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  “Sorry, pal. She’s taken.” Wesley growled at the poor guy, turning his face entirely wet with horror-induced perspiration before scrambling away. If Wesley glared hard enough, that poor guy would probably have wet his pants.

  “You don’t have to be so territorial.” I laughed, slipping my hand into his as he bent down to place a kiss on the top of my head.

  “Those guys need to learn about what’s mine,” Wesley mumbled, pulling me into an embrace as he pulled me down the halls and into the cafeteria.

  “News flash, Prince Charming, I belong to myself and nobody else.” Gently, I placed a single finger on Wesley’s forehead to push him back just a few inches.

  “Of course, of course.” He agreed with a smile.

  It had been a few days since the fight with Charlotte, and the girl had been missing school the whole time, not that I minded of course. Everything just seemed quieter without that raging woman around.

  And that, unfortunately, also included Blake.

  I wasn’t quite sure if it was because he actually enjoyed Charlotte’s company, or if it was because he was just being gloomy, but he seemed more distant ever since Peter’s birthday party. Whenever we talked to him, or anyone for that matter tried to approach him, his replies would just be a one-liner, and occasionally, he would show a small forced smile. I asked on different occasions if he was feeling alright, but he kept saying that everything will be okay.

  Needless to say, I was worried for him; we all were.

  “So, my well sought-after girlfriend, will you be my date to the winter formal?” Wesley grinned, nudging my shoulder gently as I laughed, nudging his back.

  “You ask so simply. I was hoping for something dramatic and…life-altering.” I joked, causing Wesley’s face to go slightly pale.

  “Re–really?”

  “You should see the look on your face!” I burst out laughing, pointing at his confused face. “Nah. I am not one for drama and clichés.” I waved it off as he let out a breath of relief.

  “So? Will you?”

  “Hmm, let me see.” I tapped my chin in a fake thinking expression. “Well, I do have so many guys going after me.”

  He clenched his knuckles till they turned paper-white and raised an eyebrow as if challenging me to say no.

  “But none of them can ever compare to you.” I laughed, poking his nose as his features changed completely. “So, yes, you’re stuck with me.” I chuckled as he lifted me off the ground and twirled me around as if we were in a Disney movie.

  “She said yes!” He laughed out, snatching the attention of a few other students walking by, all of whom cast curious glances at the both of us.

  “You act like you’re proposing.” I laughed when my feet finally touched the ground again.

  “I might as well be.” Wesley shrugged before pulling me into his arms. “You’re one difficult girl to catch.”

  ***

  I smoothed down the front of my silver dress, flattening out the shimmery fabric just by a bit. The previous year, I dyed my hair back to a soft shade of iridescent blonde to match my dress, and now I found it odd to attend a formal dance with crazy, wild purple hair even though I had admittedly grown attached to it. I slipped on my sparkly white heels that I had chosen to pair with the dress and slowly walked out of my room and into the living room where Wesley and Winnie were waiting.

  Winnie managed to snag herself a pretty fine date for the winter formal, dare I say. Just like when we were kids, boys swarmed over her, fighting for her attention when asking her out to the dance. William was down with a fever sadly, leaving his date, Summer, dateless.

  In the end, I simply requested her to go with Blake since he didn’t bother searching for one. If it was even possible, Blake had been getting paler by the day. I asked him just hours before the dance if he was going to the doctor’s, but he had refused, saying that everything would be fine. Even after much persuasion on my part, he didn’t even budge and still claimed that he was alright.

  “You look absolutely breathtaking.” Wesley breathed, walking toward me slowly and placing a quick kiss on my lips before wrapping one of his arms around my waist.

  “As do you, my dashing, debonair prince,” I said in a fake British accent, causing Winnie to fake a gag behind us.

  “Come on, lovebirds. We’re going to be late!” Winnie walked over and pulled me by the arm out of the door, shoving me into the backseat of the car while she plopped in the passenger seat. Beckett, her date, quickly entered the driver’s seat and started the engine once everyone was settled in.

