Did I do the right thing? chapter 2

CHAPTER 21

I walked into the café the next day to see that Jewels wasn’t there again. She was the first thing I looked for and was immediately disappointed when I didn’t see her there. The rest of the posse was though. I walked over to our normal booth and took my normal seat next to Katie. This was going to be a normal day. Katie and Michelle were talking about last night’s episode of the OC while Grace was doing some more homework. History again. 2

“What year did Abraham Lincoln sail on the May flower to Australia.” She asked us. The two stopped their conversation and looked at her. Michelle, being the jokester she is, had to comment.3

“Abraham Lincoln didn’t go to Australia,” she said, “he went to Antarctica, and the year was 1982.” We all laughed at her joke, except Grace. She gave an agreeing ‘Oh’ and wrote it in on her paper. That just made us laugh harder. She was so sweet, but man…she could not do class work. The thought of Jewels came back to me. I wondered where she went. Why wasn’t she here? 4

We fooled around for a while, helping Grace more on her paper, for real this time. After I heard the bell ring, I lingered around the table for awhile. I hoped to see Jewels come by late again, like she had yesterday. As I waited, I was surprised to see some one else meet me.5

“You’re here again?” Katie asked, “Weren’t you here waiting yesterday. I was kind of stunned. At first, I thought she was Jewels because their voices are uncanny. I gave a surprised face when I realized it actually was Katie. “Is something the matter?” she asked me. My stomach fluttered with suspense.  6

“No…” I said trying to stay cool. “Everything’s…great.” I was sounding like an idiot. This wasn’t me. Why was I always somebody else when I talked to her directly? Everybody could tell. And what’s worse is that she could tell. She was a goddess of a woman this perfect idol that ranked so high on the scales of beauty and wisdom. I couldn’t talk to her.7

“Are you waiting for Jewels again?” she asked me. I have a guilty look and nodded without saying a word. “You going to wait much longer?” she asked. I shrugged. It seemed as if she was getting annoyed. “Ok…” she said. This whole ‘silence’ thing wasn’t working. As she turned to walk away, I felt scared. She’d leave and be mad. Like most people I thought it was like planting a seed. A seed of anger watered with time will soon grow into a tree of hate. And you know how hard it is to cut down a tree. AS she fled I grabbed her wrist. 8

“Wait! Don’t….” I trailed off. I heart had stopped. Of all things, I would never have imagined this. Katie looked at me a face of horror. I knew then, that it was true. I turned her wrist over to find seven vertical marks going down her wrist. Katie had been cutting. Katie. My Katie! My perfect angel Katie! The thought of it made me cry. I let go of her wrist and sled back into my seat cupping my head in my hands. She sat next to me and cry with me. Nothing was said, but our love spoke louder than ever. I knew then, her seeing me cry for her meant she loved me. We decided to talk later because she had class and I…well…I had to wait. It wasn’t too long after Katie left that Jewels stopped by.9

“Well, hello there.” She said with a smile. She looked a lot better than yester day with her make-up all runny. She was wearing a mini-skirt with a pink blouse. She actually looked like she was dressed up for a special occasion.10

“Well, well, well. Why Miss Stone, you look awfully wonderful this fine morning.” I was trying to be funny. She didn’t really laugh. She had something on her mind again. After yesterday, I guess it was my job to make sure everything was alright. “What’s the matter?” I asked her11

“I met a new guy.” She told me. “His name is john. He’s really strong. And protective.” She seemed almost proud of herself. I thought she’d gone crazy. I hope there was more to him than just that.12

“Is he nice?” I asked. 13

“Well, we haven’t talked a lot since I asked him out yesterday…” I stopped her right there.14

“You What?” I asked harshly and in disbelief. She pulled a face that looked like she was scared half to death. I even shocked myself. “I mean…you are going out already?” I tried covering it up a little. 15

“Yeah?” she said more like a question than a statement. “Since yesterday.” She told me, which I already knew. “Is there something wrong with that?” she asked again acting like a little girl would her daddy. 16

“No,” I lied. “It’s okay. How long have you known him?” I tried getting something good out of her. She seemed to loosen up after I asked her.17

“Well, I met him yesterday…at this party…” 18

“STOP.” I said not caring if I scared her. “You met him yesterday, he’s very protective and you asked him to go out?” I didn’t mean it to be a question but I waited for an answer. 19

“Ummmm….yes.” she said not sure of herself. I could see in her eyes she knew she broke the promise we made yesterday. “You don’t think I should’ve?” I could just stare at her blankly. She wasn’t using her best judgment. 20

“No, Jewels. I really don’t think you should’ve.” 21

She decided she was going to go break up with John that same day. I had bigger fish to fry.    22

After school, I walked over to Katie’s house. I promised I would, so we could talk.23

I was extremely worried about her. I always thought that she was this perfect angel with a perfect life. I guess you never really know some one completely. 24

“Hey…” Katie said opening the door for me. “How is everything?” you could tell she was rather embarrassed. She kept looking at the floor and never to my face.25

“Want to talk?” I asked her, in no rush. She gave a little nod and I follow her into her family room. I sat on the couch where she had directed me to sit. I waited for her to start talking first. She didn’t. She didn’t say a word. We sat in silence for a few minutes, waiting for the other person to start. I decided I would.26

“So, how long have you…been doing this?” 27

“A while.” 28

“How many people know?”29

“Just you.”30

“Why?”31

“Why else?” She seemed to get angry, looking me in the eye for the first time since I’ve been here. “My parents…” she started, “they expect too much of me. The pushed me way too far and hard. It was all too much.” 32

“But, why cutting?” I asked.33

“It just worked.” She said in sorrow. Tears started to run down her face. 34

“Don’t cry. I’m here for you.” She sat down beside me. “I’m always here for you.” She put her face in my chest and I held her until her tears stopped. It was very strange. At school, I couldn’t even think about her without getting jittery. Now, I’m hugging her close to me. I talked to her without stuttering. I guess it was because before I thought she was some one that was flawless, some immortal being. But now, I see she’s just normal. She’s like every other teenage girl in high school. 35

She brought her self up from my embrace and looked at me dead in my eyes. It felt like she was reading me. Reading my soul. No one has ever looked at me that way before. It made me do something incredibly foolish, yet at the same time incredibly great. I leaned in and kissed her. She pulled closer and wrapped her arms around me. It felt so right. We sat there and talked the rest of the night.36