Chapter 9

I knew that something was going on that everyone was keeping a secret from me. No one wanted to answer my question about why they were so worried about Dean being here. I mean, Wendy acted like she had just met him while we were talking to him and then the twins were waiting for her to talk about him. How the hell does that work out? I didn’t know what to think about any of this. The twins were still acting the same with me, they were sitting close to me and making sure that they could see me the whole day. But it was a lot weirder today. Between classes, they wouldn’t leave me. At lunch time, they sought me out to make sure that they were sitting with me. But they weren’t saying much at all. But they were all looking at each other really weirdly. I was starting to feel really uncomfortable during the whole day, but I don’t think they even picked up on that. Just giving each other weird looks. Like they always do. Having conversations without saying anything. When school was over, I walked out the front of the building and I saw the Impala was still in the carpark, so I was going to sit and wait when Wendy found me out the front. “What are you doing?” She asked. “I was thinking about waiting for the twins.” I said. “What for?” She asked. “Because I wanted to.” I said, looking away from her. She could tell that something was bothering me and I didn’t know where the twins were or what was taking them so long. They have been hanging off of me all day and now I can’t find them. What’s going on? “Ella? Why don’t we go to the diner and get something to eat.” She said. “Why?” I asked. “Because I think we should talk.” She said. But I just kept looking away from her. “I know that I’ve been acting weird today. I’m sorry.” She added. “What do you want to talk about?” I asked. “I just think that you deserve an explanation for what happened today.” She said. So I looked at her and I hesitantly nodded my head yes so we started walking over to Wendy’s car. We drove to the diner and I walked inside and saw my boss standing behind the counter, but I wasn’t working today. But I walked behind the counter and I made two coffees for myself and Wendy. We sat at the table at the back of the diner and Wendy was looking at me strangely. She reached over and rubbed her finger along my jawline, rubbing off some concealer. “I saw the cut on your head. I thought you had a slight bruise on your cheek. What’s this bruise from?” She asked. “It must have been when I fell in the bathroom.” I said, looking down into my coffee. “Why don’t you tell me what’s really going on?” She asked. How the hell could I tell her what’s going on? Everyone at school already thinks I’m a freak. I don’t need them adding another label to it. I really doubt anyone would feel sorry for me and leave me alone. It would just be more ammunition for them. If my own parents don’t like me then why should they? “You smelt of stale alcohol and cigarettes when you got in the car this morning. I know that smell wasn’t from you.” She said. “What do you want me to say? There’s nothing going on. I don’t want any more problems than I already have.” I said. “I can help you.” She insisted. But I shook my head. “No. You can’t. I only have a year here. Once I graduate from school then I will be moving back to Seattle. I was going to see the twins this afternoon but I know that it was a mistake. I need to find a way to get them to leave me alone.” I said. “I don’t think they’re going to.” She said. And I looked at her suspiciously. “Do you know something that I don’t?” I asked. “No. Just that I have never seen them act like this with anyone but you.” She said. “And you don’t think that’s weird? Twins are both pursuing the same girl at the same time and neither of them seem to be competing. It’s like they want to share me or something. That’s not normal.” I said. But she didn’t seem too fazed by it. Like she saw it all the time. It was weird. “I know that it doesn’t. But the twins aren’t normal.” She said. “Listen, if I can just get them to leave me alone then I know Leia and her friends will leave me alone as well. They’ll get bored soon. It’s happened before.” I said. “Are you sure of that?” She asked. “Yeah. Positive.” I said. I was positive about what had happened at my last school that I had gone to, but I wasn’t too sure about this school. It was so different from the others. And the twins definitely weren’t like any typical jocks that I had met. Leia was a typical bully though. But for once I actually know why she’s attacking me. It’s because of the twins. So if they just left me alone, then so will she. I hope. My boss Adam came over and gave Wendy and I a plate with hot apple pie on it with ice cream. Just the way I liked it. “Thanks Adam. I didn’t order this.” I said. “It’s on the house. You look like you could use some sweets.” He said. And I looked away skyly. I knew that I was too skinny. I could only eat what I could buy and sometimes, that wasn’t even enough. I excused myself as I went to the bathroom and while I was in there I noticed that the concealer was starting to wipe off. The bruises on my face and on my jaw were starting to look more prominent. So I put some more concealer on it and rubbed it in to make sure that they weren’t noticeable anymore. And I did the same with the cut above my head. I had to make sure that they weren’t noticeable. When I went back to the table, the desserts had arrived and I sat down and started eating it. “Are you alright?” Wendy asked. “Yeah. I’m fine.” I said. I heard the bell to the diner’s door go off and I looked up to see the twins walking inside. They spotted us at the back of the room and walked straight over to us and sat at the same table without asking. Tristan sat next to me and Nathan sat next to Wendy, staring straight at me. “I heard you were waiting for us this afternoon.” Nathan said. “Who told you that?” I asked. “I have friends.” He said. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not important anymore.” I said. “Why can I smell cheap makeup?” Tristan asked. He looked at Wendy, but she didn’t move and then he turned to look at me. “You’re beautiful without makeup.” Tristan said, wiping the makeup off of my cheek, revealing the extremely large red bruise on my face. “Holy shit.” Wendy gasped. “I didn’t know it was that bad.” She said. I got all flustered and I tried to stop them from looking at it, but that was impossible. I tried to put my hand over it but Tristan pulled my hand away and he wouldn’t let me. “What the hell happened to you?” Nathan asked, looking really serious. Tristan was staring at me and I could have sworn that I saw his eyes changing color as he wasn’t blinking and he looked like he wanted to kill someone. I hit Tristan’s hand away from my face and I could feel my face heating up to a crimson color. I was having trouble breathing for a minute before I started taking a couple of deep breaths and I tried to center myself before I had a panic attack. “Why the hell can’t you two just leave me the fuck alone?” I asked. “What happened to you? Who did that?” Tristan asked. “No one did it to me. I fell. I fell in the bathroom and hit my head on the sink. Alright.” I yelled. Getting the attention of the other people in the diner. “We can help you.” Nathan said, standing up. He tried to walk around to my side of the table but I stood up as well. I stepped away from him and I held my hands up. I didn’t want him anywhere near me right now. “You two have no right to come into my life and turn it to shit. That’s all you’ve done since I met you. I get crap from your little girlfriend at school and all her friends. They never leave me alone unless Wendy is with me. You two have made my life here so much worse than it had to be and all you had to do was leave me the hell alone. That’s all I wanted. You are making me sick with this bullshit game that you’re playing with me. Just leave me alone. I’m not going to say it again.” I yelled. They both stood there staring at me, hurt in their eyes and sorrow on their faces. I grabbed my bag off the floor and I walked out of the diner and down the street, trying to get as much distance away from them as possible. I couldn’t stand this any more. I kept telling them to leave me alone, and honestly, I was only waiting for the twins this afternoon because I wanted to know what the deal was with Dean. I didn’t feel comfortable with him. He was looking at me weird, like everyone, but a little bit more intently. And he seemed more interested in meeting me than Wendy. There were so many kids in the hall, but the principal brought him straight to us. That’s what I wanted to find out. But now I guess I never would.