Chapter 23

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Chapter 23

                I didn’t know what to expect when I got off the elevator on the second floor of the suites. I walked down the long hallway, looking at each of the doors for room number 231. In my hands, tightly clutched, was the note that Everett had left for me. With each step I took, my heart was beating quicker against my ribcage, and my palms had become sweaty from anticipation.

                On my way from the ballroom towards the suites, I kept thinking of what I could possibly say to Everett when I saw him. I was completely positive that I still had feelings for him- strong feelings. For the past two years, I hadn’t stopped loving him, not even once. I finally settled on telling Everett about my feelings when I saw him. I was going to tell him that I never stopped loving him, and I could only cross my fingers, hoping that he could feel the same way about me.

I let out a shaky breath, as I stopped at the last door of the hallway, room 231. My hands were trembling from nervousness, as I placed my palms on the golden door handle. Twisting the knob, I pushed the door open.

                Everything that I saw after that was a complete blur.

                I froze in my place, my body becoming numb. My lips were slightly parted from shock, as I stared at Everett, who was shirtless. His dress shirt and bow tie was tossed off to the corner of the bed, his belt unbuckled. A smear of Cassandra’s fuchsia pink lipstick was smudged over the nape of his neck, as she straddled him with her dress unzipped.

                At first, I thought my eyes were deceiving me. I couldn’t believe any of this, since I had just seen Cassandra downstairs in the ballroom not too long ago. The two of us were having a great time- we were both dancing together. How could she do this to me?

                But then, I registered everything in. From the look in Everett’s eyes, full of regret and sorrow, to Cassandra’s impassive and pale face.

                Holding in my tears, I gulped down the bulge that was in my throat. “I’m sorry for interrupting.” I managed to squeak quietly, before I turned my back on the both of them.

                Once I stepped outside the room, I made a dash towards the elevator. I was alone now, and there was no point in holding back to tears that were already streaming down my cheeks. I heard Everett cursing loudly, as footsteps ran up behind me. A hand was placed on my wrist, as I shook it off angrily. My heart was shattering into pieces, because I thought Cassandra was my friend, and I thought that Everett might return the feelings I had for him. But obviously, I was wrong, once again. I was stupid and naive.

                “Riley, please let me explain.” Everett said, the look in his eyes showing that he was desperate. “It wasn’t what it looked it, I swear.”

                Tears blurred my vision, as I shook my head weakly. I let out a hoarse laugh, barely recognizing how my voice sounded. My heart was hurting with each breath I took, as I took in a deep breath of air. “I really don’t want to hear it, Everett.” I whispered.

                Everett clenched his jaw, as he inched closer to me, making me take a step back. His eyes flashed with pain, as I stared away from him. I shifted my gaze on the floor, dipping my head low. “Riley,” he said lowly, “what happened in there with Cassandra was an accident. She came onto me.”

                I closed my eyes, as a heavy drop of water fell from my eyes. “An accident, huh?” I repeated. “So Cassandra’s lips just accidentally slipped onto yours? Your clothes just accidentally flew on the floor?”

                Everett was left speechless. I finally felt victorious- because for the first time, I got the last word with Everett. But, how come I didn’t feel like a winner? His face looked as if I had just slapped him, but I didn’t care. I was too tired- too numb to say or do anything. I pursed my lips, biting the insides of my cheeks, as I turned away from him.

                “You have to believe me, Riley.” Everett suddenly said, making my heart sting.

                I was already a few feet away from him, turning back around. I stared at him with empty eyes- as if I didn’t know who he was anymore. He ruined everything. “Believe you?” I asked, letting out a bitter laugh. “Give me a reason why I should believe you, Everett.”

                All Everett had to say was those three words, eight letters, and I would have been his without any control. My heart wanted him to say those words so badly because if he didn’t, I wasn’t sure if things between us were going to ever be fine.

                “Because I-I,” Everett started off, looking so troubled, “I need you.”

                I blinked, before I gave him a faint smile. Shaking my head, I let out a croaky laugh. I licked my dry lips, shrugging. “Sorry, Everett.” I said, feeling my heart drop to the very pit of my stomach. “Needing me isn’t good enough.”

