Chapter 3

“ Thanks, Dad, love you.” I kissed Dad Mave on his cheek and left his car. 

“ Tomorrow you will drive your to school.” he shouted at me but I was already moving. 

As I enter the school gates I stopped in my tracks. Zander is there on his bike like every day, but behind him, Daisy is sitting with him. My stomach clenched. What’s happening between them? 

Daisy left without saying anything to him and I follows him to the halls. 

“ Can we talk?” I ask Zander. 

“ If I say no, Would you stop.” He eyes me warily. 

I grind my teeth.

“ Still asking something is a more polite way.” 

He snorts. 

“ What’s going on between you and Daisy?” I raises my suspicion and it was a mere whisper. 

He turns to look at me and grabs my wrist to pull me closer. 

“ What’s going on between me and Daisy is none of your fucking business.” he sneers at my face. 

“ We can talk calmly. You don’t have to shout at me.” I whisper softly. 

Even though my face is calm my stomach is clenching, his face is way too close to mine. He could easily count my freckles and I can see the twinge of blue in his eyes. 

He pushed me lightly.

“ Who wants to talk to you?” he said and strides forward..

“ Zan, listen to me.” I move along with him.

“ You are irritating.” he grunts

“ Why are you like this?” 

He stops abruptly and turns to look at me with an angry expression. 

“ Why I am like this? Why are you like this? Always trying to poke your nose in my business. Always trying to talk to me. Can’t you fucking see I don’t want to talk to you.”  He shouts at me with full force. 

“ Hey, dude. Stop it.” Trent came between us. 

“ No, tell her to stop. Doesn’t she have some common sense? I don’t want to talk to her.” He pushes Trent to the side and looked dead in my eyes. 

“ I don’t want to talk to you. I find you irritating.” 

“ I just wanted to talk to you idiot. As a friend I …” Whatever I was going to say stays in my mouth because I am cut off by him,

“ I am not your friend. I avoid you like a plaque. And trust me nobody here is your friend. You are clingy as hell and everybody just tolerates you.” 

“ Shut up. I have friends.” I clenches my fists. 

“ Zander fuck off.” Hannah comes to my side and Emma rushes behind her. 

“ Come on Man, that's enough.” Trent tries to drag him away but he didn’t budge he barks a hollow laugh.

“ Oh, you have friends? So why don’t you tell me why your so-called “friends” didn’t invite you to Emma’s birthday last night? As far as I know, everyone in the class was invited. And why didn’t they invite you to the last week when they all went to the beach?” 

My eyes get filled with tears but I stop myself from crying. 

“ They just pity you, Daphne. A little girl, like you who..” before he could say anything  a hard hand punched him and he staggered to the floor.

Hunter looked at me but I shake my head to him. He looks around to everyone with one single look the crowd watching the commotion disperses. 

Hunter doesn’t say anything but kissed my temple and leaves us. 

I looked around me at all faces. Guilt was written on Emma and Hannah’s faces. Trent was looking at Zander like he is disappointed in him.

“ Who is what? Orphan.” I asked them but nobody answered me. 

I shrugged Hannah’s hand and head back to the school doors. She shouted behind me but I didn’t look back.

My wrist was seized by someone and I came to a sudden halt. 

I didn’t look at them.

“ Daphne Girl, listen..” Hannah said.

I looked up and see it is Trent who has stopped me. 

I try to free my wrist but he is too strong. 

“ Leave me,” I whisper 

“ Listen to us. It’s not true, whatever he said it was only anger.” Trent tries to reason with me.  

“Where were you all last night?” I question them and their expression is all the answer I need. They were at Emma’s birthday party. 

I look at Emma.

“ I thought you were my friend. Fuck.” 

“ And the beach trip? I was again not invited.” I tug my wrist and this time he leaves it with ease.

“ I don’t need your fucking pity. And I am not an Orphan, I have family who love me the most in the whole fucking universe.” I push Emma out of my way and leave them. 

I don’t think I could pay attention to any classes today. But I don’t want to go back home. I ran and hide behind the tree. I saw Emma and Hannah looking for me. But I didn’t reply. I just closed my eyes and waited for them to leave. 

Hearing Zander saying these things broke something inside me. Maybe it’s my heart that is broken. I always thought that he likes me and only acts differently but now I realised that maybe he never did. He never liked me and it was only me that was crazy in love with him. 

My friends are not even mine. It was all an act, an illusion. Which I led myself to believe. Not anymore.

I took a deep breath to stop the coming tears. I could not cry a single tear on such a mean person.

“ He is an asshole.” a voice said from behind me and I panicked. The owner of the voice was Tristan Erickson. His family is new in town but fairly well known. We don’t run in the same circles but we worked together on one project he is fairly nice.

He flicked his raven black hairs from his forehead and tugged his backpack on one shoulder. 

“ I don’t care about him.” I replied and took my phone out to book a cab. 

“ So where are we going?”

I looked at him. 

“ You are not coming with me. I am going alone.” I told me. 

“ Don’t be mean. Take me with you. You are missing school so am I. Isn’t it fair if we both go together?”

“ I don’t think so.” I replied.

“ I will tell Mr. Colton I saw you leaving school.” 

My eyes widened. 

“ You are  threatening me?”

“ Whatever works.” he shrugged. 

“ Do you have a ride?” I asked him.

He whistled and nodded smirking. 

There is something very wrong about this whole thing. About him.