She stared down at her plate before squeezing the sides of her tray and quickly standing up, getting rid of its contents and heading out the door the marked girl had just left.
Seeing the swinging of the girls’ bathroom door, she went inside what seemed an empty bathroom, but the feet under one of the stalls revealed otherwise.
Elle put her hand on the occupied stall to feel that it wasn’t latched. “Chloe?”
Opening the door, she was able to see this new version of her up-close for the first time.
The once beautiful girl sat there, spilling silent, glowing red tears down her cheeks. She was right to think Chloe had once been beautiful, but now her beauty was truly breathtaking. You would think that the red slashes would have tainted her looks. However, it was the complete opposite. They let you see her true beauty: her strength.
Elle could see the torture Chloe had endured. She didn’t think she could have survived it if she had suffered Chloe’s fate.
* * *
Chloe looked up at Elle through blurry eyes, waiting for her to call her a freak just like the others. It wouldn’t make her hurt any more than she already did.
I deserve it from her.
“Are you okay?”
What? She could see the true concern on her face and couldn’t understand.
“W-why would you care after what I-I did to you?”
“We both know you wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t tell you to.”
Chloe stared at Elle, even more confused.
“That doesn’t make what I did any better.”
“I think getting Mr. Fredrick’s to find me does.”
Elle stared at her, waiting to see if she would confirm that it was, in fact, her who had gotten her help. Though she didn’t say anything, her silence answered the question.
“Do you think Sebastian, Cassandra, or the others would have gotten me help? How long do you think I would have been out there till someone found me?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t do it sooner. I’m sorry for everything,” Chloe whispered.
“I don’t blame you. Sebastian and Cassandra are the only ones I blame.”
Chloe stared up at her in disbelief. She wanted Elle to hate her or, at the very least, put some blame on her. She blamed herself.
Why doesn’t she—
“They didn’t do that to you, did they?”
Chloe quickly shook her head and started wringing her hands.
“What happened then?”
When Chloe didn’t answer, Elle took a seat on the floor in front of her.
“W-What are you doing?”
Elle crossed her arms. “I’m going to sit here and wait till you’re ready to tell me.”
“But you’re sitting on the bathroom floor.”
“And you’re sitting on a toilet.” Giggling, she continued, “I would say that’s both pretty gross.”
A slight smile lifted Chloe’s lips for the first time in what felt like ages. “That’s true.”
“Now, are you going to tell me, or are you going to make me sit here all day?”
Chloe took a deep breath, not looking up from her hands. “I w-was in a car wreck.”
Staring at her intently, Elle studied her a moment before she replied, “No, you weren’t. That’s a lie.”
“W-What! Y-Yes I wa—”
“Again, that’s a lie,” Elle responded. “You’re a terrible liar, you know.”
How would she know?
“Why do you think I’m l-lying?”
Elle shrugged. “Because I have to lie to my parents way more than I’d like to, and when you are a professional liar like me, it’s easy to tell when someone is clearly lying straight to your face. Also … You are just really, really bad at lying.”
Chloe looked down at her hands as Elle slightly chuckled at her lying skills. She didn’t know what else to say other than what her father had embedded into her since she had woken up at the hospital.
“Okay, fine.” Standing up off the floor, Elle started wiping off any dirt that might have stuck to the back of her jeans. “You were in a car wreck. For now, anyway … till you decide to spill.”
Brrring.
The lunch bell sounded right on cue.
Elle reached her hand out to help Chloe up off the seat, and as her hand came close, Chloe let out a small scream.
Quickly, Elle pulled her hand back. “I’m sorry … I was just going to help you up.”
Chloe covered her mouth and tried desperately to blink back the tears that started to fill her eyes, but she was unsuccessful.
I’m so screwed up. What’s wrong with me? How am I supposed to go on with school or life now?
Sitting back down on the floor, it was like Elle could read her mind. “It’s okay. We’ll wait till you’re ready to go back out there.”
Silently crying, Chloe could only repeat the words that would forever be ingrained in her soul.
I was in a car wreck; that’s all I know. I was in a car wreck. No one hurt me …
Seven
Payback was a Bitch
The first day back to school was so horrible Chloe only hoped her second day wouldn’t turn out as bad. Nevertheless, as she headed to her first period, it was going the exact same way.