It Happened Last Year

I rush out of the locker room and head straight for my car. Harrison is right, I should have never come back. Ditching my last class, I jog to the driver’s side and fumble with my keys.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“Going somewhere?”

My heart skips a beat and I jump at the sudden, familiar voice. Turning around, I see Daniel standing at the back of a car, shutting the truck after pulling out a duffel bag with his name sewn on it. It’s the track team bag.

Realizing my red eyes and puffy face, I turn back and unlock my door. “Yeah, I’m leaving,” I mutter and slide in. I shut the door before he can say anything, though I doubt he would. Like some sort of speed racer, I zip out of the parking spot and bolt down the street. My hand wipes stray tears from my face roughly, and I struggle to keep my hands steady on the wheel. My heart feels like it is beating a million times a minute.

Noticing the light turning red, I slam on the breaks, stopping myself from flying through. My body lifts then falls back against my seat. A car honks at me and I have a need to yell back at them.

Once I reach my house, I leave my backpack in the car and slam the door shut. Trudging up to the front door, I unlock it, walk through, then kick it closed. The house is empty, as usual, so I stomp up the steps like a two-year-old and head straight for my room. I snatch a pillow from my bed, hold it to my face, and I scream. I scream my heart out.

Afterwards, I drop my phone to the side and crash down with no desire to get up.

My phone rings.

Silence.

My phone rings.

Silence.

My phone rings and I clutch at it, pressing ignore then lazily letting it drop.

My phone rings.

I groan and lift myself up, hardly off of my pillow. My hand clears the hairs from my face, and I sit up in my bed before grabbing my constantly ringing phone.

It’s Jana, of course. I press answer and hold the phone to my ear. “Hello?” My voice sounds terrible.

“Why aren’t you answering the phone?”

“Uh-I’ve been asleep,” I glance at the clock on my bedside table, “for the past five hours.”

Jana sighs. “Why did you leave school?”

“How do you know I left early?”

“Daniel told me that he saw you in the parking lot and that you drove off recklessly,” she states.

I fall back and throw my free hand out. “What is he? My Dad?”

“It doesn’t matter. Why did you leave early? After he told me that-you could have gotten into an accident, you idiot!”

My bedroom is dark, no longer lit up by sunlight. “I’m fine, okay? Nothing happened, I’m fine. What’s up?”

Jana groans, most likely annoyed by my attempt to change the conversation topic. She goes with it anyway. “I’m at your house, let me in.”

I hang up, roll off my bed, avoid the mirror on the back of my door, and slowly make my way downstairs. I open the front door and Jana comes barging in. “Hello to you too,” I mutter.

She glances back at me. “You look dead.”

I close the front door and let out a short laugh. “Well, I feel dead, so.”

“Are you sick?”

I shake my head, no.

“Then clean yourself up. We’re going to Watts’,” she orders and heads for the stairs, expecting me to follow, and I do, but not for the same reason she’s thinking.

“We were just at Watts’ not even a week ago? And it’s a school night-”

Jana turns around. “A school night? Do you even hear yourself?” Then she continues on, walking into my room and flicking on the lights. She swings open the closet door and ventures inside. I wander to my bed and lay back down, in no mood to attend a kickback.

“Jana, I don’t want to go. I feel like the world has slapped me in the face. Just go without me.”

She peeks out. “Um, no. Plus, Daniel will be there.”

I roll my eyes. “I don’t care if he’s there or not. He’s the most confusing person ever. First, I think we’re friends, then we’re not, then he tells you that I left school, but he’s not my friend? You know, I asked him what Harrison said back, when he pushed him against the wall. Harrison said he didn’t know what Daniel was talking about.”

Jana comes out with a black, long-sleeved dress. It is short, thin fabric, and clingy. I got it in Florida when Lila said I should buy it. “Put this on. And that sucks, but did you expect him to fess up?”

“I guess not, but Daniel sounded like he didn’t even want to talk to me.”

Jana crosses her arms and I take the dress. “So he’s difficult then? He’s still a total catch.”

“I’m not Daphne, Jana. I care about more than looks.”

I step into the bathroom and swap my school clothes for the dress. I take a brush through my hair and Jana kicks me out so she can use the toilet. Sitting in my bed, I yank through the last knot. “So, what kind of party is it this time?”

“It’s fewer people. Me, you, Trent, Jordan, Taylor, Daniel, and maybe four other people. No swimming, just-”

“Drinking,” I mutter and set my hairbrush down.

Jana walks out and tweaks her top. “I’m sure some people will be drinking, but you don’t have to. I won’t if you want.”

“No, no, I don’t want to be your party pooper. I’m the designated driver anyways, right?”

She smiles. “We should probably go. Everyone is already there.”

We head downstairs and I lock the door behind us. I leave a note for my mother, telling her I’ll be home late and that I’m with Jana, studying. What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her. And if she does find out, who cares? I have lost most respect for her since she shut me down when telling her about the incident. My father, on the other hand, my father was the one who took me to the doctor, he was the one that threatened Harrison’s life, he was the one who woke me up at night when he found me begging for Harrison to stop.

My father wanted to press charges, but I told him about the town, I told him there was no point in trying. He was so far away from Coldgrove, and at the time I was too. I told him I felt safe in Florida, and that I just wanted to move on. He paid for the therapy, he paid for vacations, he gave me all he could. He gave me an escape.

When he told me that he was moving to Canada with Karly, I had to be happy for him, even if that meant me returning to Coldgrove.