#Chapter 23 Bandages Ripped Off Hurt More
It took me a while to calm down enough and gather my energy together to move from that
spot. But Alex spoke to me the entire time, right until he, miraculously, ran out of things to
say for the moment. We ended up not hanging up, just breathing on both sides of the phone
until I got home.
I’ve been sleeping a bit better recently despite anxiety with the performance coming up. Getting home that day and imagining Alex talking as I started falling asleep….uhm. As embarrassing as it is to say, I can’t deny that may be a part of why.
3
Anyway, I get to school the next day with a fresher mind than I’ve had for the last few.
It’s good that I am since the upcoming play is only three days away. Thankfully, it’s on a night Alex doesn’t have a hockey game, so he’ll be free to play his part. Still, seeing all the effort he puts into his own interests and mine…
If only Alex wasn’t a bit of a mindless flirt, he’d be a really good boyfriend.
I think I’m mature enough to admit that.
He’d be pretty good boyfriend material.
I grumble, thinking about how much he’d tease me if I ever said that to his face, stuffing the rest of my school papers in my backpack. Alex has hockey practice today, so it’s my time to show support and watch him skate. I’ve been learning more about the game since that quiz we played, so it’s gotten more interesting.
As such, after zipping my bag up, I’m actually eager to see what’ll happen at the rink.
On my way there, though, I almost trip myself trying to stop. There’s a familiar voice
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coming from the hallway I’m about to pass,
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“Okay, Oliver, I’m not a freaking idiot. So try that again, and I’ll just end it right now.”
Danielle’s voice sounds rings with a livid undertone that’s, frankly, startling. While I know it’s bad to eavesdrop…I still peek from around the corner, trying to see what’s happening.
Danielle’s there, standing in front of Oliver, her hands on her hips as she fusses with him.
He looks…worse for wear.
His hair seems duller than I remember, and his stress is clear in the way his face scrunches up with indignation. Still, he’s cornered there, blocked by his current girlfriend to explain…
something.
Maybe she’s actually taken what I said to heart.
“I just want you to be honest with me. I get you said you were friends with her, but were you more than that?”
Oliver runs his fingers through his hair, looking exasperated. “I already told you, she’s just delusional. Lonely people are like that.”
My teeth clench, and a part of me wants to find out if I can throw my backpack and hit him in the face with it. But knowing my arm strength, it wouldn’t even reach him.
Danielle doesn’t say anything, so Oliver continues.
“Like, she does that. She doesn’t have anything better to do with her life, so she spends it making up stories about how we’re together. I just wanted to be friends with her as kids, but she took it too far.” He grumbles. “I was too nice to her.”
Before I can blow my cover with some sort of scream, Danielle starts laughing. There’s a cruelty to it that even Oliver notices.
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“Right, right… I’m going to give you literally one more chance.” She pokes his chest with a manicured finger. “Tell me straight or shut the fuck up.”
Oliver has the audacity to look affronted. “…What is it you want me to say?”
“The truth!”
“Okay? I am! You’re the one who apparently thinks I’m lying!”
“I’m not an idiot, Oakley,” she grumbles, pulling out her phone. She shows him something
on the screen that makes him go pale. “Your boy ratted you out after I confronted him. So try again, and tell me straight.”
His boy?
…Ah, she probably means Gunther. He’s not one to tell secrets, not that I know. But with
someone as much influence as Danielle, it’s possible that he felt like his hands were tied
when she confronted him.
And Gunther was one of the few people who knew we were dating. He might’ve even been the only one, having caught us while Oliver kissed my cheek.
Even so, he did nothing while maybe knowing Oliver was cheating on me, so I don’t have any really good opinions about him. He’s on the hockey team, that’s all. And now, apparently, he’s the kind to tell secrets depending on who asks.
I’ll at least let him fly this once since it helps me out.
Oliver stares at the screen, reading what’s there, before he sighs.
“…Listen, I didn’t want to tell you about it…”
“Why? Because that would mean you’re cheating on me?”
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I blink, surprised. If anything, isn’t she the second girl?
“No, no, it’s just… Look, Cynthia, she…” He closes his eyes as though in pain. “…She threatened to kill herself if I didn’t go out with her.”
My mouth drops open, rage nearly bursting from my chest. How dare he!
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“I didn’t want to tell you…anyone. I didn’t want to tell anyone about it because I felt…I felt so trapped, Danielle. Seriously. It’s…embarrassing. And, I mean, she was my friend! I really did like her as a friend for a long while! So I felt…bad for her, you know? She hasn’t had anything good happen to her in her life, so I thought I could just…play along. Maybe if I did it for a while, she’d let it go, but…”
With Danielle’s silence, he reaches forward, taking a hold of her shoulders. Pleading with
her.
“I’m so serious, you’re the only one I’ve ever loved. And…I’m done with her. I finished it on New Years, okay? That was the last straw…her stalking took it too far. From now on, I promise, it’ll just be us. I mean it, Danielle. Please, believe me.”
Danielle’s quiet for a long moment. I bite the inside of my lip just a tad too hard, tasting
blood.
Is she really going to fall for this?
Is Oliver going to win against me again?
Am I just…destined to be at the bottom of the totem pole no matter who I’m compared
with?
“…If she was in such a hurry to kill herself, why didn’t she do it after she saw us together?”
“Huh?”
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“You heard me. If she was really threatening to kill herself, why wasn’t she found dead the next morning or something? Huh? And why would she agree with you to keep it a secret so you could romp around with me? Fool me into thinking you’re single,”
“…Did you talk to her?”
“Tch, ow…”
His hands clench on her shoulders as he pulls her closer,
“You talked with her, didn’t you? You shouldn’t. She just…says stuff that gets under your skin. She may look quiet, but she’s not believable. And you shouldn’t trust anything she says. Or Gunther, for that matter. He’s been on her side since the beginning, Listen-
But she doesn’t.
She shoves out of his hold and-
SMAK!!
-slaps him.
“…What the hell is wrong with you? Did you just try to gaslight me?”
“Wait, Danielle-”
“Don’t.”
She backs away from him the moment he steps forward, her voice pitched with what I
imagine is disgust and horror mixed together. I see her look him up and down, as though actually seeing him for the first time.
“…Don’t ever approach me again.”
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“C’mon, don’t be like this-
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“If you do, I’m telling my dad. And I’ll get a restraining order. Or something. Just…don’t even look in my direction. Ever.”
She stumbles slightly, but she quickly turns and starts rushing away. I don’t bother trying to hide that I was listening, waiting in the hall as she turns.
Danielle startles upon seeing me, the two of us locking eyes. Her mouth scrunches up in distaste, then she’s stomping away.
Right… I don’t think we can ever like each other. But at least she listened.
Once she’s further away, I peek down the hall to look at Oliver. He’s sitting against the wall with his head in his hands, fingers curling in his hair.
…Well, that has nothing to do with me. Not anymore.
So, I pass the hall, continuing Alex’s hockey practice.
As the boys start playing, they do so without Oliver there. Alex shoots me worried looks for
some reason, but I brush them off. After all, it’s not like we confronted each other.
Oliver never shows up to practice that day.
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