Chapter 4: Isolated

My duvet wrapped and tucked me in protectively, comforting me and shielding me from the outside world. It was exactly what I wanted at that time, a self-diagnosed prescription of isolation and self-wallowing. Nothing could convince me to face the world—words, things, or people. At least that was the case until my phone rang loudly on the side table next to me.

“Ugh! No…. I don’t want to pick it up. It’s too comfortable in here,” I said out loud to myself.

Turning my head over, I peeked one of my eyes open to see the lighted-up screen of my phone. As soon as my eyes saw the name on the screen and sent the alert to my brain, I sat up straight in my rolled-up duvet like a mummy.

“Adrina!” I screamed as I broke myself free and picked up the phone.

Her round face and green highlights filled my screen instantly. “What’s up, O?”

“Same old, same old. How’s Canada?” I asked her as I leaned back against my bed’s headboard.

She rolled her dark brown eyes at me. “Ice. F*cking. Cold.”

 “Same here.” My lips curled slightly and a soft scoff escaped my mouth.

“What do you mean? Oli, what’s wrong? Something’s off about you,” she replied, her voice triggering all the emotions in me.

As much as I wanted to vent my heart out to her, part of me felt guilty for burdening her with my problems when she was already going through a lot. My best friend had just moved across the continent to a whole different country, school, and society in her last year of high school. It didn’t help that the weather wasn’t welcoming as well. So, telling her would do no good.

“Oli, I know that look. That’s your guilty look! Don’t you dare feel guilty for telling me your problems! So, you better spill before I come all the way there and smack you with your pillow!” she threatened and I knew her well enough to know that she was dead serious.

I let out a long, heavy sigh. “Joshua is an a*s.”

“Tell me something I don’t know, O. That is a widely known fact. But, what did he do now?” she asked, her face contorting into a look of seriousness.

My lower lip disappeared into my mouth as I bit on it, still uncertain, but Adrina’s stern face convinced me. “Fine. Well, long story short, Joshua got together with Breanna.”

“No. F*cking. Way! Well, in a way, they are perfectly evil and perfect for each other. So, did they disappear into their love bubble and leave you alone? Or did they team up against you?” Adrina said as she pulled apart the seal of a bag of chips and watched the drama unfold.

Shaking my head, I sighed. “That was what I thought and they did leave me in peace for a little while. But then they teamed up together alright. Ugh. But, it’s nothing new. Oh, there was something new and rather odd.”

“What? What? What? Tell me, woman!” Adrina stuffed a chip in her mouth greedily.

Arching my eyebrow at her, a laugh escaped my lips at her reaction. “Breanna told me to stay away from Joshua and that he was all hers. You should have seen the way she was looking at me! In what twisted universe would I ever be interested in that idi*t?”

“I mean…you did have a crush on him when you were in middle school. Are you sure those feelings are all gone?” she asked in a deep serious tone.

My jaw dropped at her question before I threw my phone face down on the bed. Was I offended? Obviously! She knew how much I hated him and yet she dared to bring up the past before questioning my feelings. Was she trying to prove Breanna right?

“Oli, come on! I was just kidding, babe! Come on, show me that cuddly face that I miss so much!” her voice echoed through my room.

Exhaling deeply, I knew I couldn’t be mad at her for long, especially with the distance between us. Rolling my eyes, I flipped my phone around and let the camera point at the ceiling—my first point of forgiveness.

“Ah, I see I have passed the first level. Now, now, what should I do to get to the end? Perhaps a picture of me in a moose hat?” my silly goose best friend asked, intriguing me instantly.

Picking up my phone, I pointed the camera at my face again. “Keep talking.”

Within a second, my phone pinged with a message. Opening it, a scoff echoed in my throat as I tried stifling back my laugh at the picture in front of me. My bada*s toughie best friend was wearing a moose hat while biting on a red vine candy.

“I see a smile!” she cried out and threw her arms in the air.

Rolling my eyes at her, I finally let my lips break out into a huge grin. “Fine. But, for the record, the very thought of me liking Joshua made me want to puke. So, no, and please don’t say that again. Anyway, this picture is so worth it. I’m screenshotting this for sure!”