                I turned around, walking towards the elevator, never looking back. This time, Everett didn’t come chasing after me.

                I stepped onto the elevator alone, pressing the button to the lobby of the hotel. Tears were flowing down my temples uncontrollably now, as I buried my face into my palms, wondering how stupid I was to believe for a second that maybe Everett loved me back.

                The elevator doors spread apart as I took a step out on the marble flooring. I nearly collapsed as the heel of my shoes snapped off. Before my knees crashed down onto the floor, a pair of arms snaked around my waist, pulling me back up. I let out a whimper not having enough energy to even see who it was that saved me from a fatal fall. Before I knew it, someone was helping me limp across the hotel lobby towards the seating area, all while guests and workers stared at me with concerned faces.

                Once my bottom hit the couch, the person who saved me kneeled in front of me, unsnapping my heels off. “Riley, are you okay?” Max asked with worriedly, tossing my broken heel off to the side. “Why are you crying?”

                Hot tears left burning streaks down my cheek, as I recollected the memories of Cassandra straddling Everett just a few minutes ago. The thought of them two together made my heart ache in pain, as moist tears left my eyes. Max never took his eyes off of me, as I scooted over so that he had a seat on the couch beside me. He put an arm around me, pulling me into his shoulder. I buried my face into him, leaving stains of tears on his dress shirt.

*

                It was Monday, the first school day after the wedding. I was dreading to go to school because I knew that I was going to have to face Cassandra and Everett. After Max spent the rest of the night with me during the wedding, I eventually told him about everything I saw. I didn’t know if Max was going to believe me or not, since he solemnly swore he loved Cassandra, but he did. Max had known me longer than Cassandra and he trusted me.

                As far as I was concerned, Max broke up with Cassandra the day after the wedding. Everett had tried phoning me a few times, but every time I saw his name flashing across my screen, I wanted to throw my phone across the room. I eventually turned my phone off for the entire weekend, ignoring all calls.

                I was late to class in the morning, but then again, I didn’t really see the point in showing up on time anyways. Every time I had a motivation for something- a drive, it came backfiring right in front of my face. Once I entered History class, all heads snapped up, including Maria. She looked at me with anger flashing across her eyes, as I took an empty seat in the front row.

                “Do you have a late pass, Miss Monroe?” the teacher asked, raising an eyebrow as he stopped his lesson. I shook my head weakly, as he gave me a disappointed look. “See me after class, please.”

                Everyone looked at me with shocked faces, because as far as they knew, I was one of the highest achievers in school with a perfect GPA and attendance record. The rare occasions I’m late to class is when I’m helping a teacher out or staying in my previous class a few minutes later to take an exam. Other than that, I’ve never been late without an excuse.

                For the rest of class, I pressed the side of my head against my desk, barely paying any attention to the lesson. My mind was too occupied in something else, and every now and then, I got looks of irritation from Maria. I knew it was wrong to ignore her calls during the weekend, since I disappeared from her mother’s wedding, but I needed time alone.

                The bell finally rang after a long half an hour, as everyone quickly packed up to leave. I slowly got up from my chair once everyone was gone, trudging towards the teacher’s desk. “You wanted to see me, sir?” I asked emotionlessly.

                The teacher looked up from his desk, nodding. “Normally, if a student is late to a class without an excuse, I would give them lunch detention.” He paused. “But, I know this isn’t like you Riley. Is something going on?”

                I shook my head, obviously lying. “No, I’m fine.” I muttered. “I’m just having a rough week.”

                The teacher gave me a sympathetic look, before ripping up the detention slip that he had written for me when I walked to class late. “I’ll give you an exception this time, okay?” he smiled weakly, as I gave him a thankful look. “Try not to be late again.”

                I nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

                I exited out of his class, prepared to skip lunch to spend my spare time at the library by myself, but instead, Maria stepped in front of me. Her arms were crossed, and she had a look on her face told me clearly that she was not pleased. “Riley, what’s going on?” she asked with a slight edge in her tone. I opened my mouth to tell her nothing, but before I got to speak, she cut me off. “And don’t give me some bullshit answer, because I know that something’s been going on. You’ve been ignoring my calls ever since you just ditched my mother’s wedding. It’s only fair if you start giving me answers.”

