Chapter 12
I got to school the next day, only to be extremely confused. I thought it was just any regular day. Until I talked to Grayson. Actually, rephrase: Until I tried talking to Grayson. But he just walked away as if I didn't say anything.
And of course, I was starting to overthink every little thing. I didn't do anything that would make Grayson not want to talk to me anymore. He was my friend. My best friend, even. He wouldn't just stop talking to me out of the blue.
What if he didn't want to talk to me anymore because of my past? No, that couldn't be it. He promised Ben and Belle wouldn't hurt me anymore. There was no point of promising that if he wasn't going to talk to me. So what exactly happened that would make him not want to talk to me anymore? Because if he kept it up, everything was going to go back to how it was before we became friends. I was going to have no one and feel extremely isolated. I was just going to have to wish that someone in this entire school would ignore Belle's stupid rumours and wouldn't mind talking to me.
After school, I was putting my books away when Grayson went to his locker. Right beside mine. I decided to just give him space just in case he needed it. I had no idea why he wasn't talking to me, but I hoped it didn't last.
It felt a bit weird, though. Whenever I was at my locker and Grayson went to his, he always said, "Hey, Flower." He didn't even do that. He didn't even look at me.
"Poppy," Belle snapped suddenly. I turned to her, once again not in the mood to talk. "How was finding out that your friend nearly killed my boyfriend?" She had a smirk on her face as if what she said affected me.
"That doesn't concern you," I said. If I had the guts, if I wasn't still affected by this every day, I would have reminded her of what her brother did to me. She wouldn't care anyway. She didn't believe it. There was proof. Definitive proof. But she would rather ignore that and continue to think her brother is the best person ever.
Belle crossed her arms. "It does concern me. Grayson nearly killed my boyfriend!"
I had to say, I was shocked that Grayson wasn't saying anything to Belle. Yesterday, he told me that it was a complete accident, so why wasn't he saying anything?
"See?" she asked. "Him not saying anything only proves his guilt."
"Just shut the hell up," Grayson snapped at Belle before slamming his locker shut and storming off.
Belle scoffed and looked at me. "He's so touchy, isn't he? No wonder he wasn't talked to you lately?"
"How did you... .?" I began.
Belle smirked. "Hon, I know everything that happens in this school. That and I make things happen." With a laugh, she left, flipping her hair. God, she was such a dramatic person. I just wanted to laugh at her behaviour at times.
I shook my head and closed my locker. I really wished Grayson would tell me what was going on. I really missed talking to him.
I sighed and walked outside of the school where my brother was waiting. Honestly, I loved it when Tony picked me up rather than Mom. Mom always asked about my grades and how I should he trying harder. Tony didn't. Even though he was studying to be a teacher, he didn't care that some students just weren't the best at some subjects.
"How was your day?" Tony asked once I was sitting in the passenger seat of his car.
I shrugged. "I don't know. Okay, I guess."
"Doesn't sound okay," Tony said as he drove to our house. "Did anything happen?"
"Nope," I said.
"Seriously?" Tony asked. "Because it sounds like something happen."
"No, I'm serious," I said. "Nothing happened at all. Grayson ignored me all day, even when I tried talking to him. He didn't even call me Flower today... ."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "He calls you Flower? Why?"
I shrugged. "Don't know. But I know that he says it more than he says my actual name."
"So he's just ignoring you?" Tony asked. "Are you sure he's actually ignoring you?"
"Well, I tried talking to him and he just walked away," I said. "And he never said Hey, Flower when he walked up to his locker when I was at mine." I sighed and shook my head. "Maybe I shouldn't have told him about Ben... ."
"You told Grayson about Ben?" Tony asked. "Why? I thought you had trouble talking about it."
"I did," I said. "I still do, but... .Grayson took me to the beach the day the two of you got me out of detention and we ran into Belle and Ben. He's out of prison now."
"Did he try anything?" Tony asked.
"No," I said. "Grayson was with me. Anyway, the next day something happened and Grayson told me about something that happened two years ago, so I told him about Ben. And he promised that he'll make sure Belle and Ben doesn't bother me again, but now he's ignoring me."
"Look, I'm sure if you talk to him, he'll explain everything," Tony said.
I raised an eyebrow. "Don't you think that's a little contradicting? By talking to him, you'll think he'll tell me why he's ignoring me?"
"Just call him," Tony said. "If he answers, then there was probably a misunderstanding at school. If he doesn't, then there's something going on."
I grabbed my cell phone out and dialed Grayson's number. Unfortunately, I got no answer. I dropped my phone in my bag. "See?" I asked. "Ignoring me."
"If you want, I can try talking to him," Tony offered.
"No," I said, even though I kind of wanted him to. "I just think maybe Grayson needs his space or something. It's best if I don't bother him for a while. I just... I hope everything's fine with him."