“Now, tell me, please. Unburden yourself on me, Oli!” she insisted, her voice laced with nothing but concern.

So, I told my best friend everything that happened, right from Breanna’s weird threat to the scandal I stumbled on to the rumor to Joshua’s betrayal. By the time I finished, my face was drenched in my tears and my knees had drawn close to my chest in comfort.

“Oh, Oli. I am so sorry you had to go through all that. How I wish I was there to kick Joshua between his legs. What an a*shole! Ugh. Damn. I have no words,” Adrina said, sighing in disbelief.

Shrugging my shoulders, I buried my face between my knees. “I just can’t face any of them anymore, A. The way they look at me now pierces me inside. My whole reputation is tainted! This is what I get for being nice. I should have just let him find Breanna and walk away before anyone came.”

“No! Don’t say that! Do you know why? Because that is not you. You are a gem of a person, Olivia Jamerson. It’s not your fault that they don’t appreciate it. It takes guts and a whole damn lot of heart to push aside your hatred for him and try to help protect him, something they all lack. So, don’t you dare regret that, okay?” she replied sternly.  

Tilting my head up, I saw her looking at me with concern and pity. A small ball of tears lingered in her dark brown eyes as her lips pouted. It was at times like that, I wished I could hug her tight.

“I still can’t show my face at school. I skipped today for probably the first time this year. I think I might just show up for graduation and leave straight after,” I revealed softly.

The black-haired-green-highlighted girl’s jaw dropped at my words. “Hold up! Are you telling me you are missing prom? WOMAN!”

“Yep. There’s no point. You are not here anyway and I don’t know anyone else. It’s not my kind of party, A.” Looking at the lavender dress hanging inside my open closet, I swallowed the lump in my throat.

Adrina pinched her forehead. “No, no, Oli. You have to go! It’s senior prom! It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing!”

“No, Adrina. I just can’t. Before what happened, I would have considered it seriously. But, after all that, I don’t have the strength in me to face them anymore, that too in the prom situation,” I retorted.

“F*ck! My dad’s calling me. We were supposed to go get some supplies before the predicted snowstorm tonight. Listen, Oli, please consider going. I want you to wear that gorgeous dress we bought together and go have some fun. Okay, I got to go. Bye, O! I love you!” With a flying kiss, Adrina ended the video call, leaving me in a dilemma.

Getting up from my bed, I headed to my closet and pulled out the dress. Placing in front of me, I took a look at myself in the mirror. My wise friend was right in saying that it was a gorgeous dress. Even though I doubted that I would look good in it, I still fell in love with it when I first saw it early in the year.

My hand stroked the material, letting the magic of the dress seep into me. It was working and the more I looked in the mirror, the more I was considering putting it on and walking out the door. There were still about 3 hours before prom started which meant I still had all the time in the world to dress up.

Resting the dress on my bed, I clenched my phone in my hand and snuck out of my room to the room beside mine. Pushing the slightly ajar door open, my eyes fell on my brother adjusting his bow tie in front of his mirror.

“You got a waiter job somewhere?” I said, leaning against the door frame.

Luke looked at me through his mirror and smirked. “As if anyone would hire me.”

“You’re dressed extremely early,” I replied, looking at his wall clock with my arched eyebrow.

Running his hand through his hair, he adjusted his already perfect hair. “The team is going out for dinner before heading to prom.”

“Ah. I see.” I nodded and sighed.

Luke turned around and faced me as he put on his blazer. “So, what’s the verdict about tonight? You’re coming, right?”

“About that, I—” I was about to tell him my decision when my phone pinged with a notification.

Unlocking my phone, I looked at the almost 50 notifications that hovered over the only social media platform I had. Despite staying away from it since the incident in school, I found myself still clicking on it. It turned out to be a bad idea when I found my name tagged in a picture of the school field bleachers, with the caption ‘Olivia, you around for quickie?’.

My throat turned dry and my lips trembled as I turned off my phone. I hated the fact that such a small thing could affect me so immensely, but it did.

Luke cleared his throat and picked up his phone from the table. “And? So, are you going?”

“No.”