                “Maria, I don’t want to talk.” I mumbled under my breath, trying to step away.

                Before I could even take a single step, Maria shot her arm out, stopping me. “No, Riley!” she snapped angrily. “Am I the only one who doesn’t know what’s going on? Because no one is telling me! Everett’s locked himself up in his room for the entire weekend, Max keeps making excuses every time I asked, and Cassandra-“

                “Don’t say her name!” I said immediately, as if it was an instinctive reflex. Painful memories came flooding into my mind at the mention of her name, as I let in a deep breath of air. “Please don’t say her name.”

                As if on cue, Maria’s features softened, as she whispered, “Riley, what happened?”

                I leaned against the wall, sliding myself down. I pulled my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around myself. Maria sighed with defeat, as she kneeled down at my level. After a long moment of silence, I began to speak. “The night of your mother’s wedding, you gave me a note in the bathroom, do you remember?” I asked, as Maria nodded. “The note said to meet me at one of the suites upstairs, so I left the party to go. I had a feeling the note was from Everett, but when I went inside the room, I didn’t expect to see him and Cassandra.”

                I looked over at Maria, whose lips were parted with disbelief. Before I knew it, Maria stepped up from beside me, stomping down the empty corridors. I stared at her with uncertainty, and winced when she punched a nearby locker.

                I didn’t realize what was happening at first, when the fact that Maria was going to find Cassandra registered in my mind, I ran after her. I couldn’t find Maria from where I’d seen her walk off, but I knew that when I did find her, she wasn’t going to go easy on Cassandra. I cursed under my breath, running outside to the courtyard to find Max. He told me earlier that he was going to spend lunch with a few guys on the football team. I found Max’s blonde hair sitting at one of the picnic tables, under a tree. He was laughing along with a joke one of his friends told, but when he spotted my frantic face, his smile dropped. “Riley, is everything-“

                “You little bitch!” I heard a scream, as all heads turned around to see when it came from.

                Maria was chasing Cassandra around the courtyard, the two girls running at top speed. Maria caught up to Cassandra in no time, since Cassandra chose today to wear a pair of flats while Maria was in boots. Maria jumped over Cassandra’s back, sending her down on the pavement. Everyone gasped, surrounding them as Max and I looked at each other. We wasted no time in running towards the mess, trying to get Maria off of Cassandra.

                “You tricked us all, you piece of shit!” Maria cursed, her hands pinning Cassandra’s arms down as she tried to wiggle out of her grip. “Did you really think that you were going to fuck everything up like that and get away with it?”

                Max and I squeezed ourselves through the crowd, trying to pull Maria off. Maria kicked and screamed, as Cassandra backed away from her, crawling on the concrete. I tried to calm Maria down by the corner, telling her to take in a deep breath. “Maria, you need to stop before you get in trouble, okay? She’s not worth it.” I soothed, as Maria scowled at Cassandra.

                I looked up at Max, noticing that his gaze hadn’t left Cassandra’s. The two were staring at each other, before Max broke the gaze by shaking his head. “You really are pathetic, Cassandra.” He said lowly, before helping Maria up.

                Once Max and I got Maria out of the crowd, we noticed that she had a scratch on her left cheek, blood oozing out from the cut. “Crap.” I muttered, as we sat Maria down on the pavement in the parking lot. I took out a napkin from my bag, dabbing it on her cut, trying to soak up the blood. “This is bad.”

                Maria finally calmed down, as she let out a bitter laugh. “It’s a cut, Riley.” She sighed. “I’m not going to die. Although, I wish I got to claw that bitch up just a little bit more.”

                Max chuckled weakly from above us, as he handed us a band-aid from his pocket. “Why did you do it though, Maria?” he asked.

                Maria shrugged, as I ripped the band-aid out of its package to stick it over her cut. “She messed with my friends on my mother’s wedding night.” She said, as we all let out a laugh. “She wasn’t going to get away with that without getting my two cents.”

