Chapter 2

Isla's pov:

After school that day, Mason asked me to be his date to prom and I said yes.

Of course I did, How could I not?

To everyone else, it was just a prom invitation, but to me…

It was proof that maybe I wasn't as unlovable as I had spent my years believing.

The rest of the weekend passed in a blur and Amber came over on Saturday. We spent hours lying across my bed, scrolling through countless prom dresses.

She had insisted the emerald green dress was my color.

“It'll bring out your eyes,” she'd said, holding her phone up for me to see another dress. “Trust me, Isla. Mason won't be able to take his eyes off you.”

I laughed, hiding my face underneath my pillow.

“Stop it.” I muttered.

“I'm serious! You're going to be the prettiest girl there.”

Honestly, I believed her.

Mason actually texted me all through the weekend, every text of his made my heart race.

I smiled at my phone more times than I cared to admit and for the first time in years, I wasn't thinking about my weight.

I wasn't even bothered about the side talks I got while shopping and now I wasn't even comparing myself to every skinny girl I come across.

Instead I was simply happy.

Looking back now, I think life was giving me one last perfect weekend before it shattered everything.

****

School morning arrived with dark clouds hanging low in the sky, the driver pulled up in front of Westbrook Academy as he always did.

“Have a wonderful day, Miss Carter,” he said with a smile.

“Thank you, James.”

I climbed out of the car, adjusting the strap of my backpack before pulling out my phone to call Amber.

I pressed the call button and it rang and rang… then I got directed to voicemail.

I frowned, because this was really weird.

Amber always answered my calls or maybe she was still talking into school so I decided to call again.

This time….

“The number you are trying to reach is currently unavailable.”

Then I tried again… “User busy.”

I stared at my phone and I tried it again one last time and it gave me the same reply, I tried making excuses for her. Maybe her phone had died or it could be her network provider.

Trying to convince myself it was nothing, I slipped my phone back into my bag and walked through the school gates.

The moment I stepped inside, I knew something was wrong.

Students were standing in small groups instead of heading to their classes, some were staring openly at their phones and the others threw their glances at me before looking away.

A few of them had the sorry kind of look on their faces and slowly my Monday morning Smile faded.

“What happened?” I asked, but nobody answered.

Instead, the whispers grew louder as I walked past them . 

“Is that her?”

“I'm sure she doesn't know yet.”

“I almost feel bad for her.”

My heartbeat quickened as I looked around, trying hard to search for a familiar face.. maybe Amber or Mason— Anyone…

But they were all nowhere to be found.

The class bell immediately went off and all the students began making their way to their respective classes.

I forced myself to do the same, silently telling myself that I was overthinking things.

I mean, rumours spread throughout the school every week… I guess this was probably another one.

I slowly slid into my usual seat by the window and then Mr Wilson walked into the classroom.

“Good morning, everyone.”

“Good morning, sir.” The class replied in unison.

“Phones away, please.”

A chorus of groans filled the room as I reached into my bag to silence my phone. The screen immediately lit up before I could.

It was my Dad's call.

I slowly smiled, because from what I recall I didn't see him this morning before leaving For school, I guess he missed me already. 

But just as I reached out to answer, Mr Wilson was already staring directly at me.

“Miss Carter.”

“Sorry, sir.” I murmured as my cheeks grew hot.

I silenced the call and placed my phone face down inside my bag.

I guess Dad could wait until my class was over.

Class continued and Amber was still nowhere to be found, that alone was enough to make me uneasy. She was never late.

Not unless she was sick and if she was sick I would have gotten a text.

Instead my phone was blank.

The classroom buzzed with quiet conversations while Mr. Wilson arranged his notes at the front of the room.

I stole another glance at my phone beneath my desk and there were three missed calls from my father and still no News from Amber.

A knot slowly tightened in my stomach, but just as the class was about to commence the classroom door opened and Amber Walked in.

Relief suddenly flooded through me.

“There you are,” I muttered, but she looked somehow different.

Her usual bright smile was gone and her expression was clearly unreadable as she walked towards the teacher.

“I'm sorry I'm late, Mr. Wilson.”

He barely looked up. “Take your seat, Miss Bennett “

She nodded as she turned towards the rows of desks and her eyes met mine.

“Amber..” I whispered with a smile, trying g hard not to let Mr. Wilson hear.

She looked at me for a brief second and I thought she was about to smile back but instead she looked away, like I wasn't even there.

My smile slowly faded away because maybe she hadn't heard me, so I quickly reached for my phone beneath the desk and quickly typed.

Where have you been? Are you okay?

I hit send and the message delivered instantly. Amber's phone immediately buzzed in her hand as I watched her glance at her screen.

She actually just read my message and without even looking at me, she locked her phone and slipped it into her bag.

My fingers suddenly froze around my own phone.

She… She just ignored me.

“Did I do something?” I began to ask myself.

I began to replay the weekend over and over again in my mind and sincerely it had all been normal.

So what changed?

“Miss Carter.”

Instinctively I was shocked but Mr. Wilson was already staring at me.

“Would you care to share whatever is so fascinating On your phone with the rest of the class?”

Heat immediately rushed to my cheeks as I turned my phone upside down.

“N–No, sir.”

“Then kindly pay attention.”

“Yes, sir.”

Already embarrassed, i slid my phone back into my bag as The lesson continued.

Equations filled the whiteboard, but my mind and eyes drifted towards Amber but she never looked at me.

Suddenly the class bell rang, the class was finally over.

I guess I was the first person out of my seat.

“Amber!” I muttered, hurting towards her desk but it was already empty.

She was already gone, a strange sense of panic immediately settled over me because Amber never leaves a room without me.

Never…