  The ride toward school was pretty short since I only lived a while away, and by the time we arrived, music was already pumping out of the stereos, causing my own two feet to tap slightly with the beat. Everyone inside wore an exquisite gown or a charming tuxedo, all keeping to the dress code and the wintry theme. Students swarmed in, eager chatter buzzing in the air as I glanced around eagerly.

  “I’ll say you shine the brightest here,” Wesley murmured into my ear, his hand placed on the small of my back, leading me toward the dance floor. “May I have this dance, my queen?” He reached a hand out for me to take and bent his back slightly as I laughed and curtsied.

  “You may.” Grinning, I placed my hand in his as we slowly swayed along to the music, him twirling me around a couple of times.

  After our fourth song on the dance floor, the music started to fade a little, drawing everyone’s attention to the stage.

  “Attention, everyone!” Miranda was up on stage with a flowing wine color sweetheart dress. “It is finally the time to reveal our winter formal king and queen for this year’s event. It is my greatest pleasure to announce that this year’s queen is…” She took a card out of a white envelope and read the name, a smile making its way to her face.

  “Winnie Jerald!”

  The crowd burst into applause as Winnie scrambled up the stage to receive the crown. It sparkled like a thousand stars when the gem caught the light, and Winnie’s face beamed with delight. From where I stood, I hollered as loudly as I could, eager to cheer for my friend. When she caught my eye, she beamed even brighter, shining seemingly as if she was decorated by a thousand stars plucked from the night sky.

  “And following that, this year’s winter formal king is…” Miranda took out yet another piece of paper and read it. “Blake Ryder!”

  I clapped my hands enthusiastically and looked around for my best friend, scanning the crowd in search for him. When I spotted him slowly making his way up the steps, I clapped even louder. His pale face was even more obvious under the harsh lighting of the stage. As though he hadn’t slept in years, Blake’s steps were sluggish and pained, taxing him of his strength as a frown slowly appeared on my face.

  The next thing I know, gravity attacked him, weighing him down like a thousand bricks as Blake’s knees buckled underneath him. A collective gasp echoed throughout the sports hall as I kicked off my shoes, squeezing my way past everyone in a desperate attempt to reach my best friend before death could.

  Chapter 36

  There’s something that I feel like every one of us should really learn.

  In reality, nothing stays by our sides forever. I guess I personally learned that the hard way when I thought that Blake, Wesley, Winnie, and William were going to be with me by my side all the time. First, it was when the triplets left when we were younger. Then, it was when Blake left my side and spent one year with Charlotte. Then I felt like I was living through losing Blake all over again. The concept of happily-afters could not be truer.

  That’s the thing; life doesn’t come with a warning sign. It just hits you whenever it feels like it. Without technological advancements, humans can’t really detect when the next natural disaster is occurring. Then also, we won’t know what the natural disasters will bring us. Loss of lives? Damaged houses? Or just simply a passing shower. Nothing is ever expected unless we examine the details with extra care.

  Some people, though, in fact, most people
don’t even bother to take the effort to examine such things with extra care. I was guilty of this. I didn’t examine Blake carefully enough to learn about his illness sooner. I wasted an entire year just like that, hating on him, thinking that he was cold-hearted and poisoned in the mind by Charlotte when in reality, he had only my best interests at heart.

  Of course, no one gave him the permission to make decisions on my behalf, but I was willing to look past that.

  If I were to be given another chance, another take, and a rewind button to go back to the start of that one year, I would have confronted Blake instead of acting the way I did. Sure, he said some harsh words that broke me down, and sure, because of that, I gained the much-needed alternate attitude, but was that all worth it? Not to be a Debby Downer, but come on, we all know that curing cancer isn’t exactly a walk in the damn park. More often than not, it’s tedious and expensive, and even after all that, it doesn’t always get better.

  It’s not always sunshine and rainbows; there is bound to be a rainy day sooner or later.

  Though there is a favorite quote of mine that keeps me going, keeps me hoping for a better next day: There can never be a rainbow without a little rain.

