All Chapters of Beautiful & Battered: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Plinio's POV:   "I think you should talk to Ryder," suggests Celeste. "It will do good to you." Good to me? Some talk can't erase what I've done. Making me feel good is far from it. It is easier for Celeste to propose such heavy words because she doesn't know what I've done and how horrible I am. "Just talking won't help me sleep at night," I tell her, taking a bite of my cheese sandwich. Since Kevin is with his coach and I'm ignoring Logan, the two of us are sitting together in the cafeteria. "You don't know that yet," she replies, her eyes on the untouched tray in front of her. She has told me that she doesn't have an appetite today. "Don't get me wrong," she looks cautious of me, "why did you beat him in the first place?"

Celeste's POV: Sometimes I think it is easier to prefer one thing over the other when we see in either black or white. The grey can complicate things. Plinio can either realize his mistakes or wallow in its aftermath, either take shit from Logan or ignore him completely, either apologize to Ryder genuinely or break his bones when he pisses him off, either be adamant to know my truth and break hearts or be satisfied with what I tell, either be my friends within limits or kiss me. I would have kissed him if there were no greys. Both of us would have regretted it later because I have a boyfriend and he is just confused.  To help him clear his confusion, I leave for school with Kevin earlier and go straight to the art room. Whatever opinion Mrs. Hannah or an

Celeste's POV: Perspective changes everything. Love can be turned to hate, happiness can be just an illusion, the truth can be just behind a thick veil of lies.Mr. Harrison told me nothing about Joshua Stevens. Either he did not know or he did not want to tell me. I'm choosing the former because if he had skipped such an important part, he wouldn't be holding onto that regret.Hearing what Plinio has told me combined with what Mr. Harrison has told me, something doesn't feel right."What are you gonna do now?" I ask Plinio, who just got out of the bathroom.He stops rubbing the towel over his wet hair and looks at me with his slightly curved creased in the middle. "What?""I mean," I pour espresso that I

I got the job at Coffee Canteen.   They had recently fired a barista and a waiter for misbehaving with a customer. The cafe was brimming with customers today so they must have taken me for the job due to the lack of workers. But here I am now, standing behind the counter wearing their violet shirt and a black apron over it.   A fellow worker, Joey, has given me the instructions to be friendly and gentle. Joey reminds me of Ryder. He has the same shaggy black hair and an ever-talking mouth but Joey is in his mid-twenties and if he were related to Ryder, I don't think he’d be talking to me.    As far as being a barista is considered, I'm working on it. The aroma of espresso keeps me hospitable and makes my job a lot less tou

Celeste's POV:   Fall in love. Why do we fall in love? Why do we not rise in love?   To me, that phrase seems scary. It screams the inevitable pain of being heartbroken. Falling. It is guaranteeing that you'll suffer, you'll bleed, you'll be hurt but you'll be in love. Sounds wretched.    Is love really worth it all, the pain and the pleasure?   I fell in love with Kevin when I was 16. I didn't know what it meant. Now, I think it means to accept and appreciate the one you love, embrace their flaws and work together to be a better person.   I stayed with Kevin at my house when he had a breakdown after he lost the match. He was drunk and angry. Plinio di