Eight: I hate you

I continued to gasp for air, but the middle aged man only stared blankly at me. I couldn't even tell what he would do next. 

Slowly, the corner of his lips formed a small smile. A smile that was almost like a smirk. And then, he released his grip against my arm. 

"Hi, Miss?" He stepped backwards, putting his hands into the pocket of his trousers. 

My eyes were still widened, fear swaying through me. I was particularly dreaded because of the way mom had cried over the phone. What made her do that? 

"Who're you? What do you want?" I demanded. 

He chuckled, and muttered something I wasn't sure I had heard. Something like “mother-daughter”. 

"You haven't answered me yet." I managed to remain dauntless, trying as hard as possible to catch my breath. 

He smiled. But, although his smile looked real, I felt it was fake. 

"You dropped this." He wiggled something. Moving my eyes to it, I gasped on seeing my necklace. Well, thank goodness it wasn't the one I always wore. It was a different necklace. But why was I always losing a necklace?

"Oh. Thanks." I quickly took it from him, and wore it around my neck. 

Looking back at him, I felt so uncomfortable with the way he looked at me. It was as if he was scrutinizing me, as if he wanted to ask or say something. Who was this man?

He sighed. "It's not so good for ladies to walk alone by this time of the night. It's risky."

Easy for him to say, I thought. 

Obviously, he was rich. So, that was probably a reason he didn't know what it meant to be in serious need of money. 

"Thanks for your advice," I appreciated it, ready to end this conversation. I knew nothing about him, so I couldn't trust him. 

"Anyways…" he pulled his hand from his pocket, stretched it forward. "I'm Scott."

After a little hesitation, I took his hand. "Renee," I said. 

"I work at different places. This area is one of them," he announced. Absolutely, I wasn't interested in where he worked or where he didn't work. I just had to go home to study. 

"Good." My wide smile was so, so fake. It was as if a machine was controlling the nuts in my head, programming me to smile. 

"So…" he returned his hand to his pocket. "I hope to see you around, Renee." He looked down, let out a throaty chuckle. "Also, don't forget to take your phone. Bye."

With that, he walked past me, leaving my proximity. 

Brushing my fingers into my hair, I exhaled. This was so scary. First, mom had been so tense. And now, this man seemed quite suspicious. Or wait, did mom know him? Why had she asked me to run? 

Confused and anxious, I bent down to take my phone. "Oh, shit," I murmured when I spotted a crack on its screen. Where would I get the money to get a new phone, if this one had to get spoiled?

Standing up straight, I half ran and half walked, until I got out of this silent place. 

***

"It's nothing!" Barb whined at Bella, as they both discussed something. I rolled my eyes, wondering when Barb would stop acting childish. To be honest, I only started to discover how unserious my friends were. They didn't even care about the test we had. 

"Guys, please." I slammed my textbook against the desk in front of me, glared at them. "You guys aren't even studying at all."

"Woah, what?" Barb squeezed her face. "When did you start to act like Virg?"

"Stop, please. I'm trying to study here. Do you want me to leave?" 

"Whatever." Bella scoffed. "Just get your ass off here. We wouldn't stop talking because of you."

I grumbled, pulled my chair backwards, and stood up straight. Taking my book and backpack from the desk, I turned to leave. And, that was when I had to encounter this moron again, Amy. 

"Are you always this careless?" There was a smirk on her lips, her arms tucked around her chest. 

I sighed. "I'm sorry for bumping into you. But please, leave my way. I don't wanna cause a commotion here."

Uh-oh. Speaking of commotion, I guessed I wouldn't be the one doing that. It'd be Bella. But well, if Amy wouldn't have to say something stupid, I didn't think Bella would care about her.  

"Keep that warning to yourself," Amy retorted. Her smirk grew wider, and there was an expression on her face I couldn't grasp. "I'm not here for you, Renee. I'm here for that bitch."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "What?"

She sniggered, and walked past me. I turned around, only for me to see her standing close to Bella's seat. Bella looked up at her, scoffed, then returned to fake-studying. Jeez, what was going on?

"Hey." Amy poked Bella's arm, that don't-ignore-me look on Amy's facial expression. 

"Are you crazy?" Bella slammed her palm against the desk, stood up. Just that one slam, caught everyone's attention. They began to stand up from their seats, gathering around us. I didn't like this at all. 

Amy scorned at her. "You had better not make me angrier than I already am. You've done enough. For goodness sake, when are you gonna accept the fact that Jason is no longer yours?"

Bella lowered her head. I could tell she was trying as much as possible to remain calm. And one thing I knew was, if Amy thought she was crazy, Bella was the crazier one. 

Bella

____

I curled up my fingers in a fist, put my eyes down. To be honest, if this Amy had to cross her limits, I'd end up teaching her a lesson. 

I tried holding back my tears, and stared up at her. "What do you want?" 

"I'm pretty sure you're the reason for our breakup," she stated, wrath thick in her eyes. 

I swallowed my tears, and wore a stern look. "If you don't have anything to say, just shut your ugly lips. You're seriously gonna get on my nerves."

"You're already on my nerves," she retorted. "Jason came to me. He's mine already. Fine, you guys dated for a while, but that's in the past. Can't you just forget about him? Why are you making my life miserable?"

"Making your life miserable?" I dropped my hands on my waist, squinted my eyes at her. "You took him, but I did nothing. It was so embarrassing and painful for me, but I ignored it."

She snorted, wrinkled her face like she was disgusted. What an idiot. "I care less about that. That's in the past. I can—"

"Get this straight." I pointed a finger at her, glared with so much intensity. "If you try to embarrass me further, or do anything crazy, I won't spare you this time around. I've had enough from Jason and you."

"I also—"

"Good. Night." I cut her off, grabbed my backpack, turned around to leave. 

Walking to the door, ignoring the crowd eyes which were on me, tears welled in my eyes. Jason was someone I never wanted to see, or never wanted to think about. Although I clearly still had feelings for him, that didn't mean I wanted him in any way. 

Jerking the door open, I bumped into someone. And, that person had to be Jason. As usual, he had that innocent look on his face. 

Seeing him made tears leave my eyes. It reminded me of the time we had shared a bond. It reminded me of how he had broken my heart. It reminded me of everything. 

"Bella?" His voice was low and deep, almost sounding like a whisper. 

I blinked so much to hold my tears, but that didn't work. I only ended up bursting out in tears. And, in order to keep it low, I covered my mouth with my palm, wept in it. 

"What's wrong?" He stepped closer, attempted to hold my arm, his eyes holding some sadness. Fake sadness. 

"I hate you," I declared, ran past him. 

As I walked down the hallway, he called my name, but I ignored him. He was clearly my pain, so answering him would only make me bitter. And what was the point in looking back at my pain? 

***