  That positive attitude is what everyone needs in life, but not everyone can sustain that. And that included me, the girl who remained open and happy even after all the trash fate and destiny had thrown in my way. I couldn’t find a single damn ray of sunshine in my life then.

  Hospitals give me a sense of despair. It’s an overall gloomy place that usually only gives bad news. There is never much good news when someone enters the hospital, except when a baby is born and a family is made whole.

  Sitting on the hard plastic seats of the local hospital while still in my sparkly silver gown, I rubbed my shoulders gently and shivered. When I felt something warm being wrapped around me, I looked up to my left to see Wesley giving me a weak smile, placing his blazer over my bare shoulders.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled, my voice raspy from the long hours in the air-conditioned room. It had been a few hours since Blake fell unconscious to the ground at the winter formal, and the doctors didn’t even have a definite answer to his health yet. With each passing hour, my heart grew darker and heavier, weighed down by ominous guilt.

  “He’s going to be alright. Don’t worry so much.” Wesley enveloped his hands over mine as I sighed, allowing my once beautifully curled hair to fall wild over my face.

  “I sure hope so.” I breathed in deeply to keep myself from crying. Tears threatened to spill from my eyes, making them sore and red as I rubbed the tears away. My makeup was smudged beyond hope, and even then, I still couldn’t care less. Nothing mattered more than Blake’s safety.

  Mr. and Mrs. Ryder went in a while ago to accompany Blake in his hospital ward, and the doctors hadn’t allowed anyone else in until he awakens. You can already imagine how dreadful it is to sit outside your best friend’s ward, not even knowing if he is going to wake up soon or not.

  “Avery? Is Avery here?” Mrs. Ryder suddenly appeared in the doorway, her husband standing right behind her. Both their eyes were dull and swollen from crying, and their voices still unbelievably shaky. I looked up at her before standing up, walking to her side. A mother’s pain will forever be the greatest, and my heart broke for her.

  “Blake wants to see you.” She choked out, wiping tears away from her cheeks. Just from the past few hours alone, the couple looked as if they aged by ten long years.

  “He’s awake?” My eyes gleamed with hope, lighting up at the possibility of Blake’s recovery.

  “Yes, but the doctor said that his condition is still unstable. You better hurry along. He is looking for you.” I didn’t need to be told twice. I barged into the room, taking in the sight all at once, keeping the tears from falling.

  Blake laid there on the white hospital bed, barely moving. In fact, he was so absolutely still that it was hard to be sure if he was even awake. The only thing that even assured me that he was still alive was the consistent beeping of the machine beside his bed every once in a while.

  “Hey,” I whispered softly to him, sitting on the chair right beside his bed and taking his hand in mine. “How are you feeling?”

  “Like absolute shit.” Blake managed to wheeze out a laughter before erupting into a coughing fit. I gently patted his chest to soothe him before he rested on the bed again. “I’ve always liked you better blonde. It makes you look like the angel you really are.” He stroked the back of his hand against my cheek gently, watching my expression.

  “You wanted to see me?” I smiled as best as I could, slowly stroking his hand and drawing random patterns onto his palm. I willed all unpleasant thoughts from my mind, pursing my lips as I waited for his answer.

  “I have something for you.” His reply was short and even out of breath as if it was tiring him out just by saying those five little words.

  “You could have waited till you reached home. There’s no hurry,” I whispered under my breath.

  “I might not even go home,” Blake murmured, reaching his other hand into his shirt.

  “Don’t say that.” I furrowed my eyebrows slightly, but if Blake had heard me, and I was sure he did, he didn’t reply.

  “Here.” He pulled out a necklace and handed it to me. A small plastic ring dangled from the thin silver chain, and on the inside of the ring’s band, three words were written across it in a childish scribble.

  Blake and Avery.

