Bittersweet

Unwanted Past (Ch. 3)

~Clementine's POV~
-Still Monday

I walk out of my dorm leaving Rebecca and Ashton alone.

Annette brings me into her dorm.

"What... what things have you been through? What happened when you were in highschool?" She asks me.

"What?" I furrow my eyebrows.

"We all have a past." She mumbles.

"Yeah, and I'd like not to speak of mine." I chuckle.

"What happened." She keeps asking.

"Why are you being so nice? Why are you so curious about my past? Weren't you just pushing and tripping me an hour ago?" I snap.

"I... look I'm sorry about all of that. I was just mad how you got to room with him. I just couldn't believe he was actually your boyfriend." She apologizes.

"Well, apology accepted. But that doesn't mean I feel... I don't feel comfortable about you knowing my past." I tell her.

"I... I just want t-" She pleads but I stop her.

"Stop! Just stop, please. It's too painful to even talk about." I stand up and head to the door. I walk out into the hall when she yells the unbelievable.

"I know your parents died." She says.

I turn.

"What?" I snarl.

"Yeah... I know." She sighs

"How? Who told y-" I stop what I'm saying.

It came to me that there is only one person here who would know that.

I bust open the door to my dorm and head straight to Ashton.

"Did you tell her that..." I look at Rebecca.

"Did you tell her about the incident?" I rephrase myself.

"What?"

"Ashton, please don't play clueless with me. Did you tell her!?"

"Yes, but.."

"But why?!"

"Clem?" I hear Rebecca utter.

I place my hands behind my head. I grab my phone and walk out.

Ashton grabs me.

"Clem."

"Ashton, why did tell her? I thought that college would be a new experience, a fresh start! A way for me to..." I stop I look down.

"To what?"

"Nothing, it doesn't matter anymore." I take myself out of his grasp, I turn to start walking.

"To what Clem?!" He yells.

"To erase my past." I mutter not turning around. I keep walking.

I find myself outside on a school bench.

I hear someone walking up to me. I turn to see Rebecca.

She sits down next to me.

"Um, does that happen often?" She asks.

"Yeah, but I've been able to overlook it." I give her a weak smile.

"What we're you guys talking about in there?" She asks.

"Rebecca..."

"Clem?" She looks at me.

"Everyone has a past. Nobody want a past like mine. Everyone wants, dreams even, of that happy family. That want, that dream was destroyed for me at a young age." I feel tears fill my eyes. I look down.

Rebecca stays silent so I continue.

"Um... my father died when I was around 8 I think. It's been so long. My mom died from brain damage and... well I had to live with my best friend  afterwards."

"Clementine..."

"It, we got news that I could be and possibly would taken away from them. They were my only family left. We won the case so I wasn't taken away." I shrug my shoulders.

"Many things happened from then on and now I'm here." I look up with tears streaming down my face.

"I'm so sorry." She hugs me.

"Talking about it just brings me back. I could've done something to prevent my mom from dieing or wishing my dad was still here. Talking about highschool, brings back those horrendous memories that I want to just erase." I speak.

"Clementine..."

"I still blame myself to this day." I sigh.

"You can't keep blaming yourself."

"I have been ever since it happened."

"Clementine, I know it's hard t-"

"Um, let's just forget about it?" I say softly and stand up. I wipe away the tears from my face. I walk back inside.

When I get back to my dorm, I don't say a word to Ashton.

He tries to talk to me but I ignore him. Then he speaks one last time.

"When you said 'erase my past'..." I turn my attention to him.

"I didn't mean it that way." I play with my thumbs.

"Okay." He nods.

"Why did you tell her?" My voice barley a whisper.

"I thought she'd be nicer to you." He answers.

"So bringing up my past. So she'd give me pity?" I raise an eyebrow.

"More like a sincere apology." He retorts.

"It's still doesn't make it right." I snap.

"Clementine."

"It still hurts. Just to say their names. Bringing up the whole incident?" I question him.

"I didn't think she was going to ask you about it." He responds.

"That's the problem, you don't think! No one will ever understand what I had to go through. You don't even. To make myself think you do was so stupid!" I yell.

"I'm sorry... okay? Is that all you want to hear?" He says sarcastically.

"What I want to hear is for you to never bring up that stupid incident ever again." I snarl.

"Clem."

"It's so hard to not think about it! There are always thoughts going through my head thinking that it's my fault! That maybe if I was there I could've done something!" I cry.

"Clem."

"Just... let it go." I walk to the bathroom and slam the door.

"Clem!" Is the last thing I hear. I lean against the wall and hug my knees. I cry into them.

"No one will ever understand."

**************
Hey! Hope you all are liking this book, let alone this chapter. Comment for any errors so I can fix them. Comment for any ideas you come up with I'm always open to adding ideas into my book. Just make sure they make sense with the plot. Vote if you liked this chapter, and yeah, bye!

♢Alabama♢