My New Love

Chapter 3

            I’m lying in bed, relaxing, and listening to my favorite songs. Music always helps me relax after a long day. A couple of minutes later I receive a text from Nicole. That is the fifth text she’s sent me today. I’m really not in the mood to talk at the moment. She is worried about me, I know.

            “Hey, I heard you punched Michelle in the face. Some kid saw you, but didn’t say anything to the principal. He only told me and I won’t tell him either. Why did you punch her?”

            “She told me I was ugly. That really made me angry. I should have stopped myself from punching her after that, but I couldn’t. Also Jonathan told me he was cheating on me with her for the last couple of months.”

            “She has a broken nose now. She came to practice today with a cast on. I laughed so hard when I saw her. She glared at me. I really don’t care what she thinks. She deserved that punch. WHAT? HE CHEATED ON YOU! I’M GOING TO KILL HIM!”

            Nikki isn’t really going to kill Jonathan, but she wants to hurt him. I honestly feel the same way. He doesn’t understand how badly he hurt me. I’m extremely pissed that he cheated on me too. He should have been honest with me when we broke up. I wish he didn’t promise that we would get back together. He really got my hopes up. My anger is starting to rise again. My face is turning red right now.

            “Jonathan also told me that he was using me to get with Michelle. I think he probably started cheating on me a few weeks before Carson died.  I don’t know how he looked me in the eyes every day and told me he loved me. He was lying to me for months. Now that I think about it Jonathan was starting to get distant. I didn’t realize it then. He was still there when I needed him. He held me when I cried. I was there for him all the time too. I gave him advice when he needed it. I held him as he cried when he found out his mother was in a car accident. She almost died! I even went to his grandfather’s funeral with him a few years ago. He held my hand so tightly. I feel completely betrayed. He led me on for years. I don’t deserve this. I hate this feeling. I really hope that this doesn’t happen to you, Nicole.”

            I want to punch something again. I punch my pillow as hard as I can. I wish I had punched Michelle more than once. She deserves it. When Nikki gets to her I may actually feel bad for her. Nikki hates seeing things like this happen. Nikki and I have seen this happen to another one of our friends. She called me to tell me what happened. I tried to give her as much advice as I could, but she ended up getting back with him. She wanted to give him a second chance. I completely understand that.

What I don’t understand is why some men and women stay in abusive relationships. I understand that they love their partners, but they shouldn’t stay. They are in danger. Do they really want to be with someone that hits them? I remember the first time Jonathon accidentally hit me. At the time I thought he did it on purpose. I didn’t speak to him for a week. He felt really bad for doing it. He apologized every time he saw me at school. I eventually forgave him for it. I should have left him then and there.

            “I wish that this didn’t happen to you. I’m seriously pissed off right now! I really want to punch him in the face. I know you won’t let me kill him. I hope the next person you date doesn’t do this to you. I hate seeing you in this much pain. I may end up punching Michelle when I see her tomorrow. I really don’t understand how the principal or a teacher didn’t see this incident.”

            “Don’t punch her Nikki! I don’t want you to get suspended from the team. No one was around when I did it because the final bell rang. They will probably see the video tomorrow. I hope I don’t get suspended. This would be my first offense. I will never do anything like this again or I will be grounded for eternity by dad. Mom promised that she wasn’t going to tell him. Mom won’t go back on her word. I love her so much.”

            “You’re right...I would be suspended. I’ll try to behave. You may not get suspended since this is your first offense. You’ll most likely get a warning and be on your way. Oh my goodness. Don’t you just hate that they have in school suspension? I would hate to be in school and suspended.”

            “In school suspension is the worst thing ever! I wonder who came up with it.”

            “Probably the superintendent! He’s such a dweeb!”

“Sometimes I hate that man with a burning passion,” I respond. I’m starting to feel really tired right now. I’m sure it’s from all the crying I’ve done today. “I’m actually getting pretty tired. I’m going to go to bed. I haven’t been getting enough sleep lately. If I stay up any longer I will start thinking about what happened today. I might start crying again. I love you, Nikki. I hope you have a good night. I’ll talk to you in school tomorrow.”