  “The ring from the gumball machine,” I mumbled, turning to look him in the eye. “You still have it after all these years?” A tear fell from my cheek, and I furiously rubbed it away with the back of my hand. “I thought you had lost it or thrown it away after you and Charlotte…”

  “It hardly even left my side in the first place.” Blake smiled softly at me. “It was yours, to begin with, and now this is something for you to remember me by.”

  I was full-on crying at that point, breathing so hard that my chest hurt. “I don’t want it. You can help me remember you yourself,” I argued back stubbornly.

  Blake raised his hand toward my cheek, wiping my tears away gently, and I leaned into his touch.

  “I…I don’t have much time. Satan needs me.” He joked, and I coughed out a small laugh. “Don’t hate me when I say this, Ave, but I…”

  Blake took in another deep breath, his voice getting softer and softer with each word. My heart squeezed in pain as I let out a shaky breath. His eyes slowly closed, a peaceful and serene look resting upon his features. “I…I love you, Ave.” More words started to leave his mouth, just barely forming a sentence, but I was too caught up in shock to fully register it.

  I blinked back my tears as his hand by my cheeks fell limp, dropping onto the white sheets with a soft thud.

  My ears buzzed, and my blood went cold. Somehow, I registered the fact that doctors and nurses had run in with their clipboards and medical equipment, pushing me away from Blake’s bed. Somehow, I registered the sound of Mrs. Ryder’s hysterical cries that perfectly displayed both her and my own emotions at that instant. Somehow, I registered the fact that Mr. Ryder’s expression was stoic, filled with no emotion as he stared at the door of the hospital ward as if looking at it would bring back his son.

  All of that passed my mind only for a moment because only one thing kept my attention at that time—those three simple words that Blake had breathed out. He wasted his last breath on me, telling me something that broke my heart beyond anyone’s imagination. I replayed it in my mind as if I could hear his raspy yet alluring voice once more.

  If I hadn’t strained my ears hard enough, if I hadn’t given him my complete attention, I would’ve missed his last words after his proclamation of love just like I missed that one year with him.

  “I always have,” he had said.

  Chapter 37

  Making my way up to the stage, I smoothed down my black lace dress slightly before taking in a deep breath, preparing myself for what was going to c
ome next. For the past few days, I had been cooped up in my room, unwilling to see anyone other than Wesley. I was numb during the first three days, hardly even eating, barely sleeping, and definitely not talking. After much persuasion on Wesley’s part, I managed to force down a few spoons a day. Three days later, I broke; crying endlessly till there was not a single drop of tear left in me.

  I looked at the cards in my hand and shuffled them into place, preparing to read the first line. Looking at the audience and glancing at Blake’s parents, I ripped the cards into pieces, shoving them into the pocket of my dress.

  “Hi, I actually prepared a whole speech for this but…um…I think I’ll just make one up. That’s how Blake was like anyway, always doing things impromptu.” I took in a deep breath, readying myself before walking closer to the microphone.

  “In my opinion, we are all stuck in a twisted, unfair game with life itself. We don’t understand the rules of the game, and I’m afraid we never will. The rules are undefined, a blurry line that is further covered up by a hazy layer, disabling us to see the clear separation. When we play a game without knowing the rules, it’s a natural game-over for us. We, all living things actually, live to just pass on later on. That is probably the only rule that is clear to all of us.

  “The unfair part? We don’t know when. We don’t know when exactly will our loved ones will be ripped brutally away from our lives, and we don’t know when their loved ones will be ripped away as well. The rain on the parade? We don’t know when we ourselves will depart this world.”

  Pausing, I released a shaky breath before quickly wiping away a traitorous stray tear.

  “I guess that’s what I forgot about a year ago. I forgot how important it was to love and appreciate all the people around us and not to take them for granted,” I said.

  The crowd was silent, and I knew that at that moment, I had their pure undivided attention.

  “A year ago, Blake and I got into a pretty big fight. He did nothing wrong, but I didn’t know. I didn’t think that way then. I blamed everything on him and his girlfriend then for our breakup, and I did everything in my power to get back at them. I didn’t even ask why he did it. I just…I didn’t ask myself why then. Why did he do it?”