Falling Away #Watty 2023

•Chapter 17•

THE NEXT THREE WEEKS felt like my entire world was spinning in reverse. I couldn't even take a stroll without people telling me how much my family sucked.

But soon, the media attention started to fade as they moved on to the latest scandal. In fact, my dad was now paying more attention to Mom and the unborn child. It was obvious he was happy to have her back, but Ashley and I felt the opposite.

Ashley was growing angrier every day, sometimes skipping dinner with us when Mom was in the dining room, preferring to eat in her room. Knocking softly on her door, I gently pushed it open. Ashley was sitting opposite a mirror, staring at a picture frame of her and Mom when she was five.

"What are you doing here?" she asked without looking in my direction.

"I came to check up on you," I replied, making myself comfortable on her fluffy bed, covered with purple and white bedsheets.

She dropped the frame and took a seat next to me. "Don't you think it's weird? Mom left us a few months ago to be with her criminal lover, and now she's back acting like nothing happened."

I sighed. The more I hated hearing about Mom's love life, the less I wanted to talk about it. "What's weird to me is the fact that Dad is acting like it never happened."

Ashley started tearing up. "I love Mom, Zoey. But after what she did, I don't think I'll ever be able to look her in the face again."

I didn't know what to say in that moment. I tried to use Dad's words to comfort her, but she kept crying. I moved closer to her and wrapped my arms around her, and she hugged me back.

"Please don't think about it too much. Everything will be fine. I think you should talk to Dad about it, and maybe find a place in your heart to forgive Mom."

I couldn't believe I was the one saying all that to her. A few days ago, I felt like I could hate Mom for the rest of my life, but telling Ashley those words made me feel like I was ready to forgive her.

I WAS PRACTICING WITH GEMMA, learning new strategies. Gemma, my partner, was sitting on a bench, sipping a chocolate smoothie and panting furiously as if she had just returned from running a marathon.

After throwing the basketball into the basket, I turned toward Gemma and accidentally bumped into someone. I fell, landing straight on top of the person who definitely wasn't there a few moments ago.

I jumped up in horror, feeling as if I had collided with a monstrous figure. It would have been better if it were a monstrous figure, because what I saw when I stood up left me in shock.

Liam! I had been so preoccupied with my family drama that I had forgotten someone like him existed.

"You have a problem with seeing, Zoey. And you suck at basketball," Liam said as he picked up the ball from the floor.

I looked over and saw Gemma staring at us as if she was hypnotized by Liam. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged, lifting the ball above his head. "I came to play. Or is it a crime to play basketball on this court? I know very well that you don't own this place."

I shot him a sharp look. "Well, you have the whole court to yourself." I started walking away toward Gemma. "Let's go somewhere where I won't have to dread anything."

Grabbing my bag, I began to walk away, with Gemma following me, trying to catch up. We walked past an empty soccer field, heading toward my limo parked in the parking lot.

"Wait, Zoey," I heard a fading voice, almost like it was my imagination.

"Did you hear that?" I asked Gemma to confirm if it was real.

"Liam is heading our way," she said simply, as if she had known before I asked.

I turned to face Liam's direction, arms wrapped around my chest, watching as he walked slowly through the soccer field.

He knew I was waiting for him and then decided to walk like a snail. I mean, what's wrong with this guy?

Feeling irritated and angry, I started walking away to the car. Noticing Gemma had left me and was answering a call near the car.

"Wait," Liam shouted, his voice clearer this time. "I need to talk to you."

I stopped. "About what?"

"I know what I did was wrong, and I'm sorry. Being at home for the past month and watching the news made me realize that. I shouldn't have done all that to you," Liam said, tilting his head. "I mean, your life already sucks, why make it worse?"

I felt my blood boiling, my hand clenched into a fist, ready to throw it at his ugly face. I couldn't believe I had waited for him to tell me that. How could he?

"What's your problem, Liam?" Gemma shouted, taking my side. Her anger was evident, blazing like a burning flame.

"Shush, nerd face," Liam snorted. "I'm sure you only have the guts to say my name because you're friends with a mean girl. No matter how you change your style of clothing, you still look like a pile of trash."

"Does that make you any better? You got expelled from school two weeks after resumption. Can't you see your existence is tormenting?" I retorted, unsure if that was a way to deflate his rudeness.

But what came next was unexpected. "Speaking of reportage, I watched it." I turned to Gemma with a look of confusion. "Your dad killed your mom by stabbing her, and then your sister. Just because you managed to escape death doesn't make you a death lord."

I could feel the sudden pain that swept through Liam's heart. He stood there like a statue. I don't know why, but I felt bad for him, and I'm sure Gemma regretted her words.

Like a dove swept away by a flood, he left, walking back to the field. The way I was feeling at that moment, I couldn't explain. Gemma didn't talk to me throughout the ride home.

I sat on my bed with my laptop on my lap. I searched for the news regarding Liam's deceased mom and sister. A cold chill went down my spine as I discovered that Gemma was right: Liam's dad had killed his wife and daughter and was currently in prison.

With the thought of that, I kept wondering how he must've survived the pain of losing his mother and sister, with his dad in prison.

Who does he stay with? How did he manage to act like nothing happened? He must've forgotten, and Gemma just reminded him of his pain.

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