The Bet [COMPLETED]

Chapter 7: Apology gone bad

No matter what I did I couldn't blame Joe for what had happened. I should have never told Joe something so personal of hers. What came over me?

Those thoughts pondered my mind all night without reaching a possible solution to the situation. It didn't help that Mom came home drunk again, too. Why was everything going downhill all of a sudden? Why did it hurt me so much to see Robin's expression that way? Was it really because of that bet? Normally, no matter how hurt girls seemed I couldn't care less about them. Was Robin really that different?

Just as expected, Robin went back to square one; she acted as if I didn't exist. Joe had no idea what he did yesterday and I didn't bother to remind him either. He'd probably feel terrible about it anyway, and that wouldn't have helped with anything. Instead of remedying the situation all I did was avoid her. But I couldn't stand to do that all day long. I just didn't know how I could apologize to her.

I gathered what was left of my courage together and stopped by the library during recess. At first I couldn't spot her anywhere. But apparently she was searching for a book. She took her usual seat after she found the right book.

Okay, I told myself, here goes nothing...

I went over to her and sat across from her, burying my face in a book right after. And surely enough I heard the sound of a chair pull back before the sound of another moving chair was made. She wasn't sitting there anymore. Well now, wasn't she acting childishly? Although I tried to act strong on the outside, on the inside I was a wreck.

Oh well, it was a minor setback, right? I could still fix this. I had to.

I stared at her until she looked at me as well. Robin quickly averted her eyes again. I couldn't help but feel a pang in my chest at this. But hey, at least she bothered to look, right?

I glanced at my watch. There was still a minute or so left. Good. I ripped a piece of paper from my Math notebook and scribbled something down on it. Then I walked over to her and slipped it in her book when she wasn't looking. Or at least, when I thought she wasn't looking. Apparently she did notice it.

She ripped the paper into tiny little pieces. I stopped halfway to the door and turned around to look at her. She continued to read her book as if nothing had happened. Well, I guess I couldn't really force her to forgive me. But still...

I sighed and left the library anyway. I'd have to think of something else then.

I randomly walked along the music room after school and heard someone play the piano. I peeked inside and found that it really was Robin. I opened the door before she was done playing. Her hands stopped abruptly. Judging by her glare I wasn't welcomed here at all.

"I need to talk to you," I told her. It was a clichéd way to start an apology, but I couldn't think of anything better to say.

She simply stood up, snatched her schoolbag and walked past me. But I grabbed her arm to stop her. She broke my grip.

"Won't you please listen?" I said, feeling unusually desperate all of a sudden.

"No," she said simply.

I placed one arm around her shoulders before she made another step. I could feel her heart skip a beat. I pressed my face against hers and whispered in her ear: "Please?"

Robin reached out to my arm and tried to break herself free. "No, let me go already."

"No," I told her, getting a bit frustrated at her, "Okay, I don't care if you don't want to listen to me, I'll talk anyway." I threw my free arm around her waist due to her endless struggling. She took a deep breath and finally stood still. "I'm very, very, VERY sorry for what I did."

She started to struggle again. "Just leave me alone!"

"No, be quiet and listen," I ordered her, but doing my best to remain composed, "I shouldn't have told Joe anything. I happened to have told him about it the day of the party. But even so I hesitated before saying anything."

"But you still told him."

"I know, and I hate myself for that."

"You... really hurt me, you know?" Her voice cracked.

I sighed, allowing my breath to caress her neck. "I'm sorry."

Robin lowered her head. Teardrops fell onto my arms. I squeezed her tighter, but she hissed "Back off". I finally pulled away from her. She just walked away. I figured she just needed time to think it over so I didn't see the need to follow her.

If only I had...

Leaving the school grounds a sudden crash grabbed my attention. It seems someone had gotten into a car accident. It wasn't until after I grew closer to the scene that I realized whose car that was.

"Robin!!" I shouted, quickly making my way to her driver's seat.

I found her staring at her hands. They shook violently. Blood rolled down her fingers to her wrist. I looked at the other car. The man wasn't in that good of a state, either, but he still left his car to come check up on Robin.

He asked me if she was okay. I couldn't answer him. I just stared at her. Then I snapped out of it. "Call the ambulance or something!" I told him.

The man nodded and turned away again.

"Robin, what's wrong with your hands? Do they hurt?" I asked her, not really knowing what else to say.

She shook her head. "I... c-can't move them..."

I gasped. It was true. Just because her hands were shaking didn't mean she could move her fingers around.

"All I did... was hold down... the airbag..." she muttered.

I took a deep breath. "Don't worry; it's going to be alright..."

She shook her head again. "No it isn't..."

I was way too afraid to touch her. What if she suddenly yelled out in pain as soon as I placed a hand on her? So I took a few steps back and looked at the damages. She was obviously at fault here. Mom always told me the moment you hit a car in its rear you were at fault. But why the heck did Robin try to stop the airbag? Did it shock her that much?

I called Joe up and told him to meet me here. I quickly told him about the accident. He said he'd tell the others. An hour later the ambulance arrived and took Robin away with quite a lot of effort. She was lifted onto a stretcher and was brought inside the back of the ambulance. Joe arrived right after she and the man got taken away.

"What the hell happened here?" he asked me, coming out of his car.

That was when everything dawned upon me. I fell to my knees. Joe rushed to me. It was all my fault. If I hadn't forced my apology onto her for my conscience's sake, she would have never gotten distracted. Forget the stupid bet. If something were to happen to her I'd... I'd...

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Joe asked me worried, "You weren't in that car with her, were you?"

I didn't answer him. I just stayed in that position and cried.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Yay for another plot twist~ Poor guy feels like his bet is going downhill rapidly xDDD; Also, I was writing along to this song as I wrote this chapter, especially near the accident part. I seem to have gotten an unusual liking to Vocaloid all of a sudden;;*