Chapter 20
1594 Words
LEXI'S P.O.V
It's been one week and still no sign of Laurey. Dylan came the day after the incident at the library with Blake and claimed he hasn't heard from Laurey too; and unfortunately I don't have her number.
Talking about Blake, things have been rosy with him. He talks to me a lot, we often spend time together in the library. I also notice his small gestures, like opening the door for me to get in class, he pats my hair and sometimes ruffles it.
I sometimes feel insecure and my past wants to start making it myself known. But I try to keep the past where it belongs - in the past - and focus on my future. It's very, very hard but I'm getting there.
He really wasn't joking when he said he would start calling me baby, because he does so everyday now.
Makes people think we're in a relationship and I get a lot of death stares from girls. It makes me feel uncomfortable but Blake said I shouldn't be worried about it, and somehow that made me calm down.
Sounds cliché, right?... I know, but I just can't help it.
"Beep... Beep... Beep!" the bell rang signaling the end of school, and the students practically ran out of the classroom.
I grabbed my bag and headed out, meeting Dylan and Blake waiting by my locker. Yeah, I forgot to mention. Since Laurey decided to ditch school, I've been stuck with these two dudes. It's really fun and kind of annoying at the same time.
Dylan is a handful, now add Blake to that equation? CHAOS.
"Hey i***t! How's it going?" Dylan side hugs me and flicks my forehead.
"Yah! Was that really necessary?" I replied, rubbing my forehead.
"Yeahh! I felt the spirit minister to me that I should do that." he replied with a smirk.
I hit him on his shoulder. "Urghh... You're just like my brother."
"Thanks for the compliment." he winks at me. I just gagged at him in reply.
Blake rolled his eyes at us and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "Hey, baby."
"Hii." my angry self is now gone replaced by my shy and flustered self.
"How was classes today?" he asked with a soft smile on his face.
God, kill me now. I'm melting.
"It was nice but stressful." I replied shyly.
"I'm sorry about that. Don't stress yourself to much okay. I don't want that pretty face stressing itself out." he said with a smile, absent-mindedly running his hands through my hair.
I nodded, my face turning bright red.
"First of all, eww! Don't flirt in front of me. Second of all, what happened to the mean Lexi a minute ago? Who are you?" Dylan gagged, feigning disgust.
"Shut up!" I said, hitting him on his shoulder and walking away to the parking lot.
I heard them snickering. Bastards.
They eventually caught up to me and we walked home together. We got on a bus together and chatted until we reached the bus stop.
We got down from the bus, wanting to say goodbye before going out desperate ways.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow." Dylan said, doing a bro handshake with Blake.
"Uhm.... Dylan, have you heard from Laurey?" I asked worriedly.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I haven't heard from her either. Her phone is switched off."
"Yeah... I tried that too last night after you gave me her number. Have you tried visiting her?"
"Nahh... I don't know her house. She doesn't like people knowing where she lives." he let out a frustrated sigh.
"God... Don't you think something's wrong?" I sighed, biting my nails.
He put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure she's fine, okay. Don't sweat it. I'll see you tomorrow, Byeee!"
"Byee!" Blake and I waved at him before walking the opposite way.
On the road home, my thinking wasn't stable. All I thought about was Laurey; wondering how she's faring, hoping she's safe... The list goes on!!
"Lexi!" Blake calling my name and waving his hand in front of my face brought me out of my thoughts.
I blinked my eyes and looked at him. "What?"
"I was talking to you but you weren't listening. What's wrong? Is it about Laurey?" he asked, with concern on his face.
"Yeah, I don't understand why she hasn't been around since. I feel it in my gut that something's wrong but I don't know what. I feel so helpless, what if she's in danger? W-what if s-she's sick? W-what i-if..." my voice cracked as I started sobbing.
I'm just so worried about her, even though I haven't known her for a long time.
Blake quickly hugged me, running his fingers through my hair. "It's okay, it's okay. Everything will be fine, okay? There's no need to cry. We'll figure something out."
I sobbed for a while and pulled away. I noticed tear stains on his shirt.
"I-i'm so sorry I ruined your shirt." I hiccuped, my voice a bit hoarse from crying.
He put his arms around my shoulder, pulling me to his side. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that you're okay, baby."
I blushed a bit, getting a little shy. He noticed and chuckled a bit and we started the walk home in comfortable silence. He dropped me off at home, after promising that everything will be okay and waited until I entered inside before going home.
***
I stepped into the dining room and saw everyone seated; my Mum, Dad and Logan.
"Hey mum, hi dad. Hey i***t!" I greeted everyone in the table, flicking a finger on my brother's forehead.
"Hi honey, how are you? How was school today?" My mum asked, smiling at me.
"School was good. I'll go freshen up, so I'll join you guys." I ran to my room to freshen up quickly and eat because I'm so hungry.
I got out of the bathroom, wore an oversized T-shirt and dashed downstairs. I sat down on the table next to Logan, and we started eating talking about random things. But I wasn't really into the conversation because I was concerned about Laurey.
"Lexi! Are you okay, gummy bear?" my dad asked, looking at me intensely.
"Yeah, yeah... I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" I faked a laugh, trying to sound convincing but I knew he wasn't buying it.
"Lexi, you know you're a terrible liar right?" Logan looked at me with a bored look.
I sighed. "I'm just-I'm just worried about Laurey."
"What happened to Laurey, dear?" Mum asked, holding my hand.
"Who's Laurey?" my dad asked confused.
"What's wrong with Laurey, Lexi?" Logan asked with an overly concerned tone than I expected him to be.
I'll tease him about that later.
"A friend from school." I replied my dad's question. "She's not been coming to school for a week. I've been trying to reach her on her phone but it's switched off. Dylan tried too, but it isn't going through either."
"Dylan? They're together?" Logan asked, and I sensed a hint of jealousy in his tone.
Ayoo! This is huge. Focus, Lexi.
"No. He's her friend. They've known each other for a long time." I added with a smirk, watching his expression.
"Oh!" he replied with a straight face, although I didn't miss the tension in his jaw.
"Oh my! Have you tried visiting her?" my mom asked, very worried.
"That's the problem, Mom. No one knows where she lives."
"Not even Dylan?" Logan asked this time.
"Not even Dylan." Logan had a smug look on his face, before he masked it with a straight face.
I rolled my eyes at him before focusing my attention on Mom.
"I'm really worried, mom. This hasn't happened before. What if she's in danger?" I felt tears already gathering in my eyes.
"It will be fine, okay? I'm sure it's nothing serious. Don't overthink it." she smiled, wiping my tears.
"Don't worry, gummy bear. Everything will be fine." my dad smiled, kissing my forehead.
"Thanks Mom. Thanks Dad."
"You're welcome." they replied at the same time. We all laughed and continued eating.
Halfway through dinner, Logan stood up, saying he had some work to finish at his mansion. He left before we could respond.
We all looked at each other, shrugged and continued eating our food.
Once through, I cleared the dishes, washed the plates and headed to my room to sleep.
Today has been really... eventful. But overall, I'm glad I have family and friends who care about me.
~~~
The worst kind of fear is not knowing if someone you care about is okay 😭🌹♦️
- Writer
