eyes. "Jana, you keep saying road trip, but a road trip to where?"She shrugs. "We have time to decide that.""Oh, I don't know if I can go on a trip. I might go to Canada and visit my Dad," I tell Jana and she frowns."That's too bad," Daniel joins in, "because I know a guy who will let us stay at his cabin up north. I've been before, he's friends with my dad. The place is insane."
"I have no idea what to bring," I say to Jana as I stare at my open suitcase. I called her over to my house to help, and she joins me at my side, also staring down."Well, you'll need pajamas for sure. Bring cute pajamas, something sweet, maybe a little girly. He's probably going to see you in them so—""Jana, I can't base this trip around Daniel. I'll drive myself insane. What is suppose to happen anyway? It's just a schoolgirl crush."Jana rolls her eyes. "That is the understatement of the year." She walks over to my dresser and rummages through my pajamas, pulling out a matching top and shorts set. The top is a blue fitted t-shirt with white polka dots and the shorts are white with blue polka dots. My now stepmother bought them for me when I was in Florida. "These are cute," J
The next day, at noon exactly, I struggle with my suitcase and backpack as I hold my phone to my ear, all while managing to walk down the stairs. "Yes mom, and I promise to be good.""Hailey Fonte you tell me this honestly, are there any adults going with you on this trip?"One of my eyebrows raises, then I drop my suitcase to the floor. "An adult? Yeah, there is."Jana gives me a look.Jordan and Daniel are eighteen as they have early birthdays. Technically, I am not lying. My mother sighs. "Alright. Just, please be careful. You'll be back Wednesday?""Yeah, Wednesday night, if everything goes smoothly. I'll call you every day so you know I'm still alive."