Moon Ridge Valley

Chapter Five

For three days, I tried calling Skye. She never answered and did not return any of my calls. I wasn't sure if she was still upset with me because of our talk or if she was upset because Chloe shared the details of our conversation.

Nevertheless, the two weeks had passed, and it was time for me to return to school. My situation was by no means sorted out, but I did not fear the reaction of my friends or the other students any longer. For me, things had blown over, but it didn't stay that way for long. When I walked into the school, I saw people gathered around my locker pointing and whispering. As I approached me locker, the crowd parted ways. I couldn't figure out why everyone was acting strangely, but then, I looked up and noticed that someone had spray painted a poem on my locker. Initially, I thought one of the boys tried to be sweet but ended up failing miserably. However, there was nothing sweet about the poem.

"Roses are red. Violets are blue. Stay away from my man, or I'm gonna kill you." I read the poem and had the same hollow feeling in my gut that I had when Skye left my house.

I knew that blaming Skye would be a bad move, but I needed to get to the bottom of this. If Skye was the one who wrote the poem, our friendship was over. Nonetheless, I couldn't be sure that she was. After all, I had feelings for three different guys. The poem could be talking about any on the three. I kept my mouth shut and pretended like nothing happened until lunchtime. I went to the quad and pulled Chloe aside.

"Chloe, I need to know how you know Omar. I know you saw my locker. I need to figure out who did it and why. You are the only person I can think of that has relevant information," I spoke calmly trying to hide my real feelings.

"I told you to talk to Skye," Chloe said unwaveringly.

"Chloe, I can't talk to someone who won't talk to me, but you already know that. I think you are covering for your cousin, but rest assured that if I find out you knew who was responsible for tagging my locker, I will report you."

"Whatever Riley, you are way too much drama!" Chloe didn't mean to yell, but she was frustrated that she had to help me with problems on a weekly basis.

I shared the same sentiment. Moreover, I was tired of my so-called friends hiding things from me.

"Who needs you anyway, Chloe? Omar is a better friend than you ever will be." I didn't realize that everyone was listening to our conversation.

When I turned around to walk away, Skye sucker punched me in the face and said, "I told you to stay away from my man! This is your final warning."

I could feel my face swelling as I ran to the office. I reported Chloe and Skye. I knew there would be backlash, but I didn't care anymore. They needed to get what they deserved. On my way to the nurse, I bumped into Omar. When he saw my face, he knew what had happened before I had to say anything.

"Skye punched you, didn't she?" His question sounded more like a statement.

I could barely open my mouth, but I was able to say, "I know she's your girlfriend, so stay away from me."