My New Love

Chapter 12

I’m walking back to class with a sense of accomplishment. Michelle is finally getting what she deserves. She is going to be suspended for the next two or three days. Jonathan glares at me when he sees me in the hallway. Michelle must have sent him a lovely text about her being suspended.

            “You got what you wanted. Yet, you’re the one that deserves to be suspended. You hit her hard in the face. You broke her nose. I don’t understand how you didn’t get suspended for that. I don’t understand why I wanted to get back with you now. I hope you’re happy that you’re single and alone. I will warn other people to stay away from you,” Jonathan says with a smirk on his face.

            I turn around and smile at him. “I really don’t care about what you have to say. Don’t forget, you were the one that wanted me back. It wasn’t the other way around. I still don’t want you. You should stop being a girl hopper, pay attention to the girl you chose over me, and leave me alone.”

            Jonathan grabs my arm and pulls me towards him. He kisses me passionately on the lips. At first, I’m in shock, but then I pull away from him as quickly as I can. I want to smack him, but I don’t because I made a promise to my mom. “You’re always going to be mine, little girl. Don’t forget that.”

            “You don’t own me. I will never be yours ever again. You’re worthless to me,” I say while he walks away. He turns back around and smiles evilly. He wants me to know he’s not joking. I’m not joking either. I will never get back together with someone like him. He doesn’t deserve me.

            I walk to class and give my teacher the hall pass. He smiles at me as I walk to my seat. Most of my teachers are friendly except for my gym teacher. She’s a grouchy old lady. She hates her job a lot. Why even become a teacher if you hate your job? I sit down next to Alex and take a good look at him. His eyes have dark spots underneath them. He didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. I’m worried about him. His clothes also look a bit dirty.

            I tap him on the shoulder to get his attention. I notice that he’s starting to fall asleep. He looks over at me and smiles. He looks like he’s about to pass out. I catch him before he does. “Aubrey, please take him to the nurse.”

            “Alright, I will,” I say. I put his arm over my shoulder. Luckily he is really light. I get him to the nurse as fast as I possibly can. The nurse looks worried as well. He’s sleeping peacefully now. I go back to class when he’s situated. The nurse tells me that Alex will be fine once he gets some rest.

            I’m still worried about him. Why is he so tired? I wonder if he’s been eating lately. I’m going to make him eat half of my lunch today. Hopefully he’s better by then. When lunch time rolls around he’s waiting for me. The nurse told him to get something to eat.

            “Alex, are you doing alright,” I ask him with concern.

            “I’m fine. Why do you ask?”         

            “You passed out in class this morning. I brought you to the nurse’s office. You look extremely tired even now. Are you hungry, Alex? Do you want to share some of my lunch?”

            “I don’t want to take your food, Aubrey, Thank you for offering. I’ll get something to eat. I’ll charge my lunch. I don’t have any money on me right now,” Alex responds while standing up.

            I reach into my purse and pull out a five dollar bill. I hand the money to Alex and he shoots me an uneasy look. “Please Alex, take the money. I don’t want you to be hungry. If you ever have a problem you can come to me. I don’t mind helping you out. You are one of my friends. I love you and don’t want to see anything bad happen to you. Plus you have been helping me out a lot lately also. I have a question.”

            “Thank you, Aubrey. What’s your question,” Alex responds giving me a small smile.

            “Are you able to come over my house on Friday? We have the day off and my family is having a picnic. My mother told me I can invite anyone I want to. I would love if you come.”

            “I would love to come over. I have nothing to do on Friday,” he responds. There is still pain in his eyes. I can tell that Alex is hiding something from me. I want to know what it is.  

            We show the security guard our IDs before walking into the lunch room. Alex goes to the lunch time quickly. The only thing Alex gets is a box of fries and some chocolate milk. Alex tries to give me the rest of my change back, but I refuse.

            “Keep the money. You don’t have to pay me back,” I respond. He smiles at me and rests his head on my shoulder. He eventually falls asleep again after eating lunch. The poor thing is really tuckered out. I really hope that I can figure out what’s going on.

            I notice Nikki is glaring at me from the other side of the table. What is her problem? Nicole turns away from me and goes back to talking to Becky and Jess. Becky and Jess shoots me a worried expression. They seem to be concerned about Alex too.

            “Do you know what’s been going on with him lately,” Jess asks me.

            “No, I have no clue. All I know is he’s really tired. He doesn’t tell me any of his problems,” I respond while looking down at the table. Nicole is still glaring at me. I can feel the tension between us. Jess and Becky looks back and forth between us. They are able to feel the tension also. They both look really uneasy. They don’t like to choose sides. To be honest, I don’t either.  

            “Well, he should be fine,” Nicole responds giving us all an attitude. It’s the first thing she said to me since I got here. I glare up at her. She is really starting to piss me off. Alex doesn’t look fine to the rest of us.

            “He doesn’t look fine to us. Why do you have such a bad attitude all of a sudden,” I ask her as gently as I can. I’m trying not to sound angry. It’s hard. I don’t like Nicole’s attitude.

            “You ran away this morning! You didn’t even answer my text messages over the weekend! Why didn’t you answer me? I sent you what eleven text messages. You never even bothered to answer. I was so worried about you. You expect me to act like everything is peachy kin with us. Well, it isn’t.”

            “You should have known that it’s been three months since Carson died. We have family time that day. It’s not like I would have been able to answer anyway. My brother was lying in my arms. He’s having the hardest time accepting Carson’s death. I was trying to keep my brother happy. Plus, I was depressed myself. What kind of friend are you?”

            She doesn’t have a response to what I said. Plus, we spoke about this morning before I ran away.  She runs out of the lunch room with tears streaming down her face. Nikki and I haven’t been mad at each other in a while. I think we both need some time apart. Becky goes after Nicole and Jess stays with me. I start crying again. I really hate crying in public so much. Alex wakes up from the commotion. Right now, I don’t know if I want to invite Nikki to the picnic now. There will be some unnecessary drama if I do.  

            Nikki and I will probably make up in a couple of days. I hate when I’m mad at her or when she’s mad at me. Alex wraps his arms around me and pulls closer to him. He’s trying to calm me down. I’m really happy that he’s been there for me lately.