            “Alright, have a good night’s rest. I love you too! I’ll see you in the morning, girl,” Nicole responded.

            I’m happy the conversation changed from Jonathan to the superintendent. That’s probably the most random conversation we have ever had. Sometimes Nikki can be very random, but in a funny way. She always knows how to cheer me up!

            I settle into bed and look out at the night sky. I love looking out at the stars. They are very soothing to me. I wonder if Carson ever looked up at the stars while he was still alive. I know I shouldn’t think about Carson, but I can’t help it. I miss him so much. I wish he was still with us.  I really don’t want to cry again tonight. I start drifting to sleep while still looking out at the stars.

~

            The next morning I wake up earlier than normal and get dressed. I really don’t feel like going to school today. I know I can’t miss another day. Dad stops me before I’m about to walk out the door. He gives me a bear hug and a large kiss on the cheek. I smile really wide. That really brightens up my day.

            “Thanks Dad,” I say and kiss him back on the cheek.

            “You’re very welcome,” he responds with a huge smile. My parents are the best parents ever. They always know how to make me feel better. My younger brother, Mason, walks out of his room and gives me a huge hug. I’m somewhat surprised because he hasn’t been in a hugging mood as of lately. I ruffle his hair and he smiles. My younger brother and I get along pretty well. I’m glad he’s getting back to his old self. After Carson died he stopped talking to all of us. It’s been about two months since he’s said a word to anyone. I’ve been really worried about him. My parents told me that it’s a phase. Mason will be back to normal soon. They also said that it’s his way of dealing with things. Carson and Mason were the best of friends when we were growing up. I hope Mason starting speaking again soon. I love him so much and don’t like seeing him this down.

            “See you later, squirt.”

            “Bye,” he responds. I’m shocked when I finally hear my little brother’s voice after two long months! I pull him into a really tight hug.

            “I can’t breathe you’re choking me,” I hear him say. I let him go so he can breathe again.

            “I’m sorry, Mace, I’m happy to hear your voice again,” I respond. He smiles at me again and gives me a kiss goodbye. He doesn’t give me kisses very often. After Mason’s kiss on the cheek I leave. I really don’t want to miss the bus.

            When I get to school I’m called down to the principal’s office. I really hate being called into his office. I know I’m going to be in trouble. I would not be in this situation if I hadn’t hit that boyfriend stealing tramp, Michelle. Michelle is already in the office when I walk inside. She’s folding her arms over her chest. Her nose is covered in a small cast. I giggle a little when I see it. She glares at me so hard that I think my head is going to pop off. A couple of seconds later we are called into the principal’s main office. I look everywhere else except for his face. I don’t want to see the disappointed look he’s giving me. “Aubrey, I heard you punched Michelle in the face yesterday morning. Is this true? Please, be honest.”

            “Yes, sir, it’s true.”

            “Considering this is your first offense I’m going to let you off with a warning, Aubrey. Do not ever let this happen again,” he says while frowning at me.

            “Yes, sir, I will never let this happen again. I promise you.”

            “THAT’S ALL SHE GETS! I WANT HER SUSPENDED!”

            “That’s not going to happen since this is her first offense. If she does this a second time she will be reprimanded. To keep any of this from happening again I will be switching you into new classes, Michelle. You are both dismissed,” he says in a stern voice. Michelle storms out of the office. I’m really happy that I didn’t get suspended!

            When I leave the office Michelle trips me and I fall onto my knees. She laughs under her breath. I glare up at her, get up, and walk away. I’m not going to let her get to me. Michelle is such a pain. She loves to cause drama with other people. I’m pretty sure that our principal knows that too. This is not the first fight Michelle has been in. That’s probably why he wasn’t as hard on me. I’m happy to hear that Michelle is getting switched out of my classes now too. I go back to class with my head held high. I’m in a much better mood than I was this morning.