Bullet

Chapter 13 - Oblivious Secrets

Chapter 13
Oblivious Secrets

A/N - So I've decided to enter Bullet into the Watty's this year, thanks to the encouragement of Katie & Noelle who came up with the idea! It's also thanks to the support of the rest of you as well, for being so sweet and supportive since the first chapter. You're all amazing & I couldn't thank you enough. So wish me luck with this, and please keep me in mind when the voting opens for the Watty's. Love you all! xoxo - Jess.

I woke up Monday morning with a sickening feeling in my gut. It was enough to make me want to run to the bathroom and wretch into the toilet. My fingers were trembling and my body was sweating at just the mere thoughts of what today held. How would people look at me? What would they say to me? Would they say anything at all?

When I mentioned the idea of changing schools to my mom, the conversation just seemed to be one-sided. I kept giving her options that would allow me to go off to a different school, maybe move away to a new city and start fresh. But she would just wave me off with a flick of her hand and go back to reading her latest romance novel that she was invested in on her off nights from the hospital. The only thing I could get out of her in formal words was, ‘I can’t leave my job at the hospital, Callie.’

So then, as a proper child birthed from two level-headed parents, I ran straight for my dad’s office space. He was a far better listener than she was, actually keeping his eyes on me while I spoke my side of this argument and nodded along to my options that I listed off on each finger while I went. I was almost excited at the prospect of getting someone on my side of this until he gave me a tight smile when I finished my speech. 

“Cal, I’m still documented at the Rec Center. If I leave the meetings, I’ll get in trouble. If it was a different situation…” he grimaced. 

“But you don’t understand! You and Mom get to hide out at home while I get pushed back into the place that Clay unleashed all of his…crap! I can’t go back there, Dad! I can’t do it,” I shook my head furiously with my arms crossed at my chest. 

He sighed heavily, turning in his chair to fully face me. “We can’t do it, honey. As much as I wish I could take you away from all of this…it’s just not a good time.”

It was safe to say that I wasn’t going anywhere for the time being. The mere thought of stepping foot back into that school scared me beyond belief. It wasn’t fair that Clay had chosen his own actions and now everyone had to pay for them. He was away, paying for his mistakes on the city’s terms, but he wasn’t stuck going back to the place that he ruined. 

If I had someone to tag along with me and hold my hand then this day might have seemed a tad bit better. But Marnie had been MIA since the day of the ‘incident’ and Grayson was still strapped to his hospital bed until at least the middle of this week. I had to shake off the nerves and start the day off by myself, much to my dismay. I carefully pulled a sweater from a hanger in my closet and slipped on a pair of skinny jeans before I slowly made my way out of my room and downstairs to join my parents at the table for breakfast. 

My mom was making blueberry pancakes, which she knew were my favorite, causing the griddle to sizzle against thick batter. The smell overtook my senses, making my stomach churn once more. I couldn’t fathom touching food right now with the weary feeling going on in my stomach. Placing a hand over my middle, I slid into the seat and slacked my body. 

“I’m making your favorite, Cal,” she grinned slightly, obviously doing this to make up for the fact that she couldn’t take me out of school and relocate the family because of her job. 

“I’m not hungry,” I grumbled. 

She placed a plate of small pancakes in front of me, along with a glass of orange juice. I decided against the food and sipped lightly at the drink, hoping it wouldn’t react badly with the anxiety bubbling in my stomach.