Chapter 7
What was wrong with Liam? He was avoiding me. It was true however that he had been avoiding me pretty much every single day since the concert for several reasons. But I thought that we had something special during the party… The party… I didn’t want to talk about that party, but I just couldn't stop myself. The reason he was acting so weird was because of me. He had kissed me that night. He had said he loved me… And then suddenly Ben appeared and he never talked to me again. And not to mention his weird escape… I tried to talk to him, to say that it was okay. That I didn’t think he was a freak or something like that. But every time I tried to approach him, he would disappear.
I still couldn’t get why he was acting this way. He wasn’t even talking to Ben. I didn’t know what was going on. And even stranger: he wasn’t with Lisa anymore. According to the rumors, they had had a huge fight the day after our party.
So what, was he afraid of me? I really hoped not. I just wanted to be friends with him, if I couldn’t be more.
The bell rang and I jumped at the sound of the loud ring. I shouldn’t be thinking about this, it only made me miserable.
I got to my locker in a record time and packed my bag. I had no homework today. I waited for Rose at the front door and, like every day, I got a glimpse of Liam’s back. He was walking towards the gym very fast and didn't turn around when one of his friend called out his name.
“Boo!” I turned around to see Rose standing beside me.
“So, are we going?” She asked, lifting a perfect brow at me.
“Yeah,” I took her hand and pulled her in the direction of the gym.
Today was a really special day. The school’s volley-ball team was playing against a school that we- especially me- hated.
They won every game in every sport possible. But I was confident that our team would be capable of beating them tonight. And a good game of volley would probably cheer me up. Plus, Ben and Liam were playing.
We entered the gym where teenagers were sitting on several bleachers placed around the gym. We chose one that was close to the door and sat down just in time to see our team enter the room. The other team was already warming up. We screamed for Ben when he began warming up. And we weren’t the only one to cheer for him. Quite a few teenage girls were screaming his name, they even had posters. And they had one for Liam too. God, they made me feel like a crappy sister.
A moment later, the coach was talking to the players and the game had started. At every point our school made, the crowd would scream and do the wave.
***
I screamed and jumped on my feet. Yes! We had won after a long game. We've beat them. Rose was dancing like a total moron beside me and I did the same. I was so happy, that I ran to the court and jumped in my brother's arms.
Rose was following me closely and when Ben finally let me go, Rose instantly went for hers. Liam was not far behind, slapping the shoulders of other players. Girls were screaming in my ears and jumping around, but all I could see was Liam. His face wasn’t happy like all the others around him. And I could easily see the tiredness in his eyes.
He turned his head slightly in my direction and I caught his eye. His lips slowly tilted up in a sad smile. It was crazy how that reminded me of what he told me at the party. He could read my mind. So he had to know how much he was hurting me. Why couldn’t he bring his ass to me and at least apologize?
“Alicia?” Rose asked after me.
“Yeah?” I turned around to see her worried face. Ben was still standing awkwardly next to her, as if he was waiting to finish off a conversation that had been interrupted.
“Wanna come to my place to party a little bit?” Rose asked in a cheery voice.
“No, I think… I wouldn't mind being alone for a while,” I respond. I was sure she would understand.
“Yeah, sure. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay, bye. See you tonight,” Ben said after a moment, he was still studying me carefully. I could easily see the question in his eyes. He would probably want to talk to me when he came back. I nodded at them and smiled at Rose when she turned back and gave me a thumbs up. She waited a long time to be alone with Ben and when she finally was, I was ruining her fun. My heart sank in my chest. I was such a party pooper. But I couldn’t pretend anymore. I couldn’t say that I wasn’t caring about what Liam thought, because I really did. And the sooner I talked to him, the sooner our little problem would be resolved. So I turned around to see that he was gone. I searched the crowd for him but I didn’t see him. He wasn’t in the gym, or in the hallways close to it. I waited at the door of the changing room and asked a guy on the team who was leaving if he was there, but apparently he wasn’t. I guess I waited a while because when I did leave the school the sky was a weird shade of dark blue. I walked home and I wasn’t surprised that the lights were all turned off
Ben was probably still at Rose’s house. And I hoped that she wasn’t worrying about me. She deserved this night with him. I was sick and tired that Amber was always at our place. She was a bitch! I had to admit that I hated her. They were like the perfect couple since third grade and they were making me gag. And I really would be glad if my brother could finally see that Rose was head over heels for him.
***
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