Falling Apart

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

                “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you all. I’m assuming that everyone here enjoyed their break.” Mr. Richter said as class started the first day back from our week long break. “I hope that you all took the time to complete your packets because I’ve decided to count it as a test.”

                Immediately, half of the class exploded in a series of groans and complaints as Mr. Richter shook his head with disapproval at the amount of people who didn’t do their assignments. “Mr. Richter, can we have an extra day to do it?” a student asked from the back of the class.

                Mr. Richter snorted before shaking his head. “No. You all had enough time to complete this. Now for everyone who followed the instructions and did it, pass it up.”

                I took my packet out of my folder, passing it to the student who sat in front of me. My eyes suddenly wandered around the classroom as Mr. Richter went up and down the aisles to collect everyone’s assignments. I knew I shouldn’t have been, but my eyes were scanning the rows of students in search of Jace. I hadn’t seen him all day, and from the looks of it, he didn’t bother showing up to Calculus, either. I slumped back in my seat, crossing my arms. I was frustrated with myself for even caring enough to wonder where Jace was.

                After class, I would’ve normally made my way towards the cafeteria for lunch. But on this particular day, I didn’t feel like being overwhelmed with the scent of cafeteria food and loud chatters from the other students. I made a beeline for the library, but before I even got to step in, I was stopped when a hand was placed on my shoulder. Turning around, I stared up at Ryan, who gave me a crooked smile. “Hey,” he paused, removing his hand from my shoulder as he scratched the back of his neck, “can we talk?”

                I wasn’t mad at Ryan- not anymore, at least. Sure, I was angry at Ryan for the first few hours, but after I realized that he genuinely did try to warn me about Christiana’s outburst, I forgave him.

                I nodded, rather hesitantly, before following Ryan into an empty classroom that wasn’t used during this period. I sat on top of one of the desks, perching my elbows against my kneecaps as I stared at Ryan with an eyebrow raised. “What do you want to talk about?” I asked, cutting straight to the chase.

                Ryan seemed uneasy as he ran a hand through his messy blonde hair. This was the first time that I’ve seen Ryan like this- well, not counting the time he was nervous about asking Julianne out, of course. Other than that, I’ve never seen Ryan this uncollected and stressed out before. When Ryan’s eyes met mine no more than a second later, I knew what Ryan wanted to talk about. The flash of regret and guilt in his eyes let me know right away. “Everly, I-.” he started off before I interrupted him.

                “You want to apologize.” I finished Ryan’s sentence.

                Ryan looked up at me, frowning all of the sudden. “How did you know?” he asked curiously. “Did Julianne tell you? I specifically told her not to.”

                I released a bitter laugh, shaking my head. “No, she didn’t tell me.” I said. “But, you have guilty tattooed on your forehead. It doesn’t take a genius to know why you want to talk to me all of the sudden.”

                Ryan sighed, staring at me with an honest apologetic look. “I am really sorry, Everly.”

                I gave Ryan a tight smile, nodding understandingly to let him know that he was forgiven. “It’s okay. I wasn’t mad at you for that long, anyways.”