                “Violence might’ve not been the best answer, Maria.” I paused, before giving her a genuine smile. “But, thanks, a lot.”

                After we cleaned Maria’s cut up, she decided that it was best if she skipped the rest of her afternoon classes. I skipped with her, but Max said that he had football practice after school and he couldn’t.

                “Do you want to come over to my house?” Maria asked from the passenger seat, as I took the authorities to be the driver. She noticed the quick expression of fear forming across my face, as she let out a weak laugh. “Don’t worry. I’m sure Everett won’t be home until the usual dismissal time.”  

                I let out a breath of relief, before nodding slowly. “Sure, I’ll come.”

                Mr. Rosenfeld and Mrs. Lopez were gone off to their honeymoon for the rest of the week, so Maria and I had the house of ourselves. We went straight towards the living room, turning on the television. We sat in silence, as Maria flipped through the channels, before stopping on one that was playing A Walk to Remember.

                I didn’t know when I fell asleep, but when I woke up, my head was lying on the armrest of the couch, a blanket draped over me. The television was turned off, along with the lights in the living room. I could hear faint voices speaking, but a mention of someone’s name made my eyes snap open. “Everett, she’s sleeping right now.” I heard Maria hiss. “And even if she was awake, I don’t think she’d want to talk to you.”

                “I just need to explain to Riley about what she saw.” I heard Everett say, making my heart skip a beat. “I-“

                “No, Everett!” Maria shouted. “Don’t you get it, you big idiot? You hurt her!”

                I foot accidentally slipped, hitting the leg of the coffee table set in front of me. I winced, as the speaking stopped. Maria groaned, and I could picture her glaring at Everett. “See what you did?” she spat. “You woke her up.”

                “Let me see her-“

                “No.” Maria said sternly. “Now go upstairs to your room or something. Just get away from here, stay away from Riley. She’s not ready to see you yet.”

                There was a long moment of silence, before I heard Everett letting out a grunt. I heard footsteps passing through the living room, before shuffling up the stairs. When I was sure that Everett had gone up to his room, I sat up from the couch, taking the blankets that Maria laid over me off. The lights suddenly turned on, revealing Maria by the doorway. She had her arms crossed over her chest, as she raised an eyebrow. “So tell me, Riley,” she whispered deviously, a smirk on the corner of her lips, “how much of that did you hear?”

                An embarrassing blush crept up my neck, spreading to my cheeks. I rolled my eyes, before letting out a sigh. “I heard enough.” I muttered. “Thanks, by the way.”

                Maria nodded slowly, before coming towards me. “Do you want to stay the night? We can have a movie night and all that crap if it cheers you up.”

                I let out a croaky laugh, before nodding. “That sounds nice.” I muttered. “But what about Everett?”

                “I’ll make sure he stays in his room.” Maria assured, the look on her face being hard. “He’ll get an earful from me if he doesn’t.”

                Maria and I sat cross legged on the floor for the rest of the night, locking ourselves in her room. We watched a movie after another, our eyes getting heavier and heavier as each hour passed. During our third movie, Mean Girls, I noticed that Maria was fast asleep on the floor. Her body was sprawled across the floor, her head resting on her arms. I lowered the volume of the movie, before turning it off. I glanced over at the digital clock that Maria had on her nightstand, noticing that it was already one in the morning. I got up from the floor, stretching my arms out from sitting in the same position for many hours. Grabbing a blanket and pillow from Maria’s bed, I placed it under her head, and draped the blanket over her body.

                I was still wide awake from my afternoon nap, and noticed that my mouth was dry from all the salty popcorn Maria and I had. I opened the bedroom door slowly, sneaking out of her room. I walked towards the kitchen in the dark, trying to find myself an empty glass. Once I found a cup, I turned the sink on to fill myself up some water.

                “Maria?” a deep voice suddenly spoke, making me stop all movements. My hands were shaky as I held the glass in my hands, my breathing stopping. “I know you’re mad right now, but can you tell me when our parents are

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