A test of emotions

Paloma Williams

A strange silence hung between us, I waited for the punchline with bated breath, what did he mean by gone, could she be-

"They said she escaped the facility and hasn't been seen ever since." Sal interrupts my train of thoughts. "We are putting up a search party to go look for her but I just-, I just wanted to let you know."

"Sal" I say exhaling. "Do you want me back home?, Is there anything I can do?"

"No." he says and I can hear his voice breaking. "You've worked too hard to leave here, I cannot drag you back here, Just let me know if she contacts you."

"I will"l." I say. "She'll turn up Sal."

It was hard for me to break like he did, harder for me to panic and fall apart because I knew her, she'd probably run off with a stash of cash that she'd stolen from us or a random stranger, she'd be hitting her spots getting high and being happy at our expense, I'd learnt a long time ago not to give her the satisfaction of manipulating my feelings. She didn't get to break me.

"Sal, it's Margaret my mother, trust me she'll return." I reassure him. "I know she will."

"If she contacts you give me a call." he says. "We'll keep searching here."

I wanted to wish him well, to say that it'd be alright some more, to say that I'd look on my own end, but the words jam in my throat and I end the call, single teardrop escapes my eyes and I'm stone again, Call me a bitch but you have your heart shattered by the ones you love over and over, it eventually stops growing back.

Days passed on by and still only telltale traces of her are found to let myself cope with the situation, I fall into a steady cyclic routine.

The bizarre looks and rude remarks had reduced to a tolerable extent but there was still the budding feeling of worry that taunted me, no matter how much I did seem to try, the happiness always seemed to elope from me.

I found myself spending more time alone in the park or on the phone with Sal, it was keeping me sane at least until an unexpected 'companion' comes to sit by me.

"We meet again Paloma." The raw hardness in his voice had me shivering. "And without a third party it would seem."

I can't help but stare at him, the heavy bruise on his nose seemed to be healing quite nicely, but it what drew me in, was the darkness swirling behind his eyes. Orion Matthews made me nervous and nervous was dangerous grounds to tread on.

"Casey's not third party." I grumble lightly.

"Hmm." He says whilst trailing his eyes down my body.

"Why are you bothering me?" I ask exparsatedly. "If this is about your nose, then-"

"Meeting twice hardly counts as a bother Paloma, the real question here is why are you bothered?"

"I'm not bothered." I say and try to regain my composure.

This proves quite difficult as he moves closer enough for me to take in his scent, for a football player he smelt heavenly, probably something perfume that Casey would die for.

"Rich prick." I mutter under my breath

"Second time Paloma" he says with a cocky smile. "You seem quite certain of your assumptions?"

"Are you just here to stare and question like a cop?" I retort.

"I'm here because you intrigue me Paloma." He says simply like it's no big deal.

But his words seem to change everything, there's a shift in the air, it's almost unnoticeable, my heart was clamming up but my head spun in all sorts of rationality and in the end one decision topped the rest, I stood abruptly and turned to leave, but Orion was faster, his hands clasped around mine in a tight grip.

"Stay." He said in an almost demanding tone.

I tugged slightly at my arm, one last desperate attempt to evade the oncoming conversation but it was more or less a futile attempt.

"Stay Paloma." He demanded again. "We are not done talking."

Rationality screams in my head to fight back but something silent and docile forces me back to the bench.

"So." I say quietly, "finish."

"I have a proposal for you." He says, "and you seem to be perfect for it. I want you to be my girlfriend."

"Huh." I say flabbergasted.

"It's pretend Paloma." He says, "and you'll be amply rewarded for your services."

"Why?" I ask, "why me?"

"Paloma Williams." He said like a well received verse ."Daughter of Margaret williams, Schooled at Asheville Prep and as a matter of fact you're stone cold broke."

"Fuck." I growl, standing up. "Stalking me?"

"Sit down Paloma." He demanded.

I was done listening, I began to walk away in a full rage.

"Ten thousand dollars." He called from behind me stopping me dead on my tracks. "Ten thousand dollars, one semester."

I should've walked away but the call of the money was strong, it would go a long way for mom and me.

"What's in it for you?" I ask.

"Let me worry about that Oma." He says. "Are you in or out?"

"Fine." I sigh. "But only close friends and family call me Oma."

"You wound me." He says. "Who could be closer than I am to you Oma."

"How do I-" I began.

"You get half after two months and half when you're done, an incentive to make sure you pull through."

With that he stood and strode off, his sexy back flexing as he walked away leaving me to contemplate on what I'd agreed to.

A minute later, I'm trudging down the sidewalk, I still think I'm hallucinating but skin crawls with the ghost of him and I can't shake it off. I feel like I just offered my soul to the devil on a platter.

"You did what?!" Casey all but screams at me as I recount my encounter with Orion later in my apartment. "God, Oma I can't leave you alone for two minutes."

"I didn't want to." I groan into my pillow. "But ten thousand dollars Case!, For doing nothing but playing sweet bunny!, It was too good an offer to refuse."

"He baited you!" Casey yells. "This isn't highschool, what if he wants you to be more than just a pretty face huh?"

"I know this isn't highschool." I say exparsatedly. "And I'll sooner serve him his balls than land on his bed."

I was totally prepared to handle Orion as a 'boyfriend' but not the crowd I also had to date along with him, By the crack of dawn my phone began buzzing with a million texts and tweets and posts all being referring to me seemed Orion was taking this shit all out.

His page was flooded with comments at his blunt announcement that we were now a thing, some of them were very creepy. I couldn't believe it though, Katie's Online fundraiser har had only 15 likes and he just had to say he was an item with me and bam Three thousand fuckin likes in less than twelve hours. Everything had my mind screaming dangerous waters.

Orion was hard to read, there was nothing but a blank mask when he showed up at my apartment at the crack of dawn and had been flaunting me around, he seemed to be a different person from the guy who shoved his tongue down my throat a few days back. His friends though didn't seem to buy his fall in love story.

"Cut us the crap Paloma." Chase whispered to me. "What's the fucker blackmailing you with."

"Yeah." Nolan whispered back. "I heard you went beast mode on him and nearly spanked his rich ass."

"Back off." He growled at them subtly. "Come on Oma, let's get you to class."

His arms coil around my waist and I inhale a sharp intake of breath.

We walked in silence and my mind sorely focused on the feel of his hands on me and the smell of him that engulfed me, I hadn't felt a chill like this before, it was as if he slowly eroded away memories of my mother.

But Guilt had a weird way of seeping through you, crawling and eroding happiness from you like the vermin that it was.

After an hour of Mr Grunner's explanation on Cell division and the guilt simultaneously gnawing on my conscience, I escaped to find a space to breathe and think, I was walking towards my old library when my phone rang.

"Hello." I say. " Who's this?"

The other end's seemingly quiet and I'm slowly beginning to think that this is a prank phone call, a string of insults lay at the tip of tongue, they are about to fly out of my mouth when the voice on the other end knocks me cold.

"Is that you Oma?" Mom's teary and cracked voice cones blasting through. "Oma, please help, I don't want to be here."

"W-wh-where are you?" I ask shakily. "I'll come get you, just tell me where you are?"

"Some place upstate I'm near a pizza parlor it's named Jim's pizza hut, but I don't want to be here anymore please Oma please come get me before anything happens, Pl-"

The line goes dead, I'm shivering a little at this point as my fingers rapidly dials Sal, he picks up in an instant.

"Sal." I say shakily. "I think I may have found mom."